With the four-day old Congress government in Uttarakhand facing a severe crisis, embattled Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna on Friday rushed to Delhi to seek party chief Sonia Gandhi's intervention.
As people queued up across these states to cast their vote, there were some famous faces in the lines at different polling stations.
The voting will begin at 7 am and end at 5 pm after the electioneering came to an end on Saturday, 48 hours before the electorate begin casting their votes.
The BJP is beating the development drum this time more loudly to overcome many other hurdles besides anti-incumbency. While the party is claiming it is looking for a much bigger victory than in 2017, BJP observers are not too sure about it, reports Shishir Prashant.
Maharaj, who joined the BJP in 2014 soon after Harish Rawat became the chief minister of Uttarakhand, alleged that the Congress is "looking at people as Hindu and Muslim face".
Counting for assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur was held on Thursday. Here's how the big names fared.
Hours after President's rule was imposed in Uttarakhand, nine rebel Congress MLAs were disqualified from the state assembly.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna on Wednesday filed his nomination papers from Sitarganj Assembly constituency for which by-election would be held on July 8, officials said.
The Congress on Wednesday removed its former Uttarakhand unit chief Kishore Upadhyay from all positions for anti-party activities, pending further action in the matter.
The restoration work of the Kedarnath shrine, which was destroyed in last year's floods, will be done by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and chief ministers of Congress-ruled states of Rajasthan, Punjab and Chhattisgarh are among those named by the party as its star campaigners in Uttar Pradesh.
More than angry, we are pained that you are behaving like this. That the highest authority - Government of India - behaves like this. How can you think of playing with the court, asked the court.
The apex court directed that the proceedings of the floor test should be video-graphed. The President's rule, imposed on the state on March 27, was suspended for the proceedings of floor test.
The AAP, which is the only party to declare its chief ministerial candidate before the polls, is trying hard to make the contest triangular.
In the given scenario, Doiwala MLA Trivendra Singh Rawat and Pithoragarh MLA Prakash Pant emerge as the two most favourites.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra released the Congress' manifesto for Uttarakhand on Wednesday promising to reserve 40 per cent jobs for women in the police department, jobs to four lakh people, and creation of a 'tourism police' force.
"Why did Congress oppose creation of Uttarakhand as a state? Those who cannot think well of the people here, how can they govern?" Prime Minister Modi said while addressing an election rally.
The left hind leg of Shaktimaan, the horse which suffered multiple fractures after being brutally attacked by BJP MLA Ganesh Joshi, was amputated on Thursday evening.
Following backlash on social media over 'Shaktiman' being given more importance than the cops who lost their lives, the government has removed the statue of the police horse installed.
The mob attacked Vijay and the Dalit leaders apparently for visiting the temple where entrance of persons belonging to backward castes is prohibited.
In Haridwar, where he performed 'Ganga Aarti' at the famous Har Ki Pauri Ghat, Gandhi said, "We will give you a chief minister who comes to you, listens to your problems and runs the government accordingly."
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is trekking 18 kilometres up in the mountains of Uttarakhand to the Kedarnath Temple.
"We always said Tuki did not have a majority. His resignation proves BJP right as well as the actions of the governor," its national secretary Shrikant Sharma said.
'The Congress president gets into samurai mode only when there is a direct attack on her and her family.' 'Is being the president of the oldest and one of the most respected parties in India only about personal reputation and survival?' asks Sudhir Bisht.
Major Bisht's marriage had been finalised and he was to come home on February 28, sourced close to the family said.
'I had told the government that if they could not take care of Shaktiman, I would take care of him.'
Rediff Labs analyses who's been making the most buzz in the 5 poll-bound states.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday rejected the Uttarakhand government's notification withdrawing permission for it to probe a sting operation against Chief Minister Harish Rawat.
The chief minister Harish Rawat has been asked to prove his majority on April 29.
The government has also given its nod to appoint Madras high court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Orissa high court Chief Justice Vineet Saran to the SC.
"Won't you vote out a government which sullied the reputation of the abode of God," the prime minister said.
Kumar remarked that the Congress could have done the needful while the United Progressive Alliance, led by it, ruled the country for two consecutive terms.
No vehicles will be allowed to enter the assembly premises and all MLAs, including the Speaker, will have to walk down to the House from the main gate.
Amid ongoing uncertainty over the fate of Harish Rawat government which will face floor test in Uttarakhand assembly on March 28, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday claimed that at least five more MLAs from the Congress led alliance are ready to jump over to its side.
Champion's three-month suspension has now been extended for an indefinite period, Uttarakhand BJP media incharge Devendra Bhasin said in a tweet.
While the opposition alliance is putting up a united front in Ghosi constituency in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand's Dumri, Dhanpur and Boxanagar in Tripura and Uttarakhand's Bageshwar, its constituents are contesting against each other in Dhupguri in West Bengal and Puthuppally in Kerala.
'They are calling me an accused without even an inquiry.' 'The video was fabricated and doctored. Now the truth is coming out.'
In a setback to Congress in Uttarakhand, its MP from Garhwal Satpal Maharaj joined Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday, saying the country needed strong leadership.
Harish Kapadia is the only Indian to win mountaineering's most prestigious award.
With Charanjit Channi's selection as Punjab CM, the Congress has got its opponents thinking seriously about their next move, notes Sanjeev Nayyar.
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