The BJP has taken an early lead in the Gujarat local body elections, winning a significant number of seats as counting progresses. The Congress trails behind, while Independents and other parties, including AAP and AIMIM, have also secured seats.
'Narendra Modi -- a man with deep and vital experience of Indian politics -- has seen the BJP lose many elections between 1975 and 2015, and with every defeat, he learned lessons that made sure he would never allow his party to be defeated so easily again.'
The BJP has secured a majority vote share across all categories in the recent local body elections in Gujarat, according to data released by the State Election Commission (SEC). The ruling party swept the elections, winning a significant number of seats across municipal corporations, municipalities, district panchayats, and taluka panchayats.
The main contest is between the BJP, which has ruled the six corporations for last several terms, and the main opposition Congress.
Police in Gujarat's Panchmahal district are investigating an Aam Aadmi Party candidate and two party workers for alleged hawala transactions involving over Rs 50 lakh ahead of local body polls.
Police in Surat are investigating an alleged interstate hawala-linked political funding network involving Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) functionaries, with Rs 1.25 crore reportedly routed from Delhi to Surat ahead of Gujarat local body polls. The AAP has dismissed the claims as a conspiracy by the ruling BJP.
All Gujarat ministers, except the Chief Minister, resigned a day before the planned cabinet expansion. The expansion is scheduled for Friday.
Residents of Surat, Gujarat, now require a no objection certificate (NOC) from at least 10 neighbors to keep a pet dog, following recent incidents involving pet attacks.
A non-vegetarian party in the premises of a government-run school in Surat city of Gujarat has created a huge controversy and led to the suspension of the principal.
'I cannot imagine that any NSA before Ajit Doval would have given us this kind of time and this kind of engagement. They would have offered slogans, or nothing at all. That, too, tells you something.'
Local Congress workers, led by city unit's working president Dinesh Savalia, staged a protest outside Kumbhani's locked house in Puna Gam area, calling him traitor and accusing him of giving a walkover to the BJP.
'The Congress is solely responsible for the situation that has arisen in Surat'
Suspended Congress leader Nilesh Kumbhani, whose nomination form was rejected over discrepancies leading to Bharatiya Janata Party winning the Surat Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat unopposed, resurfaced on Saturday after 20 days and alleged it was the grand old party that had betrayed him first in 2017.
The workers were inside the dyeing factory, located in Sachin industrial area, when the incident took place, Surat Municipal Corporation's in-charge chief fire officer Basant Pareek said.
Seven bodies have been recovered in the operation that continued through the night, Sachin GIDC police station inspector Jignesh Chaudhari said.
AAP leader and party's Surat Lok Sabha president Rajnikant Vaghani demanded that either Kumbhani be booked on the charges of forgery or his proposers be booked for giving false declaration on oath.
SMC will work with Microsoft and its partners to bring solutions for water management and urban planning
There was no confirmation from the district administration of reports that the fire was apparently caused by a rupture in the 36-inch Uran-Mumbai gas pipeline.
There are around 15 lakh diamond workers in Gujarat, including nearly seven lakh employed in units in Surat, which is the largest hub of cutting and polishing of these precious stones.
Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi on Wednesday said the Yoga Day event in Surat has set a 'new Guinness World Record' for the largest gathering of people for a yoga session at one place.
'The BJP will win comfortably if the Congress and AAP fight separately -- though not with 162 seats.' 'But if they form an alliance, it will become a major problem for the BJP. That's precisely why this expansion is happening now.'
The AAP has made inroads into Gujarat's politics by winning 27 seats of Surat Municipal Corporation, one of the six cities where voting was held on Sunday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party government in Gujarat on Friday passed a bill in the assembly that earmarks 27 per cent seats in local bodies like panchayats, municipalities and civic corporations for Other Backward Classes.
Soon after Unlock 1, the industry - which is estimated to polish nine of 10 rough diamonds in the world - resumed operations, but a surge in cases at diamond polishing cluster, especially in Katargam and Varachha, forced units to go into a voluntary lockdown, which continued until recently.
The six municipal corporations, which comprise major urban areas of the state like Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar are going to polls after October this year.
Three labourers were killed on Tuesday and six others injured when a portion of an under-construction flyover collapsed in Parle point area of the city, a senior official said.
The BJP government in Gujarat has formed a five-member committee, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, to assess the need for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state and to draft a bill for the same. The committee will submit its report within 45 days. The decision has sparked debate with the Opposition claiming it is an attempt to divert attention from pressing issues ahead of the upcoming local body polls, while the government insists the UCC will protect the rights of tribal communities. The committee will consult with religious leaders, including those from the Muslim community.
Surat had bagged the fourth rank under the Smart Cities Mission based on its proposal.
The Congress, the main opposition party, had won only 36 seats, the SEC said about 4 pm.
Such gaming zones and recreational facilities have come up without the necessary approvals from competent authorities, the bench of Justices Biren Vaishnav and Devan Desai observed.
'This might prove to be a temporary gain for the BJP, but at a huge cost to the people of Gujarat and democracy in India.'
Despite the AAP cutting into its votes, the Congress still polled 27 per cent votes and won 17 seats.
While hearing a matter relating to encroachment on railway land in Gujarat, the apex court observed that when the Constitution recognises rule of law, it has to be adhered to by one and all.
Aiming to breach the Bharatiya Janata Party's Gujarat bastion, the Aam Aadmi Party fielded its candidate to contest all 182 assembly seats and carried out a high decibel campaign in the run-up to the polls in Gujarat.
After a controversy arose over some civic bodies' plans to act against handcarts selling non-veg foods on main thoroughfares, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Monday had said the state government has no problem with people's food choices.
'The BJP is scared it may lose the Delhi municipal elections where they have been in power for the last 15 years.'
Contract finally given for Rs 2,400-cr project, with GIFT City-like features
The overall female strength has rised to 11 which is one of the highest.
The bill to amend the law governing Waqf boards proposes far-reaching changes in the Wakf Act, 1995, including ensuring the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims in such bodies.
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