Five southern states are stepping up coordination on delimitation, tax devolution and language issues, reviving calls for a stronger collective South platform.
The DMDK officially joined the DMK-led alliance ahead of the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly elections, marking a significant political development in the state.
The prime minister interacted with media persons on issues ranging from the Indo-US nuclear deal to the crisis in Sri Lanka.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NDA leaders reviewed India's progress in international sports and significant growth in youth employment opportunities at their weekly parliamentary meeting.
Dinesh Trivedi's experience as a businessperson and his fluency in Bengali are expected to be crucial in strengthening India-Bangladesh relations, particularly in attracting Indian investments to Dhaka.
A key leader of Bangladesh's National Citizen Party (NCP), Mahfuz Alam, has distanced himself from the party's alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, citing ideological differences and concerns over Jamaat's controversial history.
The future of this alliance would depend on the sacrifice and liberality of the Congress, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has affirmed strong action against NEET paper leak culprits and urged state governments to collaborate with the Centre to prevent future incidents, emphasising national interest over party politics. He highlighted the successful re-examination and arrests made.
'Wages have not risen. Rural wages have stagnated. The growth was 0.7 per cent last year. For casual and irregular labour, the wage growth is negative.'
The Lok Sabha witnessed a heated debate between BJP and Congress members regarding the handling of Naxalism, with the BJP accusing the previous UPA government of failing to contain left-wing extremism and the Congress defending its efforts to curb the threat.
Voting has commenced for the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, with over 3.60 crore electors eligible to vote in 152 constituencies in Bengal and 5.73 crore voters in Tamil Nadu. Security measures are heightened to ensure free and fair polling.
Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United supremo Nitish Kumar on Friday thanked people of the state for giving a 'landslide' victory for the ruling National Democratic Alliance in the assembly polls.
The NCERT has included in the class 9 social science textbook a section on Emergency, which it described as "one of the major challenges to democracy in India" with Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan hailing the move saying future generations should know about the "dark deeds".
The original suggestion was to call it 'Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance', but the word 'democratic' was replaced with 'developmental' after Kumar and Yechury raised some objections saying it sounded too similar to the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), sources said.
Ten years after a dream electoral debut, which saw him become the deputy chief minister at a young age of 25, the heir apparent of party supremo Lalu Prasad finally won, after trailing for several rounds, from Raghopur, a RJD stronghold.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar praised the Narendra Modi government's support for the state's progress and urged voters to support the NDA in the upcoming assembly elections. He also criticized Lalu Prasad's governance and dynastic politics.
The BJP state unit hailed Vasan and said his advice will be used in the coming days to guide the alliance.
United Progressive Alliance nominee Hamid Ansari appears set to get a second term as Vice President by emerging a clear winner against National Democratic Alliance's Jaswant Singh in a direct contest for the post on Tuesday.
The BJP has released its list of candidates for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, with the notable absence of K Annamalai, sparking speculation and discussion within the state's political circles.
In fact they had been expecting the defeat once the United Nationl Progressive Alliance decided to abstain from the election and not support Shekhawat.
Newly-elected leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party legislative party in Bihar, Samrat Choudhary, met Governor Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (retd) at Lok Bhavan on Tuesday and staked a claim to form the government in the state.
As industrial plants boost the village's profile, locals demand priority hiring, alongside better storage facilities and water security.
'Wait for 2019, there will be no space for the BJP in UP.'
Amid division in National Democratic Alliance over opposing United Progressive Alliance Presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said he favoured a consensus on the issue of candidature for which efforts were on within the Opposition alliance.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday suggested the Opposition needs to come together and strengthen the alliance.
The Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Fund has alleged that absence of Bharatiya Janata Party candidate against Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan in Malampuzha is part of a clandestine understanding between the Communist Party of India-Marxist and the BJP as they are now together in opposing the United Progressive Alliance at the Centre.
Pranab Mukherjee and P A Sangma will file their nominations on Thursday, setting off the presidential race between the United Progressive Alliance and the Bharatiya Janata Party-backed opposition candidate in which the ruling alliance is set for a runaway victory.
Regional parties currently outside the ambit of both United Progressive Alliance and the National Democratic Alliance will hold the key to formation of next government at the Centre in 2014 with BJP-led alliance projected well ahead of the ruling UPA headed by Congress, an election survey has predicted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the record turnout in the first phase of the Bihar assembly polls indicates people's trust in the NDA government. He predicted victory for the NDA, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and lauded the Election Commission for conducting successful elections.
Against the backdrop of dramatic twists and turns in the Presidential race, key National Democratic Alliance ally Janata Dal-United on Thursday refrained from making its stand clear on the issue saying the United Progressive Alliance should first settle it within itself.
The exodus in Congress could again momentum (Kiran Reddy, L Rajagopal's resignations) in contrast to which the BJP is adding to its tally of allies and is finding new admirers. Anita Katiyal reports
The decision was taken at a meeting in senior BJP leader LK Advani's residence on Monday, which was attended by the party's allies. At a press conference soon after, Jaswant Singh described the decision as a "great honour".
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday launched a strong critique of the Janata Dal-United, its ally in the National Democratic Alliance, for concentrating its energy on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi instead of pressing matters like price rise, black money and anti-farmer policies of the United Progressive Alliance, and said it was unacceptable.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is not a threat to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance but a threat to the Bharatiya Janata Party led-National Democratic Alliance itself, as proved by the developments following his elevation as the BJP poll panel chief, his Assam counterpart Tarun Gogoi said on Saturday. "Modi is not a threat to the UPA. Modi is a threat to NDA itself," he said.
The opposition alliance has taken exception to Union Law Minister H R Bhardwaj's statement on Tuesday that the earliest the polls could be held in the state was in September.
United Progressive Alliance's Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee will file his nomination papers on Thursday at 11 am in the midst of changing political alignments, with the UPA largely intact while the National Democratic Alliance in considerable disarray as its trusted allies have openly sided with the 'master troubleshooter,' saying Pranab is the best candidate for the country's top job.
Support to the United Progressive Alliance Presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee does not mean the Shiv Sena is backing the Congress, the party's executive president Uddhav Thackeray said on Tuesday.
The Congress and the NCP are not comfortable with the name Maha Shiv Aghadi (a grand alliance comprising the Shiv Sena)
A day after losing the battle with the United Progressive Alliance government in Parliament on the issue of allowing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, the National Democratic Alliance has threatened to reject the Union government's notification if it is voted to power in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance is poised to cross 220 seats, well ahead of the United Progressive Alliance and within striking distance of forming a government in 2014 if elections are held today.
