Both the BJP and the Congress have issued whips to their 18 and 24 MLAs respectively asking them to be present in the Assembly and vote as per their party's line.
The former Union minister said the population debate is 'utterly misplaced' and half a century out-of-date as a large majority of Indian states have achieved replacement levels of fertility.
Here is a look at Kumar's previous statements, made after he quit the NDA alliance, which proves the adage: there are no permanent friends and enemies in politics.
The Union home ministry has recommended the special CAG audit taking note of a May 24 letter by Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena which pointed out 'gross and prima facie financial irregularities' in the 'reconstruction' of the chief minister's official residence, they claimed.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal leader also said, "This is not the first meeting of opposition leaders nor is it going to be the last. Leaders of different hues have agreed to meet and they will all raise issues that they feel strongly about. There is no problem with that."
Consensus emerged on the appointment of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as the chairperson of the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), while Janata Dal-United chief Nitish Kumar's name was proposed for the convener's post, pending approval of parties absent at the alliance meeting on Saturday, according to sources.
'You know the kind of force involved in all of this. They are not good for the country where all of this will happen.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday shared dais with NCP leader Sharad Pawar and had lunch with him in Baramati
Top leaders of 26 opposition parties were arriving in Bengaluru on Monday for a two-day brainstorming session with a call for unity and are expected to chalk out their joint programme aimed at defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In his weekly column Rokhthok in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana, Raut also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah should not sow 'seeds of hatred and divisiveness'.
'I am as Bengali as they come in my cultural and personal orientation and I think probably all the BJP candidates who are contesting are pretty non-vegetarian in their food and as Bengali in their cultural orientation.'
'The control of the Church over Christian people regarding politics has become weak...' 'People have started to think independently and it is not for sure that they will obey whatever the Church asks them to do.'
He asserted that the UPA's communist allies would prove to be a 'liability' in achieving any good.
'Education played the most significant role in entrenchment of Hindutva ideology in coastal Karnataka.' 'Teachers of most of the schools, junior colleges, degree colleges and universities are active agents of Hindutva propaganda.'
The film, which was released on May 5, has kicked up a political storm.
'If there is one thing our politicians, especially those with their ear to the ground, understand, it is the reality that their voters want three things from their children's schooling: English, English, English', notes Shekhar Gupta.
In yet another sign that not everything is fine between Bihar's ruling partners, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar opposes the BJP's demand for a population control law -- even while seeking a caste-based census, a red flag for the BJP. M I Khan reports.
Can Nitishbabu create an anti-BJP phalanx like Jayaprakash Narayan did in 1977 or will his efforts come undone by Opposition leaders' political ambitions and, of course, the BJP's agency-aided campaign of intimidation?
'The sadhus and sanyasis of UP are not for any economics.' 'They only know the religious agenda and the RSS will support them.' 'Modi does not have full control of the party at the ground level like Indira Gandhi had.'
According to the Minority Morcha's state president, Ali Hossain, around 4.5 lakh people from the community have already joined the saffron party.
Overall, the record of the second term reveals a contradiction between the image and the reality. The image, especially on media and social media, is one of the man at the height of his power, and unstoppable. The reality on governance is someone who has found it difficult to get things implemented and unsure of what to do next, points out Aakar Patel.
'Benares has always encouraged healthy debate where disagreement and dissent was never frowned upon. Today, the people are faced with a situation where a political opponent is not being allowed to give election speeches and is being physically attacked.' 'We are going to hand over power to a person who has a reputation of being dictatorial, who does not brook dissent and is known to be vindictive to his opponents,' author Kashinath Singh tells Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal.
The 33-year-old, who steered his party to an impressive show in the Bihar assembly polls last year thereby emerging out of the shadow of his father Lalu Prasad, underscored that the opposition needed to bring in "dhaar" (edge) and "nayaapan" (novelty) in its electoral issues.
'The Centre prevaricates on the question of effecting a change of state-level leadership or on the imposition of President's rule in the state.'
Bhaichung Bhutia, India's iconic former football captain, is set to try his political luck again, this time in his native state of Sikkim, as he plans to contest the assembly elections due this year.
Varma sought 'ideological clarity' from Nitish over extending alliance with the BJP beyond Bihar despite having expressed apprehensions 'in private' about the BJP-RSS leading the nation into a 'dangerous space'.
'Tell me, one BJP policy that Mamata has opposed and is fighting tooth and nail?' Be it Article 370, instant triple talaq, be it CAA/NRC/NPR, be it notebandi, FDI, she has aligned with the BJP.'
'The party had opposed FDI when it was in the Opposition. Now, its government has allowed FDI in all sectors.' 'Modi had opposed GST when he was chief minister. Now, he is strongly advocating it.' 'The BJP must come clean and inform its supporters and the people why it is diverging from its basic agenda.'
Congratulating Narendra Modi for his party's landslide victory in Lok Sabha polls, Peoples Democratic Party patriarch Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said he was hopeful the new BJP government would take tangible steps in finding a lasting solution to the Kashmir problem.
'If there is anyone who is a victim of vendetta politics, it is me.'
Joining the chorus against the film, the Samajwadi Party said the faithful are hurt by its "cheap and superficial dialogues" and that the film was part of an "agenda".
'More than losing Bengal, the worry for their national leadership is the current crisis.' 'If people perceive that the government does not do enough, then there's trouble.'
As various social media content of alleged attacks on migrant workers from Tamil Nadu have turned out to be fake, Chief Minister M K Stalin has alleged the "lies spread" regarding such assaults in the state was a fallout of his recent call for opposition unity to dislodge the ruling BJP at the Centre next year.
An economist from J&K and a popular face from the RSS/BJP sat together to craftily weave an alliance in what is one of the most difficult agenda-setting exercises in recent history.
'We will do whatever is necessary when the day and moment arrives.' 'As a party which has ruled Maharashtra for most of its existence, we also have our base and turf to protect.'
With the Winter Session of Parliament less than a week away, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday gave notices to the Lok Sabha Speaker for discussion on the politically-sensitive issues of price rise, black money and the demand for formation of Telangana state.
The attacks, which disrupted normal life, marked return of political violence on large-scale after a gap of over a year in Kannur.
A "slip of tongue" by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at a public rally where he interchanged the official designations of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah has kicked off a political controversy in the state.
Political observers have said that the TMC, now desperate to shed the 'anti-Hindu' tag and embrace 'soft Hindutva', is carefully planning its moves, with help from poll strategist Prashant Kishor and team, as is evident from its decisions to organise Brahmin Sammelan, provide sops to Sanatan Brahmins, and financial aid to Durga puja committees.
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