On one hand, South Indian states have been complaining about denial of a proportionate portion of the sharable funds from the Centre, based on population. On the other hand, they stand to lose Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seats that again are based on population, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
The second phase of the Lok Sabha election ended on Friday, April 26, 2024, for 88 seats across 13 states.
As Election 2024 hurtles towards result day in a medley of mangalsutra, mujra, mutton, machli and other barbs, these may sound like character names from Hindi comics of yore. Instead, these are the mocking, sometimes vicious monikers given by political rivals to each other.
Three Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh workers have been arrested for allegedly carrying out the murder of a Popular Front of India leader in Palakkad district of Kerala on April 15, the police said on Tuesday, and added that the trio were friends of an RSS leader who was killed in Palakkad in November last year.
It is early to make out which way the wind is blowing, but there is no denying that challenges for the BJP, far outweigh the advantages in this region, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Among the national parties, the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Communist Party of India-Marxist opposed the proposal, while the Bharatiya Janata Party and the National People's Party supported it.
Sources within the Congress, including those who have been members of the teams that drafted its 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha poll manifestos, said the Karnataka government decision lacked any empirical basis.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday linked opposition parties coming together against the Bharatiya Janata Party to his government's campaign against corruption, and asserted that the clampdown on graft will continue without being hindered by "false allegations".
The Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to extend its support to the Forward Bloc, which is a constituent of the ruling Left Front in West Bengal, in the local body elections to be held on October 23 and 25.
The clash between the rival parties broke out on Monday night and the situation is under control now.
'He has emerged as a formidable leader who cannot be ignored anymore, who cannot be mocked.'
'The BJP will not be able to create dictatorship of the kind it is perhaps dreaming of.' 'We have Bengal as the biggest example.'
Several opposition leaders hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party following the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as an MP on Friday, alleging the ruling party was involved in vindictive politics, and said it was a new low for democracy.
Sporadic incidents of violence were reported in various parts of Kerala as the dawn-to-dusk hartal called by radical Islamic outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) was underway.
Exit polls on Saturday predicted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will retain power for a third straight term, with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance expected to win a big majority in the Lok Sabha polls.
'Is it not a fact that all good leaders in the Congress have left the party?'
Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran criticised those who were trying to give a communal colour to the tourism department tweet on the Kerala delicacy -- "Beef Ularthiyathu" and said in the southern state none links food with religion.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in a post on X that his 18-year-long stint in public service has come to an end.
'Union Budgets are often used as political instruments and that was the intention of this government too.' 'But while the exercise has settled two fronts, it has left open several others and this has the potential to aggravate with time,' predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Lok Sabha constituencies that sprung a surprise in the 2024 polls.
The go-ahead given to prosecute Arundhati Roy would be seen by supporters of freedom of speech as an announcement that the Right-Wing doesn't feel humbled by the results of the elections, argues Shyam G Menon.
Opposition leaders on Saturday lauded the Congress for its victory in Karnataka and thanked the people of the state, saying that this win has showed that 'Modi is not invincible'.
Was C M Ibrahim's Rediff Interview the last straw for Deve Gowda?
If the Congress reached 90, it would have a pretty good chance of holding the BJP below the 272 mark. A hundred seats will rock national politics, argues Shekhar Gupta.
'The larger story of systematic destruction, which can and has been quantified, goes mysteriously missing from any political and/or public discourse about the ongoing devastation in the Ghats,' notes Prem Panicker.
The results will be announced on May 2.
Against the backdrop of Kerala's appetite for commonsense, it was assumed that this controversy would pass. Respect for rationalism and scientific outlook is strong in the state despite political forces gnawing at it for their own goals, observes Shyam G Menon.
What was shocking was the execution of the killings -- calculated, gory and intended to send a chill down the spine.
BJP heavyweights Smriti Irani, Arjun Munda, Ajay Mishra Teni and Kailash Chaudhary were among the 13 Union ministers who tasted defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states forced the BJP to rely on allies to form the government.
Irani said that Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Raebareli is a "victory" for the people in Amethi.
24 hours was all it took for the Congress to overturn its decision to boycott the TV debates on the exit poll results. Sudhir Bisht offers an explanation.
'The more educated a young person is, the higher the chances of him or her remaining unemployed.'
Nemom was one of the segments where the BJP had pinned its hope the most in the present election to open its account in the assembly.
Nothing is going to change in a hurry unless attitudes change and punishments are speedy and fair, notes Ramesh Menon.
In the event of the BJP's poor performance in the assembly polls this year and in early 2025, Modi's hold will get further weakened because he will no longer remain the invincible electoral persona tightly controlling the machine at his disposal, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The Centre has denied political clearance to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for his visit to Paris to support the Indian Hockey team at the Olympic Games, an official source said on Saturday.
Voting for by-elections to seven assembly constituencies of six states, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Tripura, West Bengal, and Jharkhand, started on Tuesday at 7 am.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has written to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking 'constitutionally appropriate' action against Finance Minister K N Balagopal for making a speech 'undermining unity', a demand turned down by the CM.
What was the "locus standi" of Sonia Gandhi when she along with the then prime minister Manhoman Singh inaugurated legislative buildings in Manipur and Tamil Nadu, the Bharatiya Janata Party asked on Wednesday while countering the Congress's criticism over the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
