After seeking public opinion, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal will stay in the holy city to understand local issues, says Somesh Jha
'Modi is trying avenues to convince people why they should vote for the BJP.'
Smriti Irani will reprise her electoral battle with Rahul Gandhi from Amethi.
He also received the country's first container cargo transported on inland waterways from Kolkata.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has decided to cut short his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Uttar Pradesh by skipping western part of the state and saving five days, a party leader said on Monday while citing board exams.
The 67-year-old gave the example of two neighbouring states, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, to buttress his point on why seat-sharing pattern of the INDIA bloc will vary from state to state.
Rangeela's presence in the fray could have been trifle uncomfortable for Modi. He may not have posed an electoral challenge to the prime minister, but Rangeela's public meetings could have seen people flocking, if only to hear him mimic Modi. In a completely Modi-centric election, the presence of a 'rival' -- if only for a smattering of audience at his meetings -- would not have been particularly appreciated by Modi, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
A strategist and a quintessential political leader with grassroots connect, Rajnath Singh is credited with expanding the Bharatiya Janata Party's organisational network in the Hindi heartland state of Uttar Pradesh in the 1990s and the subsequent decades.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) directed the removal of West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar and mandated the appointment of Vivek Sahay, once suspended by the poll panel, as the new state police chief, with the TMC accusing the BJP of controlling the constitutional body.
A local court in Ajmer has issued notices to the dargah committee, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the Archaeological Survey of India on a plea seeking to declare the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti a temple. The petition, filed in September, has sparked a heated debate, with politicians and community leaders weighing in on the potentially volatile issue. The dargah committee has declined to comment, but the Anjuman Syed Zadgan, a body representing the caretakers of the dargah, described the petition as a deliberate attempt to fracture society along communal lines. The petition comes just days after four people were killed in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, following a local court ordering survey of a Mughal-era shrine. The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which fixed August 15, 1947, as the cut-off date for status quo on the character of religious places, is at the centre of much of the debate. Several politicians, including Union minister Giriraj Singh and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, have weighed in on the issue. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has called the civil court's decision to entertain the petition unwarranted and has asked the Supreme Court to immediately intervene.
An LED screen has been erected at Prahlad Ghat.
'Rahul Gandhi is going to turn 54 and in India political leaders peak when they are around 60.' 'This 'bhai-behen ki jodi' has done a wonderful job for the Congress.' 'Priyanka Gandhi was a very effective campaigner.'
Is Modi trampling upon senior BJP colleagues while taking decisions? How come Team Modi underestimated the political action-reaction when they were upsetting and uprooting the BJP's founding fathers L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi in the ticket distribution process?
The film courted controversy when its trailer got leaked on the internet.
Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Sri Lanka, made the announcement of the beginning of the flights during his address at the inauguration of the International Vesak Day, the biggest festival of Buddhists.
A delegation of Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala, Abhishek Singhvi and Syed Naseer Hussain met the Election Commission and handed over a memorandum with complaints of alleged model code violations by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Murli Manohar Joshi makes a rare public appearance.
Abe, who is on a three-day day visit to India from Friday, along with Modi will attend the 'Ganga Arti', a beautifully choreographed ritual worship of the holy river performed daily at the fabled Dashashwamedh Ghat.
While Congress leader Sam Pitroda says it was Priyanka's own decision, party spokesperson Rajiv Shukla says it was Rahul's call.
"Our only solace is that Modi will win Varanasi, but there will be a by-election here. Modi will not be able to cobble 272 seats to become prime minister so he will remain the chief minister of Gujarat. He will resign from Varanasi and then we will ensure Kerjiwal's handsome win." Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt reports on how Varanasi's 300,000 Muslim voters are strategising their vote.
The Bharatiya Janata Party suffered stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states, partial poll results showed Tuesday, forcing the party to rely on allies to form the government after a bitter and divisive election that was projected as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity.
Opposition MPs in the parliamentary committee scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill are scheduled to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday to protest its chairperson Jagdambika Pal's alleged 'unilateral' decisions and attempts to 'bulldoze' proceedings, indicating that they may disassociate themselves from the panel.
The Congress will begin the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from the violence-hit Manipur on Sunday, in what is being seen as the party's bid to set the narrative in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls and put the spotlight on issues such as unemployment, price rise and social justice.
To mark the Good Governance Day celebrations on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi where he will attend a number of programmes on the occasion of the birthday of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
'Episodes of targeted attacks on Muslims established that for a section of people and, sadly, even officials of the State, the election results conveyed no lessons.' 'Opposition parties must not be hesitant in speaking out whenever the mob with tacit State support targets Muslims,' asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
From music to politics. The family of late shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan has been dragged into the political battleground after Bismillah's grandson was approached to become a proposer for Bharatiya Janata Party nominee Narendra Modi when he files his nomination for the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat on April 24.
Tej Bahadur through his plea sought direction to allow him to contest the Lok Sabha election from the Varanasi seat.
'I have serious doubts about the longevity of the NDA government and the longevity of the 18th Lok Sabha itself.'
The Congress on Thursday renamed the Rahul Gandhi-led Manipur-Mumbai yatra starting on January 14 as the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which will travel through 100 Lok Sabha segments in 15 states including Arunachal Pradesh, and asserted it will prove to be as 'transformative' as his earlier cross-country march.
The party has fielded Parvati Das for the by-election to the Bageshwar assembly seat in Uttarakhand and Lijinlal G for the Puthuppally assembly seat in Kerala.
In a show strength, he was joined by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders.
According to the party sources, the preparations are in full swing and seasoned BJP workers are being deployed on more than 50 seats.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday asserted that Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, will not be restored even if Congress stalwart and late PM Indira Gandhi comes down from heaven.
Congress's UP chief ministerial candidate Sheila Dikshit and Ghulam Babi Azad will also be present in the roadshow.
I think Sharad Pawar invited Ajit Pawar for the INDIA bloc meeting, Raut said.
As Uttar Pradesh gears up for assembly elections early next year, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will address a public rally on October 10 in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a party spokesperson said.
The nomination process began in Varanasi for the most keenly watched Lok Sabha elections, with Congress candidate Ajay Rai, who is pitted against BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal, filing his papers after offering liquor to Lord Kaal Bhairav as per local tradition.
Both of them had contested the Lok Sabha polls from the constituency where PM Modi emerged as the winner.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit his Parliamentary constituency Varanasi on September 18, a trip that he has been forced to cancel thrice earlier.
Do we have enough trained oncologists and medical professionals in India to man these over 4,500 beds in the public sector?
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