This would give BJP the chance to explore Constitutional options for government formation if there is no clear-cut mandate, explains Sheela Bhatt.
While the results of the bypolls will not directly impact the composition of the 403-member state Assembly, the contest is being seen as a prestige fight between the BJP and opposition parties.
Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi was on Thursday granted bail in connection with a 2005 case against him for allegedly obstructing the then Medak district collector and other officials from discharging their duties.
Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi was Monday remanded to judicial custody till February 2 by a court in Andhra Pradesh.
The counting of votes for the bypolls to 46 assembly seats in 13 states and in the Lok Sabha segments of Nanded in Maharashtra and Wayanad in Kerala, a crucial electoral exercise since the parliamentary polls in April-May, will begin at 8 am on Saturday.
The Pal-led committee is currently on a tour of five states to speak to various stakeholders though opposition members have boycotted it.
The Supreme Court has sought details from the Allahabad High Court regarding controversial statements made by Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav at a VHP function. The development comes amid calls for action against the judge for his remarks, which have been labeled as hate speech by some. The judge's statements were made at a VHP function on December 8, where he spoke about the Uniform Civil Code and the law working according to the majority. Several individuals and organizations, including lawyer Prashant Bhushan and CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, have called for an inquiry into the judge's conduct and for his removal from judicial duties.
In doing so, it further cemented the community's determination to support the opposition. But at the same time, it consolidated its Hindu vote bank like never before.
Some have been cherry-picked to assert the BJP's supremacy over its allies or, significantly, its leaders who charted an independent course in the recent past.
They stated that when a soldier fights for the nation, he does so not as a Hindu, Muslim, or any other religion, but as a patriot.
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.
Rana's blistering attack came in response to AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi's controversial speech in 2013 that it would take them only '15 minutes' to balance the 'Hindu- Muslim ratio' in the country if the police were removed.
>Sania Mirza celebrated Eid with her family -- parents Imran and Nasima, son Izhan, sister Anam, brother-in-law Mohammad Asaduddin (cricket legend Mohammad Azharuddin's son), niece Dua -- and the tennis star looked gorgeous as always
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 ongoing controversy over religious conversion was fuelled by Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday.
A local court on Wednesday dismissed the bail plea of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief and Hyderabad Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi for the second time in two days in connection with a 2005 case against him.
The Delhi Police has stepped up security outside Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's residence following an intelligence input of disturbance by right wing groups, sources said on Wednesday.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is expected to name the committee's chairperson soon.
A meeting of the joint committee of Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Friday witnessed fireworks with members vociferously opposing certain provisions of the draft legislation, leading to a brief walkout by opposition members.
"Is the current government a government for a particular community? Is it a government only for Hindutva?" Owaisi said.
Breaking his silence for the first time since his release on bail from Sangareddy Jail, MIM President and Hyderabad Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday said that he had no prior information of a non-bailable warrant pending against him in connection with the Muttangi mosque case of 2005.
Narsinghanand has several cases against him, including for allegedly making a hate speech at a conclave in Haridwar in December 2021, and was out on bail.
As controversy raged over Yati Narsinghanand's objectionable remarks against Prophet Muhammad, his supporters on Sunday alleged that the Dasna temple head priest is being illegally kept in detention by police, which denied the claim.
A total of 78 Muslims were in the fray in the Lok Sabha elections this year, a significant drop from the last polls when 115 Muslim candidates were fielded by various parties.
The respective Dussehra rallies of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray were once again about whose version of Hindutva is genuine and who is the true inheritor of party patriarch Bala Thackeray's legacy.
A united opposition is set to corner the NDA government on issues ranging from the NEET paper leak case to railway safety.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government has changed the telecom policy after receiving electoral bonds worth Rs 150 crore from a company, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi claimed on Thursday.
A first information report (FIR) was filed in Ghaziabad on Monday against Alt-News co-founder Mohammad Zubair for allegedly promoting enmity among religious groups and other offences following a complaint by an aide of controversial priest Yati Narsinghanand, according to police.
'We celebrated our little Dua's birthday yesterday... the sweetest and the smiliest baby who lights up our home with laughter and pure love.'
Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi, who was remanded to judicial custody in connection with an assault case, was granted bail on Thursday. The Sanga Reddy court, which heard his plea, granted him bail on the condition that he cooperate with the investigation.
The Bill to amend the Wakf Act, 1995, will make it mandatory for Waqf boards to register their properties with district collectors to ensure their actual valuation.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal for 'one nation, one Election' as recommended by the Kovind panel, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera called the order "state-sponsored bigotry".
In the video, Latha was seen asking the women voters at a polling booth to lift the burqa and show their face so that she could verify the identity.
According to Jaishankar, the problem is that the Russian authorities maintain that these Indian nationals entered into contracts for services with the Russian army.
An Uttar Pradesh government spokesperson said a formal order for all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route in the state was likely to be issued soon.
The panel may recommend amending at last five articles of the Constitution to enable holding of simultaneous polls in the country.
India on Friday said it was in touch with Moscow for early 'discharge' of Indians working as support staff to Russian Army and urged its nationals to stay away from the conflict zone in Ukraine.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said his party would oppose the Centre's move to bring a bill in Parliament to amend the 1995 law governing Waqf boards, and accused the BJP of trying to snatch the rights of Muslims.
'They have not mentioned the word minorities. They say scholarships will be given to marginalised communities'
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