As the old Parliament building hosted a session one last time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday bid a poignant farewell recalling the country's first PM Jawaharlal Nehru's iconic 'tryst with destiny' speech for continuing to inspire everyone and another predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee's 'governments may come and go' remark.
Political parties were bracing for the assembly election results on Thursday in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and politically volatile Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, sending out feelers for possible post-poll tie-ups.
Announcing the election schedule with a strong focus on digital and virtual modes of campaigning, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said the ban on rallies, roadshows, nukkad sabhas, padayatras and vehicle rallies will be reviewed on January 15.
Incumbents Pushkar Singh Dhami and Pramod Sawant are the clear favourites but face some opposition
A revamp of the All Indian Congress Committee is also on the cards.
Several loyal party old guards were unhappy and had expressed their displeasure openly about "migrants" scuttling the chances of them becoming ministers.
The relaxation will be subject to existing instructions of state disaster management authorities and preventive measures imposed by concerned district authorities, it added.
The Supreme Court Wednesday agreed to consider listing a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the Constitutional validity of a provision of the Representation of People Act which had led to the introduction of electronic voting machines (EVMs) instead of ballot papers for polls in the country.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday promised to introduce a free pilgrimage scheme for the people of different communities in Uttarakhand if the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in the state.
The BJP finalised its candidates for 172 assembly seats in UP and is likely to field both Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya who are currently MLCs.
Maurya made the revelation while favouring the expeditious implementation of the UCC both in the country and the state.
Wordsmiths and artists of different parties are working overtime to deliver punches and counter punches in their bid to reach out to voters through different platforms ranging from Facebook to YouTube.
The Election Commission on Saturday cautioned political parties over hate speeches and said it is closely monitoring social media posts to ensure clean assembly polls in five states.
Elections will be held on June 10 to fill 57 Rajya Sabha seats from 15 states falling vacant due to the retirement of members on different dates between June and August, the Election Commission said on Thursday.
With discussions on the UCC taking centrestage, he said the BJP government in the state will move towards implementing one law for all, "only after talking to all the parties".
The decision was taken to ensure the betterment of the state and the party in the days to come, senior leader Ratan Lal Nath told reporters shortly after Saha, the state BJP president, took oath as the new chief minister.
Gearing up for the upcoming state assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Partyon Wednesday named its organisational spearheads for the elections, putting Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Pralhad Joshi, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Bhupender Yadav in charge for the contest in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Manipur respectively.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said elections keep happening but Parliament's Budget session is very important and urged all MPs to make it fruitful.
Kejriwal asked whether the BJP-led central government was waiting for the Lok Sabha elections to make a move in this direction.
Congress leaders accused the government of "murdering democracy" after police stopped them from reaching the Red Fort to start their 'Loktantra Bachao Mashal Shanti March' at 7 pm.
'We get the opportunity for new recruitment and the chance to introspect.'
Despite the ongoing rift in the Punjab Congress, party leader Harish Rawat on Tuesday said that all is well in the state and expressed confidence in its victory in the forthcoming assembly polls.
This is the first time that the House is meeting after the BJP's overwhelming victory in the recent series of assembly elections held in February-March.
The monk-turned politician will take the reins of the most populous state for a second time in a row after completing his full five-year term.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday appointed Chandra as 24th CEC on Monday.
A handsome victory for the BJP in UP would act as confirmation of its recent political choices. The UP chief minister would be cemented in the popular mind as Mr Modi's chosen heir within the Hindutva fold, and presumably as his successor in New Delhi, observes Mihir S Sharma.
'Now they're talking about changing the Constitution; they feel they have no reason now to hide their intentions.'
A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana agreed to hear next week the EC's plea after senior advocate Vikas Singh submitted a large number of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail machines (VVPATs) are still being preserved and need to be released.
Kejriwal said his government has done a number of good works like providing free electricity and water, and asked Delhiites to urge voters in poll-bound Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Goa and Uttarakhand to give a chance to the AAP.
The Congress continues to decline and BJP's regional rivals are making their presence felt, even in Uttar Pradesh where Samajwadi Party consolidated anti-BJP votes to a large extent.
BJP president J P Nadda on Sunday promised Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and 33 per cent reservation for women in government jobs in Himachal Pradesh while releasing the party's manifesto for the state assembly polls.
Addressing a gathering after the 'bhoomi pujan' of a bottling plant here, Adityanath said people are seeing that those who showed little respect for law and order earlier were now running for their lives.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra did remarkable and energetic campaigning for the party, and "from my point of view, I don't think that the Congress per se can be faulted because on the grounds of one person's campaigning", Tharoor said.
"There are clearly two sides. On one side, there is an organisation of patriots in the form of BJP and on the other side, tukde-tukde gang have come together under the leadership of the Congress. It is for the people of Karnataka to decide now whether they are with the patriots or those who support people who want to divide this country," he added.
Days after assessing the COVID-19 situation in the five poll-bound states, the Election Commission has asked them to step up the inoculation drive against the viral disease and ensure that the personnel to be deployed on election duty are 'double vaccinated.'
Chidambaram also stressed that there were lessons to be learnt by the Congress from the Gujarat loss, saying there is no such thing as a "silent" campaign in a hard-fought election.
Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding.
It also assured that the amount of medical insurance coverage under the Ayushman Bharat scheme would be doubled from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
In his letters sent to the DMs of Aligarh and Haridwar, Ali has said a public event styled as a 'Dharam Sansad' was held in Haridwar and Delhi from December 17-19 last year where such speeches were made.
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