The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) faces a significant setback with the departure of seven MPs, including prominent figures, impacting its parliamentary strength and preparedness for upcoming elections. This exodus follows a turbulent period marked by the arrests of key leaders and raises questions about the party's future.
Rajya Sabha elections in Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana were marred by allegations of cross-voting and 'horse trading', leading to suspensions and warnings from the Congress party.
Congress MP Manish Tewari has introduced a bill in Lok Sabha that seeks to allow parliamentarians to take an independent line in voting on bills and motions other than those affecting the government's stability in a bid to free them from "whip-driven tyranny" and promote "good lawmaking".
Veteran politician and former railway minister Mukul Roy, a key figure in West Bengal politics, has died due to cardiac arrest, marking the end of a significant era.
Congress MP Kuldeep Bishnoi, son of former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal, and rebel Samajwadi Party MP Jaiprakash Rawat have been disqualified from the Lok Sabha under the anti-defection law.
Giving relief to expelled Samajwadi Party MPs Amar Singh and Jaya Prada, the Supreme Court directed that no action shall be taken against them under the Anti-Defection Law in the event of their defying a party whip.
The disqualified MLAs are Rajinder Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhutoo, Ravi Thakur and Chetanya Sharma.
A notification in this regard was issued on Thursday evening which further said that these six MLAs ceased to be members of Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly with effect from February 29.
Lalduhoma's political journey has been all about battling against odds.
Three of these MLAs are from Chhindwara, while another three from the region are set to leave for Delhi, sources close to the veteran leader said.
These Congress rebels, who had voted in favour of the BJP nominee in the Rajya Sabha polls, later abstained from voting on the Budget, defying a party whip.
'At the moment the anti-defection law works only in favour of Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena, the original Shiv Sena.' 'The Eknath Shinde camp is at a disadvantage unless they merge with another political party.' 'Otherwise, they will not be saved (from being disqualified).'
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has referred petitions submitted by the Trinamool Congress and the YSR Congress under the anti-defection law against their respective leaders Sisir Adhikari and K Raghu Rama Krishna Raju to the privileges committee.
Fissures surfaced among Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners ahead of the Jharkhand assembly elections as the Rashtriya Janata Dal on Saturday expressed disappointment over the announcement of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Congress contesting 70 of 81 seats in the state.
The Act deals with automatic disqualification of MPs and state legislators upon being convicted and sentenced for two years or more in a criminal case.
Notably, when asked by reporters if he would take legal recourse after Ajit Pawar took oath as deputy chief minister on Sunday, Sharad Pawar had said he would not get into all this but will go among people.
The Congress has 40 MLAs while the BJP has 25 in the 68-member state assembly. The remaining three seats are held by independents.
The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition challenging the appointment of Nitish Kumar as chief minister of Bihar after his party forged a new alliance in August, saying post-poll alignments subject to certain conditions is permissible under the anti-defection law.
'If you do not attend the meeting, it would be presumed that you have a clear intention of leaving the party'
The political crisis arose in Himachal Pradesh during the recently held polling for the Rajya Sabha elections as nine MLAs, including six Congress rebels and three independents, voted in favour of BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan.
Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Krishna Kumar Singh, who had joined the Samajwadi Party, was on Monday disqualified from the Uttar Pradesh assembly by the Speaker, the fourth party MLA to face action under the anti-defection law.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Thackeray faction, told the bench there is no constitutional protection for disqualification under the 10th schedule.
The deadline set by the Supreme Court for delivering the verdict was December 31, 2023, but some days before that, on December 15, the apex court gave a 10-day extension and set January 10 as the new date for a decision.
'Switching loyalty from one party to another is completely unfair as it devalues my vote.'
Himachal is first state in the country to pass such a bill under which "A person shall not be entitled for pension under the Act, if he has been disqualified at any point of time under the tenth schedule of the Constitution".
As per an NCP statement, Patel assured Odio he would support him in his efforts to strengthen the 24-year-old party.
The Congress has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of making efforts to topple the Gehlot government by indulging in horse-trading.
Senior Congress leader and Maharashtra assembly poll candidate Balasaheb Thorat has asserted that the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will win a clear majority and also indicated his chief ministerial aspirations. Thorat, who is among the senior leaders in the MVA after NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar, said he enjoys cordial relations with leaders of the alliance. He also criticized the ruling Mahayuti coalition, accusing it of corruption and communal politics.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Himachal Pradesh assembly speaker's order disqualifying the six Congress rebels who had cross-voted in the recent Rajya Sabha polls in the state.
'Our discussions are more towards how to claim our right to use the Shiv Sena party symbol without attracting the anti-defection law.'
The Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena on Monday moved the Supreme Court challenging Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar's order declaring the Sena bloc led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the 'real political party' after its split in June 2022.
Adhikari had demanded Roy's resignation under the anti-defection law, pointing out that the latter joined the TMC despite winning the assembly polls from the Krishnanagar Uttar assembly constituency on a BJP ticket.
The following are the highlights of the Supreme Court verdict in which a five-judge Constitution bench unanimously held on Thursday that it cannot restore the then Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Uddhav Thackeray as the former chief minister resigned without facing a floor test in June last year.
Thackeray said since the SC directed Narwekar in May last year to take a decision on the pleas seeking disqualification of rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, the speaker has met the chief minister twice.
NCP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto also claimed that the party working president Supriya Sule and state unit chief Jayant Patil are contacting all the 53 MLAs and the picture will become clearer by Monday.
In a big political win for Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Wednesday held that the Shiv Sena faction led by him was the "real political party" when rival groups emerged in June 2022, and did not disqualify any MLA from the two camps, a verdict that adds another chapter in the Sena legacy war.
The speaker said he would take a decision on the remaining 14 cases in a "couple of days."
Shiv Sena rebel Eknath Shinde, camping in Guwahati, has claimed that he has the support of 34 MLAs of his party and passed a resolution on Wednesday evening reinstating himself as the leader of the Shiv Sena legislative party, a day after he was removed from the post by the Sena leadership.
Four Janata Dal-United legislators were disqualified on Saturday from the Bihar assembly under the anti-defection law for anti-party activities, including cross voting in Rajya Sabha election.
The Supreme Court on Monday sought the responses of Ajit Pawar and his 40 MLAs on a plea moved by the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party challenging Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar's decision declaring the group led by the deputy chief minister as the real NCP.
