BJP heavyweights Smriti Irani, Arjun Munda, Ajay Mishra Teni and Kailash Chaudhary were among the 13 Union ministers who tasted defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states forced the BJP to rely on allies to form the government.
The Vishwaguru who addressed the maximum rallies and boasted of being blessed with divine energy, who promised guarantees in his own name, turned out finally not invincible, points out Jyoti Punwani.
The stage is set for the Telugu Desam Party's (TDP) much-publicised mega event, 'Yuva Garjana', to be held on the National Highway between Vijaywada and Guntur on Wednesday.
According to insiders, their lack of enthusiasm is showing on the ground. There is nothing to suggest that their enthusiasm will return in the final four phases of polling, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Telugu Desam Party on Saturday alleged that YSR Congress Party president Jaganmohan Reddy violated the model code of conduct by stretching his road show beyond stipulated time limit at Mylavaram town in Krishna district.
Even as the beleaguered TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu is trying to bulldoze Goud by pitting several other leaders against him, more and more senior leaders from Telangana region are coming out in support of Goud.
The Bhratiya Janata Party has justified its poll alliance with the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh despite critical comments made in the past by TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu.
In the game of one-upmanship, Telugu Desam Party legislators from Andhra and Rayalaseema have decided to pressurise the Speaker Kiran Kumar Reddy to accept their pending resignations.
TDP Telangana unit president Ramana said they favoured a 'grand alliance' for the elections in the interest of Telangana people.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-Telugu Desam Party alliance in Andhra Pradesh has run into rough weather over seat sharing.
The Telegu Desam Party, which had threatened to resign en masse from the state assembly unless the Centre initiated proceedings for the creation of a separate Telangana state, has decided to play it safe. TDP Members of Legislative Assembly from the Telangana region have decided to resign from the assembly only if Congress MLAs from the region do so first.This decision by the TDP has put the pro-Telangana movement on the back-foot.
24 TDP members were suspended for two days on Thursday for stalling the Question Hour.
This is the second such incident occurring in the TDP chief's public meeting in a week. Eight people had died in a stampede on December 28 last year in Nellore.
In a brazen show of competitive politics, Andhra Pradesh MPs belonging to Congress and Telugu Desam were Wednesday locked in a scuffle in public view at the Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun over ferrying pilgrims back to the state.
Chandrababu Naidu's meeting with Narendra Modi later on Wednesday will be closely monitored. However, the TDP chief maintains that at the moment he is only concerned about the Telangana issue and nothing else. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Two TDP MLAs have lodged a complaint with anti corruption bureau alleging that the ruling TRS leaders pressurised them to quit the TDP to join their party.
The ties between the Telugu Desam Party and the Telangana Joint Action Committee came under strain on Monday with the latter alleging that the main opposition party has an ambivalent stand on the statehood demand.
The coming weeks are sure to have a lot of drama unfolding in Maharashtra, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Telugu Desam Party have finally reached an electoral alliance in Andhra Pradesh.
The TDP members in the Upper House refused to leave the chamber even after the House was adjourned for the day.
The ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh on Monday suffered a major blow in the urban civic body polls in the Seemandhra region, where opposition Telugu Desam Party put up a stellar performance, but stole the show in Telangana for whose statehood the party claims credit.
'He keeps reminding me he is senior. There is no debate in this. I have never shown any disrespect to you since you are a senior,' the PM said.
The seat sharing has become the biggest challenge before the four party Grand Alliance led by the Telugu Desam party. The TDP president, N Chandrababu Naidu is under tremendous pressure from his partners' demand for a larger number of Lok Sabha and assembly seats.
All talks regarding an alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Telugu Desam Party came to an abrupt end on Saturday with the Telangana unit of the BJP putting its foot down against a tie-up.
Nineteen opposition political parties, including the Congress have announced a boycott of the ceremony on May 28, demanding that President Droupadi Murmu and not Prime Minister Narendra Modi do the inauguration.
Fifteen rebel members of Legislative Assembly belonging to Andhra Pradesh's ruling Congress and main opposition Telugu Desam Party were today disqualified for voting in favour of a no-confidence motion moved by TRS against the Kiran Kumar Reddy government in March this year.
Demanding that the Telugu Desam Party take a clear stand on the separate statehood issue, the Telangana political Joint Action Commitee on Wednesday appealed to the people not to cooperate with the TDP for a public meeting proposed at Karimnagar.
It is early to make out which way the wind is blowing, but there is no denying that challenges for the BJP, far outweigh the advantages in this region, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The TDP also distanced itself from the National Democratic Alliance, during the latter's boycott of Parliament.\n\n
Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu has said a "Third Front" would form the next government at the Centre and his party would play a decisive role in that.
With talks between Bharatiya Janata Party and the Telugu Desam Party being stuck over sharing of seats in Andhra Pradesh, senior party leader Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday indicated that the BJP will contest upcoming polls on its own if the Chandrababu Naidu-led party fails to spell out its stand within 24 hours.
The Left parties and Telugu Desam Party jointly staged a protest at Indira Park in Hyderabad on Thursday in protest against the failure of Andhra Pradesh and Central governments in controlling the abnormal hike in the prices of essential commodities. The parties vowed to take up 'serious agitation' in future if the governments failed to act swiftly to control the price rise.
Over the last five days, Modi visited all of south, held roadshows, made an aggressive bid for his party, and took on the rivals with full gusto, especially the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana that was in power for 10 years.
Ruling Congress and main Opposition Telugu Desam Party are set to crack the whip on "rebel" MLAs, who voted in favour of the no-confidence motion against the Kiran Kumar Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh late Friday night.
Leader of the Opposition and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu and TRS floor leader G Vijayarama Rao were among those suspended.
Even as the film star turned politician Chiranjeevi was worried over getting an electoral symbol allotted by the Election Commission, his Praja Rajyam party got a shot in the arm on Thursday with two legislators of Telugu Desam party including the party general secretary joining the PRP.