But will this move of BJD supremo and chief minister Naveen Patnaik help him to return to power for the third consecutive term? Or will his decision to sever 11 year old ties with BJP, which saw him at the head of a coalition government for last nine years, prove to be costly? This is the question that every voter in the state is asking.
The Congress-led government was caught napping over the Left Front's opposition to the India-United States nuclear agreement, feels B J Panda, a member of the Rajya Sabha.
A day after snapping ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party at the state level, the Biju Janata Dal on Monday sent mixed signals on its strategy for the Lok Sabha polls, saying it is 'still part of the National Democratic Alliance'. "The BJD is misleading all by saying it is part of the NDA. How can a party be a member of the NDA while forging pre-poll alliance with the Left parties and the Nationalist Congress Party," asked BJP's youth wing leader Dharmendra Pradhan.
The Third Front will be a major force in the next Lok Sabha polls, says Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Niloptal Basu.
Some of the Congress's new-found enthusiasm for hitting the streets will show its result in the Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnataka elections. That is when we will know if the Congress will go to the regional parties or the parties will come to the Congress.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's bypoll win in four of the six seats it contested has invigorated the party ahead of assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
Naveen Patnaik's guest list has been prepared with an eye on the forthcoming Lok Sabha and assembly polls, reports Archis Mohan.
"I know the concerns of security. I don't need the permission of SPG or SP to meet people," Gandhi told media persons shortly after the matter was raised in the Lok Sabha by Biju Janata Dal member Braj Kishore Tripathi. Tripathi said the Orissa government had been put in a 'difficult situation' as Gandhi, who has Z-Plus security, had left the NALCO Guest House in Naxal-infested Koraput for some 'undisclosed destination' for four hours at night on March 7 without informing.
From the point of view of qualification, Murmu is probably educationally the least qualified among India's recent Presidents. But then, with the BJP in command, she will be required to do little but sign on the dotted line.
Voting will be held on Thursday in bypolls to seven assembly seats in six states -- a contest symbolic of the fierce turf war between the Bharatiya Janata Party and regional parties.
The breach of privilege notice against Maken was issued for going to the press on an issue raised in the House.
'We can't exist in isolation but how can we forget the human aspect? This is not done.' says BJP MP Dharmendra Pradhan.
Here are how the numbers are stack up in the lower house if the no-confidence motion takes place.
There are lessons for the Congress to learn from the Karnataka elections of how burying the hatchet among top leaders and not washing dirty linen in public can help, says Ramesh Menon.
The RSS wants BJP to field a 'swayamsevak', while the Opposition has mulled fielding former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu also made a fervent appeal to the leaders of various parties at an all-party meeting to ensure smooth and effective functioning of the House during the Budget Session.
Leader of the delegation B J Panda of the Biju Janata Dal said, "We still have the last mile left before the closure of the civilian nuclear deal."
The government told an all-party meeting Monday that it does not intend to bring any legislative business in Rajya Sabha during the first part of the Budget Session which is till February 11, sources said.
Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari reveal that Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar's name is now doing the rounds as President Kovind's likely successor.
Leaders of various opposition parties on Sunday demanded that issues of price rise, 'Agnipath' scheme as well as the alleged misuse of investigative agencies be taken up in Parliament and also raised objections to the list of 'unparliamentary words' at an all-party meeting convened by the government ahead of the Monsoon Session.
MP MP Baijayant Jay Panda admitted that this is nothing compared to the huge amount of money that has been wasted.
It said the election to Patkura assembly seat in Odisha will be held on July 20.
Raising the matter during Zero Hour, Chatterjee, a BJP member, said Lord Shri Ram signifies noble thought and honesty and the state of West Bengal should be run by people who believe in these.
TMC sources said their leaders Derek O' Brien and Sudip Bandyopadhyay are unlikely to attend the interaction.
The bill bars commercial surrogacy and allows the process only by close relatives for "altruistic" reasons.
The breakaway faction is led by former Union minister Dilip Ray.
P Chidambaram and Rajeev Shukla of the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party's Sumitra Valmiki and Kavita Patidar, former Congress leader Kapil Sibal, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Misa Bharti and Jayant Chaudhary of the Rashtriya Lok Dal were among the 41 winners declared elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha.
Birla, 57, has been MLA from Rajasthan thrice and MP twice.
'Kalinga Nagar was a shock to everybody'\n
\n'How we acquit ourselves in the next couple of years will decide the fate of all these projects coming up,' says BJD MP Jay Panda.
She also took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party over its defeat in the just-concluded Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, saying the ruling party's president could not hold on to his home state. "Who is the Pappu now?" she asked.
It will be presented in the Lok Sabha next week in its original form.
A section of BJP leaders is of the view that the leadership may spring a surprise with its choice for the post by appointing someone from southern India.
'The entire idea behind the serial bomb blasts was to strike fear in the minds of Indians.' 'I don't think the blasts were targeted to derail the Indian economy; the idea behind the blasts was retribution.'
Pramila Mallik is facing a non-bailable warrant.
Chief ministers and other senior leaders made last-minute appeals to voters for their support in Mokama and Gopalganj of Bihar, Adampur of Haryana, Manugoda of Telangana, Gola Gorakhnath of Uttar Pradesh and Dhamnagar of Odisha.
The four rebels are -- Prasanna Patsani, Prabhat Samantray, Kumudini Patnaik, wife of former state Finance Minister Ramakrushna Patnaik, and Jagannath Mallick.
The bill was passed by a voice vote after Shah sought to allay concerns raised by the Opposition, which claimed the draft law was "draconian".
'We are very conscious this is a blot on the image of Orissa as a peaceful state,' says Jay Panda, MP.
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