These are the 25 seats to watch out for as Gujarat goes to the polls over two phases on December 1 and 5.
With time on his side, that Hardik Patel will one day occupy the top spot in Gujarat is a no-brainer. But the BJP doesn't like rabble-rousers.
The Bharatiya Janata Party was on Thursday poised for a landslide victory in Gujarat to retain power for a record seventh straight term but was behind the Congress in Himachal Pradesh which could go with the trend of alternative governments in the hill state.
'The BJP's problem is what rabbit can it pull out of the conjurer's hat?'
As counting is underway in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, we take a look at who's leading and who's trailing.
Former Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel died in Ahmedabad on Thursday after prolonged illness, family sources said. Patel (92) had recovered from Covid-19 recently and was rushed to a hospital in Ahmedabad on Thursday morning following health complications, the sources said.
Bokhiria along with former Congress MP Bharat Odedara, alleged gangster Bhima Dula Odedara, who is behind the bars in a murder case, and his son Lakshman Dula Odedara, who is chairman of Porbandar marketing yard, were sentenced to three years imprisonment and fined Rs 5,000 each.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday asked party leaders from Gujarat to focus on issues to build pressure on the Narendra Modi-led government.
Accusing Narendra Modi of misguiding people about his marital status for several years, the Gujarat unit of the Congress threatened to take legal action against him today, for providing false information in the affidavit submitted along with his nomination papers.
'People were very upset with the fake promises of the BJP in the 2012 assembly elections as well as general elections of 2014.' 'This vote is against the BJP, Narendra Modi and Anandiben Patel.' 'Modi is the prime minister but in his hometown the Congress is winning. We have has got positive votes.' As the Congress makes gains in the Gujarat civic elections, former state Congress president Arjun Modhwadia explains the reasons for the BJP' s poor show.
'Other communities are also equally frustrated, but they have not been able to put up a front so far. Now a wind of change is blowing,' says Gujarat Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia.
Voting in the first phase began with reports of multiple faulty electronic voting machines at various booths, prompting Congress leaders to request quick action from the poll body.
Congress on Monday appointed five new PCC chiefs.
The EC maintained that use of none of the above in Rajya Sabha polls was not a new move as it was introduced in 2014 after the Supreme Court in 2013 made it mandatory to have the NOTA option in EVMs.
A controversy has erupted over the reported remarks of Central Bureau of Investigation chief Ranjit Sinha that the United Progressive Allianc government would have been happy if the Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Shah was named as accused in Ishrat Jahan case chargesheet, a comment which he has denied.
"I am being targeted for a decade-old case, there is an attempt to suppress my voice. Rajasthan Police team came to arrest me. Someone told me plan was being made to kill me in an encounter," the VHP president claimed.
The prime minister also raised questions over the alleged appeal by former director general of the Pakistan Army, Sardar Arshad Rafiq, that senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel be made chief minister of Gujarat.
Late Santokben Jadeja's son Kandhal Jadeja is taking on BJP strongman Vitthal Radadiya in the Porbandar Lok Sabha constituency. NCP's Jadeja, with his family clout, will look to limit the chances of Radadaiya, the influential Leuva Patel leader, who is clearly perceived a hot favourite. Haresh Pandya reports.
The state Bharatiya Janata Party unit also came out in support of Anar accusing the Congress of trying to malign the chief minister and her daughter by levelling allegations against them.
More than 600 people, including Congress leaders and workers, were detained during the bandh call given by the party demanding the resignation of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi over Indian Police Service officer D G Vanzara's letter.
NCP MLA Kandhal Jadeja said his party has decided to support BJP candidate.
While Congress-ruled states such as Kerala, Karnataka and Assam expressed fears about the sudden demise of the planning process and wondered what it would be replaced with, also worrying about the immediate implications on annual Plan outlays, Andhra Pradesh said it was considering setting up its own NITI Aayog.