Both Mr Modi and Amit Shah like Nabin because they know he will never answer back, points out Aditi Phadnis.
The BJP protesters, carrying placards and raising slogans, slammed the Congress and its leader, Rahul Gandhi, calling them "traitors" for allegedly tarnishing the nation's image.
Nitin Nabin has been formally declared as the BJP national president, succeeding J P Nadda. The leadership transition was witnessed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior ministers.
In terms of MLA salaries, Odisha is followed by Telangana (about Rs 2.7 lakh), Maharashtra (Rs 2.6 lakh), Manipur (Rs 2.5 lakh), and Uttar Pradesh (Rs 2.4 lakh).
Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) supremo Prem Singh Tamang on Monday took oath as the chief minister of the Himalayan state for the second consecutive term.
Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Monday called on Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya and submitted a resolution passed by newly-elected MLAs of Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) electing him as their legislature party leader to stake claim to form the next government, an official said.
Fifteen years after quitting the Sikkim Democratic Front in 2009, he decimated Chamling's party, scripting history by winning 31 of 32 assembly seats in the Himalayan state in 2024.
Activists from Himalayan states condemn the arrest of Sonam Wangchuk, demanding his release and supporting the call for statehood and inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. They also warn of a larger crisis unfolding across the Himalayan region due to climate change and poor governance.
Ahead of this election, the alliance between the BJP and the SKM had broken down. One reason is the fear that like Article 370, Article 371F might also be changed.
'These include economic prosperity, a promising future for youth, empowerment for women, a thriving society, robust healthcare, quality education, elevated living standards, agricultural prosperity, and robust social security coupled with effective governance.'
The elections to 32 assembly constituencies in Sikkim were held simultaneously with the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 19.
The Sikkim Democratic Front got 15 seats in the hill state, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, which came into being in 2013, bagged 17 seats, one more than required for a majority in the 32-member assembly.
The Congress followed next with Rs 620 crore or 18.5 percent of the total expenses among the 32 national and regional parties whose records were analysed, the ADR said.
In Sikkim, the BJP had not won a single seat in the recent assembly polls.
Former chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and senior Sikkim Democratic Front leaders were conspicuous by their absence at the swearing-in.
'...they always address problems superficially, never tackling root causes.' 'Currently, the policy response will focus on immediate relief -- getting people to safety, providing facilities, clearing debris.' 'This is necessary, but once immediate relief operations end, everything returns to 'normal' without addressing underlying vulnerabilities.'
Among the national parties, the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Communist Party of India-Marxist opposed the proposal, while the Bharatiya Janata Party and the National People's Party supported it.
Setting aside ideological differences, the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of India Marxist have joined hands in Sikkim to unitedly fight Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling's Sikkim Democratic Front in the assembly polls scheduled to be held later this year.The decision to form the UDF was taken in a meeting of Opposition leaders. The alliance is between the three national level parties and two other regional parties.
Despite facing financial constraints, Kerala has been able to invest in welfare schemes and targeted programmes.
'After the 2024 election results, I have had the realisation that electoral politics is simply not for me. I am therefore quitting all forms of electoral politics with immediate effect.'
Mainstream political parties in Sikkim have thrown their weight behind the separate Gorkhaland state issue for which the state has witnessed a series of agitations with its economy paralysed. The state's main political force -- the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front -- has openly supported the creation of a separate Gorkhaland state to fulfil what it says the aspiration of the Gorkha people.
The founding president of the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front completed 23 years, four months and 17 days of uninterrupted service in office on Sunday.
The BJP is yet to open its account in the 32-member assembly of the Himalayan state.
The SKM, founded in 2013, won a slender majority in the 32-member legislative assembly by bagging 17 seats against 15 won by the Sikkim Democratic Front.
'We have a situation where the BJP, with less than 2 per cent vote share, has 10 MLAs.'
The National People's Party, which rules Meghalaya, is another national party which received no donations through electoral bonds.
The high-level committee on 'one nation, one election' approached 62 parties out which 47 responded -- 32 in support of holding elections simultaneously, 15 against it.
Pawan Chamling is all set to become CM for the fifth time in a row; SDF party led by him sweeps the assembly polls, winning 22 of the 32 seats. Anurag Kashyap reports.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh, chief ministers of Nationalist Democratic Alliance-ruled states and prominent personalities from industry and Bollywood on Thursday attended the grand swearing-in of Devendra Fadnavis as Maharashtra Chief Minister in Mumbai.
The ruling Sikkim Democratic Front which has been in power continuously for 20 years under the leadership of Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, is flaunting its 'achievements' of two decades to woo voters this election even as it faces stiff challenge from the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha this time. The tiny Himalayan state known for its natural beauty and tourism potential is going for simultaneous elections to its only Lok Sabha seat and 40-member state assembly on April 12.
Ruling parties held sway in most of the 13 states in the assembly byelection results declared on Saturday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies wresting seats in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan and the Trinamool Congress sweeping West Bengal.
Bypolls will be held on Wednesday in 31 assembly seats spread across 10 states and Kerala's Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, from where Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is making her electoral debut. Though these bye-elections are not going to have any bearing on the governments, they are seen as a big test for the Congress and the INDIA bloc which failed to put up a united show in the recent Haryana assembly polls. Most of these seats fell vacant after the sitting MLAs contested the Lok Sabha elections and won while in some constituencies, the bypolls are being held due to death of the representatives. The Wayanad seat was vacated by Rahul Gandhi, who also won from the Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency which he kept. Voting will be held in seven seats in Rajasthan, six in West Bengal, five in Assam, four seats in Bihar, three in Karnataka, two seats in Madhya Pradesh, and one seat each in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala and Meghalaya. Votes will be counted on November 23.
From steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal to billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal's Airtel, Anil Agarwal's Vedanta, ITC, Mahindra and Mahindra, and a lesser-known Future Gaming and Hotel Services were among the prominent buyers of the now-scrapped electoral bonds for making political donations.
It also asked why the data shared pertained to a period from April 2019 even though the scheme for anonymous political funding was introduced in 2017.
Future Gaming of lottery king Santiago Martin was the biggest purchaser of electoral bonds at Rs 1,368 crore, of which nearly 37 percent went to the DMK.
Political parties have fielded sons, wives and daughters-in-law of legislators who quit after being elected to the Lok Sabha.
The total income of national and regional parties from unknown sources for 2020-21 stands at Rs 690.67 crore.
Hours before the ceremony, Saini visited the Valmiki Bhawan and offered prayers at a gurdwara and the Mansa Devi temple in Panchkula.
The JD-U has five members in the Rajya Sabha, including deputy chairman Harivansh whose fate now hangs in the balance as he may have to resign since his party has moved out of the ruling alliance.
With numbers on its side -- the ruling NDA has about half the votes of the electoral college -- and the possible support of fence-sitters like the BJD, the AIADMK and the YSRCP, the NDA candidate will likely sail through the contest.
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