After a marathon polling process to elect the 18th Lok Sabha that lasted for a month and a half, the results were declared on Tuesday.
From royalty to a tea vendor-turned-politician's wife and from a first lady to a Bengali actress, the 18 Muslim women who treaded the hallowed corridors of power in the Lok Sabha are an eclectic mix, with each of them having an interesting backstory, but one common thread -- their path to power was always strewn with struggle and hurdles.
'Kerala will lose 6 seats, Tamil Nadu 9 seats, Telangana and Karnataka 2 seats each, Andhra Pradesh 5 seats.'
Rahul Gandhi appeared before an MP-MLA court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, to record his statement in a defamation case related to his 2018 remarks against Amit Shah. The case, filed by a BJP leader, alleges derogatory remarks made during the Karnataka elections.
Campaigning for May 13 elections in 96 Lok Sabha constituencies across 10 states and Union territories including all seats in Andhra Pradesh, where assembly elections are also being held concurrently, and Telangana concluded on Saturday evening.
UPCC chief Ajai Rai clarifies Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's role in Uttar Pradesh Congress campaigns, emphasizing her national leadership while confirming her continued prominence in the state.
The Congress is a dismal third in 17 of the 19 constituencies where the party's general secretary (east) campaigned in Uttar Pradesh.
The proportion of postal votes polled in the general elections has gradually risen since 2009.
A total of 78 Muslims were in the fray in the Lok Sabha elections this year, a significant drop from the last polls when 115 Muslim candidates were fielded by various parties.
The brothers were booked under the UP Gangsters Act in connection with the murder of the then BJP MLA from Ghazipur, Krishnanad Rai, on November 29, 2005 and the kidnapping-murder of Varanasi-based trader Nand Kishore Rungta in 1997.
While the results of the bypolls will not directly impact the composition of the 403-member state Assembly, the contest is being seen as a prestige fight between the BJP and opposition parties.
The Congress party is intensifying its efforts to strengthen its organizational base in Uttar Pradesh, with plans to contest all 403 seats in the 2027 Assembly elections. Senior leaders emphasize grassroots preparations, voter outreach, and public meetings to regain political ground in the state.
Dimple Yadav, who was elected to the Lok Sabha in a by-election in Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh on December 9 -- an election caused by her father-in-law Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav's death -- took the oath as a member of the House of the People on Monday, December 12, 2022.
The decision on Rahul Gandhi's appointment as the Leader of Opposition was made after a meeting of the floor leaders of the INDIA bloc at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's residence.
Cracks appeared in the opposition ranks as some parties showed willingness to participate in the budget debate, while the government insisted on equal speaking opportunities for all members amidst ongoing disruptions.
To a question whether his party will not forge a coalition with any political party, Azad said, "If any political party is willing to accompany the Congress, and the Congress feels that it can fight the BJP, then it will be definitely accommodated."
The sweeping victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the Bihar Assembly elections has caused ripples across the country, but perhaps more pronounced in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, where Assembly elections are due in 2027.
Except drubbing in Delhi and Bihar, the BJP president has had a good record since he took over the reins of the party in June 2014, says Archis Mohan.
The marathon polling process to elect the 18th Lok Sabha ended on Saturday with the seventh phase of elections witnessing an approximate voter turnout of 62.36 per cent, amid clashes between Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party supporters in Sandeshkhali and some other parts of West Bengal.
"Mock polls" are part of the first level check (FLC) process.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took oath as member of the 18th Lok Sabha.
Amit Shah wants to increase the party's nationwide vote share by at least 10 per cent from the 37.7 per cent it secured five years ago and ensure above 50 per cent vote share in the states where it came close to that benchmark, but couldn't cross it.
The seats held by the non-BJP parties in the state are Bijnor, Amroha, Moradabad, Sambhal, Raebareli, Ghosi, Lalganj, Jaunpur, Ambedkarnagar, Ghazipur, Shravasti, Mainpuri, Saharanpur and Nagina. Of these, Raebareli is held by Sonia Gandhi of the Congress.
Yadav had contested and won from Mainpuri in the just concluded parliamentary polls.
The BSP chief said she does not want to see any damage to the SP-BSP-RLD alliance.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi will fight again from Varanasi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as it named 34 Union ministers in the first list of 195 candidates.
The counting began at 8 am to decide the fate of the candidates contesting the polls, among whom all eyes will be on Dimple Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav's elder daughter-in-law and the wife of Akhilesh Yadav, who is contesting from the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat, necessitated by the demise of Samajwadi Party veteran Mulayam Singh Yadav in October.
"We are going to contest assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh," All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi said.
The BJP lost 15 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in 2019. Union ministers have been deployed in all 15, tasked with turning the result around.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others were killed after their aircraft crashed in Baramati on January 28, 2026. Here are 11 other prominent Indians who died in air crashes.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held the core group meeting of five states on Saturday at the party headquarters in New Delhi.
The constitution of a committee by the Centre to explore the feasibility of "one nation, one election" has opened up the possibility of Lok Sabha polls being advanced so that they could be held with a string of state assembly polls.
Coincidentally, the two first-term members got seats adjacent to each other in the House.
When the Bharatiya Janata Party's Mukesh Dalal was declared elected unopposed to the Lok Sabha from Surat on Monday, he became the first candidate to achieve the feat from Gujarat since its formation 64 years ago though the erstwhile state of Saurashtra saw a similar instance in 1951.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building Sunday morning and installed the scared 'Sengol' in the Lok Sabha chamber, right next to the Speaker's chair, after performing a puja.
The BSP has not entered into any alliances and has also been keen to shed the tag of being a 'B-team' of the BJP.
As soon as Speaker Meira Kumar concluded her reference on International Women's Day, SP members began raising slogans demanding dismissal of the Uttar Pradesh government, complaining that it was showing "dictatorial tendencies".
Campaigning ended on Wednesday evening for 102 Lok Sabha seats across 21 states and Union territories which will go to polls in the first phase on April 19 with top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) making a last-gasp effort to woo voters.
The bleakness of being a Muslim in Uttar Pradesh depresses both its youth and community leaders alike, says Archis Mohan
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