The Election Commission has issued directions to banks across five states slated for assembly polls early next year to report names of persons withdrawing more than Rs 1 lakh in a day to the district election officer and the income tax officials associated with the election process.
The Election Commission is bracing up right from now for a hectic and crucial 2012 when it has to handle elections of the new president and vice-president of India and conduct assembly elections in five states, including the all-important Uttar Pradesh.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat reached the poll-bound state besides Union ministers J P Nadda and Thawar Chand Gehlot, and Bihar minister Mangal Pandey, who are already camping here.
'It indicates the grooming of the party's new leadership.' 'It is also a signal to the states that these ministers represent.'
The Commission, sources said, will have to decide on who commands the majority in SP before January 17 when the notification for the first phase of assembly polls is issued.
'Welcoming her with glee reflects the BJP's desperation and bankruptcy in UP.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Washington later this year and US President Donald Trump looks forward to hosting him, White House said on Tuesday.
Criticising the governor for giving the Shiv Sena just 24 hours to stake claim and refusing it additional time to muster numbers, an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana' said, "It looked like some invisible power was controlling this game and decisions were taken accordingly."
'If the BJP doesn't want to accept the will of the people, then we will show them what a majority means.'
The Congress is finding it tough to accommodate defeated senior leaders in the Rajya Sabha as it does not have the numerical strength in various assemblies to win the seats.
Shah claimed that BJP was sensitive to the problems being faced by people queuing up outside the banks and ATMs but said they must realise that the step had hurt 'those sleeping over hoards of black money three thousand times more than the people on the streets'.
"Am overjoyed that BJP has received unprecedented support from all sections of society. Huge support from the youth is gladdening," Modi said while commenting on the poll results in a series of tweets.
Responses quickly poured in from all quarters of the Opposition hailing the Supreme Court verdict on Arunachal Pradesh.
Hours after President's rule was imposed in Uttarakhand, nine rebel Congress MLAs were disqualified from the state assembly.
'I had told the government that if they could not take care of Shaktiman, I would take care of him.'
Thousands of farmers have reached the national capital on their tractor-trolleys and other vehicles, responding to the 'Delhi Chalo' call against the agri-marketing laws enacted at the Centre in September. On Saturday morning, it wasn't clear if they will agree to move to the Burari ground on the outskirts of the city, where police said they can continue with their protest. Many protesters were demanding a better venue in the centre of Delhi. Originally, the protest was meant to be on November 26 and 27.
After Arunachal Pradesh slipped out of its control and Uttarakhand was placed under President's rule, the Congress president took matters into her own hands.
Coupled with his administrative and organisational skills and experience, his loyalty to the party and RSS ideology seemed to have won the day for him.
The assembly election results on Tuesday sprang up several surprises in traditional party pocket-boroughs while little-known candidates registered windfalls in many others.
The Bharatiya Janata Party President said that it is difficult to make a guess who will win in Punjab.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday directed all party Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly to donate their one month salary for relief work in the flood-ravaged Uttarakhand as the magnitude of the flash flood tragedy continued to unfold, taking the death toll in the rain fury to 190.
Under the bill, cow slaughter will be an offence punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may be extended up to 10 year.
Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram is Congress nominee from Maharashtra for the biennial elections to Rajya Sabha while senior leaders Kapil Sibal and Jairam Ramesh have been named from Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka respectively.
Many in the BJP believe that postponing the UP elections even by a month will allow the negative perception against demonetisation to dissipate.
Sources in the security establishment said the force is also set to get sanctions from the Union Home ministry to raise at least nine fresh battalions soon. They said in order to bolster troop numbers along the 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, as many as 60 companies have been ordered to move towards the front in various areas like Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
The Congress vice president has eyes on the larger objective of his partnership with Akhilesh, which may provide the template against the BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The protesters, including AAP MLAs and newly appointed Delhi convener Gopal Rai, alleged that the manipulation of electronic voting machines was killing democracy.
