Two individuals, including a woman, have been granted Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Assam, bringing the total number of recipients in the state to four. This marks the first instance of a woman receiving citizenship under the Act in Assam.
The Assam unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday decided against teaming up another political party to contest the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state, informed BJP general secretary Santanu Bharali.
Barring Maharashtra, the poll percentage in rest of the states was in excess of 60 per cent while in Puducherry it was 80.47 per cent.
It dropped sitting MP from Guna, Krishnapal Singh Yadav, to field Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia from the seat.
Security has been tightened in Manipur's Jiribam district ahead of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's scheduled visit on Monday, with authorities imposing a ban on aerial photography using drones, officials said.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma believes that the BJP could win more seats in the state by aggressively campaigning in minority-dominated areas. He attributed the party's recent success in the bypolls to its beneficiary schemes, which he claims have garnered support from the minority community. Sarma emphasized that the BJP will continue with its development work for all communities and has no plans for appeasement. He also gave an update on the Guwahati-North Guwahati bridge project, which is progressing well and is scheduled to be opened to the public in July 2025. Sarma also hinted at a possible cabinet reshuffle in the coming months.
The TMC team went there at the instruction of party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The Congress on Tuesday announced its second list of 43 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, fielding Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath once again from Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara and Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot from Rajasthan's Jalore.
In the Congress, Sushmita Dev enjoyed the indulgence of the Gandhi family. She has been true to them and has been graceful in her gratitude to the party that gave her unparalleled political opportunities.
'There are 7,000 guns which are in the hands of the armed militia of the Kuki and Meitei communities.'
The issue of National Register of Citizens in Assam is likely to rock both houses of Parliament on Wednesday too.
Bharatiya Janata Party nominee S Selvaganapathy was declared elected unopposed to the lone seat in Rajya Sabha from Puducherry, the first time the saffron party has got representation in the Upper House from the Union Territory, while Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's two nominees, Kanimozhi N V N Somu and K R N Rajeshkumar, were elected without contest from Tamil Nadu.
BJP plans to put up strong candidates against these 15 MPs.
TMC leaders are expected to meet over the weekend to finalise a plan of action for the coming week.
Doctors have advised the 85-year-old politician to stay in home isolation.
Asom Gana Parishad President and former Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta on Wednesday kept open his party's option of joining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party for Lok Sabha polls, saying a decision will be taken soon.
As per the saffron party's arrangement with the AGP, the BJP would fight eight seats while the remaining six seats would be contested by the AGP.
Political parties in Assam, barring the Congress, and the state government employees have voiced unhappiness over the poll dates announced by the Election Commission for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections as those coincide with celebration of Rongali Bihu, the Spring Festival in the state.
Indicating his decision to step down from leadership position, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Thursday said next year's Lok Sabha election will be the last in the state under his charge of Congress.
'The chowkidar took away your money by demonetisation and GST. The keys to the banks were handed over to thieves like Anil Ambani'
Mamata's 'there is no United Progressive Alliance (UPA)' remark after a meeting in Mumbai with Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, an ally of Congress in Maharashtra, evoked a strong response from the party, currently being led by interim president Sonia Gandhi.
Six of the eight-member Trinamool Congress delegation left Assam on Friday morning after an overnight detention at Silchar airport, an official said.
An indefinite bandh by a militant outfit in the Autonomous District (ST) along with last minute canvassing in two constituencies of Karimganj (SC) and Silchar in the Barak Valley marked the end of a high pitched campaigning on Thursday for 3 constituencies in the second phase of Lok Sabha polls in Assam on April 12.
It said there is no part of the country that he did not visit during the 125 days between December 25 and May 1 as he crisscrossed from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Jamnagar to Silchar, while speaking to students to scientists, farmers, entrepreneurs, foreign heads of state and political workers.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan came down heavily on Congress leaders for "persistently and willfully obstructing the House" and suspended them for 5 days. The members who have been punished include a president's son, ex-chief ministers' sons and an ex-CM's grandson. Rediff.com brings you the complete list.
Even as his 79-year-old father is counting his days in active politics after a very long innings, Gaurav Gogoi, son of Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is now all set to take a plunge in electoral politics. Gaurav has been nominated by the Congress party to contest Lok Sabha election from Kaliabor constituency in Assam.
The Bharatiya Janata Party appeared to cede ground in Uttar Pradesh where Samajwadi Party was leading on six of the 11 Assembly seats where bypolls were held while it was neck and neck with Congress in Gujarat and behind in Rajasthan, exactly four months after it swept the three states in Lok Sabha elections.
The party managed only 52 seats on its own and many of its top leadership, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Jyotiraditya Scindia were defeated in the polls.
The fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections began on Friday, covering seven constituencies in four states where over half-a-crore voters decide the fate of 74 candidates.
From President Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit to Rahul and Varun Gandhi, at least 50 parliamentary constituencies will be contested by 'sons and daughters' of politicians of various parties during the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
BJP is set to win majority of 32 municipality boards and 42 town committees in Assam
'This is a humanitarian visit. This is a visit to stand with the grieving families. We hope to reach Tinsukia in about two hours and spend some time with the families'
'I am aware of the problems and difficulties faced by many during the NRC process but I assure you that no injustice will be done to any genuine Indian citizens'
The Centre has summoned to New Delhi the chief secretaries and directors general of police (DGPs) of Assam and Mizoram for a meeting on Wednesday while the restive inter-state border was calm, a day after armed clashes left six dead and over 50 injured, officials said.
While Himanta Biswa Sarma scotched rumours that he would be the king this time, political sources in Guwahati maintained that he, and not Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, had a bigger say in choosing candidates, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
Thirty-five per cent of the 64,41,634 voters exercised their franchise till noon on Monday in five Lok Sabha constituencies of Assam where four persons clashed with CRPF personnel demanding that they be allowed to cast their vote first in Kaliabor constituency.
'The significance and timing of the PM's start of the campaign journey from Silchar is a clear message that the Barak valley is a priority in his scheme of things,' notes Subimal Bhattacharjee.
In the second phase on April 18, 97 seats,spread across 13 states and one Union Territory, will go to the polls.
The prime minister witnessed the protests when he travelled to the Raj Bhavan in Guwahati, where he will spend the night, from Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport.
'The petition has become infructuous as the Election Commission has taken decisions on the complaints'