Special police observer Ajay Pal Sharma toured West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district during the second phase of Assembly elections, facing political controversy and allegations of intimidation from TMC leaders.
The Congress president during his year at the helm of the party has repaired the citadel for far more challenging years ahead, and played a crucial role in shaping the Opposition alliance.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticized the BJP for claiming to protect the Constitution while citing V D Savarkar's remarks that there was nothing Indian about it. He also drew parallels to the story of 'Eklavya' to illustrate the BJP's alleged economic policies hurting small businesses and farmers. He further supported the removal of the 50 percent cap on reservations and advocated for a caste census.
In view of the Congress-led coalition getting a simple majority with the help of its pre-poll allies, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister could not play kingmaker at the Centre.
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.
According to BJP insiders, every Union minister has been given 3-4 seats to mentor and has been told to work hard on these constituencies in the next 20 months to ensure the party's victory.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday slammed the Congress and DMK over the defeat of the amendment bill regarding the Women's Reservation Act in Parliament but said the government was determined to implement it and that "no power in the world can stop us," from doing so.
The new Lok Sabha will have 300 MPs who have been elected for the first time to the Lower House.
The outgoing Lok Sabha had 23 Muslim MPs, the most being from Congress and TMC. The highest number of Muslim MPs were in 1980 when as many as 49 MPs from the community which constitute nearly fifth of Indian population present in the Lok Sabha.
Rahul Gandhi was defeated by BJP's Smriti Irani in 2019 elections.
In UP and Bengal, it is willing to sacrifice its interests to stop the BJP and would work towards ensuring the BJP did not win incremental seats in Odisha and Telangana.
The two parties named the seats distributed among them in a statement signed by SP president Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati.
That would be three more seats than what the BJP won in 2014.
Aiming at a repeat of its success in the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in which it secured a majority on its own, the Bahujan Samaj Party has now started preparations for the Lok Sabha polls.
Advani said he had spoken to Chief Minister Mayawati and she had written a letter to him explaining her stand.
Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati today said the Lok Sabha elections could be preponed as the country is heading towards "political instability" due to corruption, inflation and unemployment.
West Bengal's final phase of assembly elections focuses on the TMC's southern stronghold, where the BJP aims to make inroads. The outcome will determine whether Mamata Banerjee's party retains its dominance or if the BJP can secure a path to power.
Gandhi is the outgoing Union Minister for Women and Child Development.
Speaker Manohar Joshi has decided to call an all-party meeting to discuss how to ensure smooth functioning of the House.
The Act deals with automatic disqualification of MPs and state legislators upon being convicted and sentenced for two years or more in a criminal case.
Dimple Yadav, wife of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, will contest the Kannauj Lok Sabha by-election as a Samajwadi Party candidate. "As per the wish of the party workers, the central parliamentary board of the party has decided that Dimple Yadav will contest the by-election for Kannauj seat," SP national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav told reporters. Akhilesh Yadav had contested from the Firozabad and Kannauj seat in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
'This campaign reeks of communalism, which is why it is being opposed.'
Singh, who is the first Mumbai commissioner of police to quit, said he put in his papers to do something big for the nation. He, however, declined to reveal his plans.
'If the Opposition associates itself too much with the minorities, then it becomes easy for the BJP to get Hindu consolidation votes.'
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.
What lessons opposition parties need to learn post defeat of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal elections? The election saw spectacular victor of BJP which rose from 3 seats in 2016 to 206 seats in 2026 assembly elections.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh highlights India's transformation in sports, moving beyond cricket and hockey to achieve global recognition, driven by government investment and initiatives like the Khelo India programme.
BJP strategists know it may not repeat its 2014 performance in its traditionally strong bases in the north and the west. This is where the success in the north east and east is so important.
If the Aam Admi Party has gained popularity in Delhi, its symbol -- the broom (jhadoo) -- has become a bone of contention in Uttar Pradesh, where a regional party has staked claim to it.
Elections will also be held in 35 assembly constituencies in Odisha.
CPI-M leader Basudeb Acharya says the two parties are in talks but no decision has been arrived at yet.
Polling will be held in all 13 seats in Punjab and an equal number of seats in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight seats each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat Chandigarh.
The recent Bharatiya Janata Party state in-charge appointments have sparked certain speculation over the party's strategy in the upcoming general elections, notes Renu Mittal.
Pitching for her son and Sultanpur member of Parliament, Union Minister Maneka Gandhi has said that Uttar Pradesh would have benefited had there been a Bharatiya Janata Party led government in the state with Varun Gandhi as its chief minister.
Even if the BJP gets 60, 70, or even 100 per cent of the votes in the seats where it scored more than 50 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, these will still add up to only 224 seats, argues Shekhar Gupta.
The Shiv Sena also demanded that those who allowed the concert to take place should be booked for anti-national activities.
Ruling alliance members heartily cheered Yadav with chants of 'Jai Shri Ram'.
Bhim denotes Dalit icon Bhimrao Ambedkar, while Mim denotes the letter 'M' in the Urdu alphabet; the party used the slogan effectively in the 2014 Maharashtra assembly elections
RJD president Lalu Prasad's daughter Rohini Acharya criticised her family members for allegedly destroying a legacy, hinting at internal conflicts within the party.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again led the BJP's campaign holding several rallies and stepping up his attack on Opposition parties, particularly the Congress.
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