Other prominent candidates among the 904 in the fray are Union minister Anurag Thakur, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti.
the SAD president said that the Prakash Singh Badal government had failed to control the law and order situation in the state, arising out of the Dera Sacha Sauda controversy.
Atwal's protest came midway through the function in the historic Central Hall of Parliament, addressed by the President, the vice president, the prime minister and the Lok Sabha speaker.
Demanding an enquiry into the whole incident, Badal demanded exemplary punishment for the guilty.
Here are how the numbers are stack up in the lower house if the no-confidence motion takes place.
In India, under the anti-defection law, a three-line whip can be violated only by more than one-third of a party's strength in the legislature
"They should go wherever they want," Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United chief Nitish Kumar said on Thursday when asked of Prashant Kishor and Pavan Verma's repeated questions about the party's stand's on the newly enacted Citizenship Act.
high level delegation led by Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal will visit Mumbai on Tuesday to meet the members of the family of Balkar Singh, who was killed in the incident of firing allegedly by private security guards of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh.
Repeated requests by Deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal failed to restore normalcy forcing him to adjourn the House.
Several candidates, including Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the BJP's Amritsar candidate, are promising resumption of India-Pakistan trade via the Attari-Wagah land route.
"The SAD and BJP are united and there are no differences between us whatsoever and as far as the appointment of deputy chief ministership we would sort out the matter in a mutual consultations and not through the media," he said.
Sukhbir declared that there will be no political vendetta against the former chief minister and his colleagues, but if complaints are received they will certainly be looked into.
Rajnath Singh, president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, has predicted two third majority for the Shiromani Akali Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party alliance in the Assembly polls in Punjab for which the voting will conclude at 5 pm on Tuesday.
DSGMC chief Paramjit Singh Sarna, who defeated SAD for a second time in committee elections last month, also demanded in a statement that the SGPC, the top Sikh religious administration controlled by Badal's SAD, take action against Sidhu.
On sensitive matters, the manifesto said a relentless struggle would be waged to secure justice for the state on issues like river water and transfer of Chandigarh and other Punjabi-speaking areas to Punjab.
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday suspended the Question Hour and took up for discussion an Opposition-sponsored adjounment motion on the Nanavati Commission report.
Besides campaigning for SAD-BJP candidates in Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency, Khanna will campaign extensively for his party colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is contesting the Amritsar parliamentary by-election
After spending two nights in jail, cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, convicted and sentenced for three years imprisonment in a road rage case, was released on Saturday on bail granted by the Supreme Court.
About 50 officers arrived at Parkash Singh Badal's residence in Chandigarh and began investigations.
Ace Indian athlete Manjeet Kaur's preparations for the Beijing Olympics received a major boost when a New Delhi-based real estate group handed her Rs 34 lakh to train under an American coach in California. The cheque was presented to the 400 metres runner, a Punjab Police Inspector, by Rohtas Goyal, chairman of the Omaxe Group, in the presence Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal and state DGP N P S Aulakh.
Another issue on the party's agenda is the expansion of the ruling NDA, which has seen steady depletion in the recent years with traditional BJP allies like the Janata Dal-United and Akali Dal leaving the grouping.
Barnala, who is currently out on bail, was present in the Court. The SAD MLA from Dhuri was arrested on August 12 after his maid charged him with raping her.
Amid some Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) constituents switching sides to the National Democratic Alliance, Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Sunday said the opposition alliance is 'strong' and the Bharatiya Janata Party is attempting a 'frantic rejig' of the political landscape as it is worried over the collective strength of the coalition.
The Shiromani Akali Dal is protesting against booth capturing by Congress workers during the Ajnala bypoll.
Punjab Director General of Police N P S Aulakh has been appointed as the new chief of the elite National Security Guards and will assume charge on March 1. Aulakh, a 1972-batch officer of the Indian Police Service, will replace J K Dutta who is retiring on Saturday, official sources said on Friday. He was appointed the Punjab DGP in March 2007 after the formation of Shiromani Akali Dal Bharatiya Janata Party combine government in the state. Aulakh is to retire in August 2010
A fresh probe is likely with a government-appointed committee recommending constitution of a SIT
The Aam Aadmi Party has sought the setting aside of Tuesday's election, alleging tampering of ballot papers, and fresh elections under the supervision of a retired high court judge.
Close on the heels of developments in Karnataka, an uneasy relationship prevails in Punjab where the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal and its ally Bharatiya Janata Party appear to be in sombre mood over certain contentious issues, including the recent proposed hike in power tariff by the state government.
The NCERT has dropped references to the demand for a separate Sikh nation of Khalistan from the class 12 political science textbook following objections from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), according to top education ministry officials.
The anti-drugs agency had issued the notice to Johar over a viral video allegedly showing drugs being consumed at a party hosted at his residence, the official said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a number of prominent Sikhs at his residence on Friday and highlighted the works done by his government for the community.
"If the government is convinced that he is innocent and that he has been a victim of mistaken identity, it should move ahead to save him," BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said.
They try to hide behind the smokescreen that these are works of fiction inspired by real events. So, you can pick and choose from facts and fictionalise to push the right triggers with your audience or appease the powers that be, observes Shekhar Gupta.
The matter was raised by Dr Rattan Singh, member of Lok Sabha from Tarn Taran and Saranjit Singh Dhillon, who alleged that the Congress party was behind engineering violence against the Akalis.
In a view that may not go well with Bharatiya Janata Party's ally Akali Dal, the Sangh says it sees a 'problem' if minorities assume a 'political' character.
Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat led the people in paying tributes to Tohra whose pyre was lit by his son-in-law Harmail Singh Tohra.
The death came at 0041 IST after he suffered a heart attack at 0030 IST at the Escorts Heart Institute in Delhi.
Makkar is a close confidant of SAD chief Prakash Singh Badal.
Sangrur Senior Superintendent of Police G S Dhillon said the SAD (A) leader was arrested under sections 107/151 (apprehension of breach of peace) of the Indian Penal Code.