Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday alleged that the Congress party's setback in the recent Lok Sabha polls in the state was the result of 'illegal manipulation' of the electoral process by the Bharatiya Janata Party, accusing it of 'misusing' the Election Commission.
The DMK may consider a two-tier campaign, where they keep the focus on Chief Minister Stalin, as a senior statesman with 50-plus years of political experience, and let EPS and the BJP shout in the wilderness. In such a case, the second-tier may project Udhayanidhi as the contender and chosen obstructionist in Vijay's path. The attempt, if any, would be to reduce Vijay to Udhayanidhi's level when the former is aiming at Stalin and Stalin alone in the state's political horizon, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Janata Dal-United supremo Nitish Kumar is set to be sworn-in as Bihar chief minister for a record 10th time on Thursday, days after the National Democratic Alliance secured a landslide victory in the assembly elections.
During the presser, Gandhi showed a picture of a woman who appears on the voter list 22 times in 10 booths in the Rai assembly constituency, and said this shows that this was a 'centralised operation'.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday returned to power in Delhi after more than 26 years to sweep away the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party with a two-thirds majority on the back of a hyper localised campaign and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'AAP-da'(disaster) blitzkrieg.
This election is a thank you note to Nitish Babu from a grateful Bihari people, notes Sheela Bhatt.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday asserted that Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, a former state Bharatiya Janata Party president, would be made 'big man' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the assembly polls.
'Four other teams bid for him and KKR outbid everyone, that is a different story. And if he was included in the auction, it was BCCI's call. Removing a player will not make any difference...'
The Calcutta High Court has cancelled the membership of senior leader Mukul Roy in the West Bengal assembly under the anti-defection law, marking a significant moment in Indian jurisprudence.
The breakfast meet was convened by the CM at the behest of the Congress high command to end the logjam over the issue bothering the 2.5 year old Congress government, with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party warning of moving a no confidence motion should the power tussle between the CM and his deputy continue.
Multiple exit polls predict a victory for the NDA alliance in the Bihar Assembly elections, with forecasts of a disappointing debut for Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj party.
It was speculated that Rohini was "unhappy" over the expulsion of Tej Pratap Yadav from the party. However, during the assembly elections, she was seen campaigning for Tejashwi.
'...in comparison to his presence in the previous election campaign where he looked robust and vibrant.' 'His television and social media interviews looked dull and predictable.' 'There could be a different kind of fatigue of being out of power for a long time at work here.'
Exit polls conducted after the Delhi Assembly elections on February 5th predict a close race between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), with the BJP potentially securing a slight advantage. The polls suggest the Congress will not make any significant gains. However, it is important to note that exit polls are projections based on voter interviews and can vary significantly from the actual results, which will be announced on February 8th.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J P Nadda and several other top leaders of the NDA.
Bihar's opposition Mahagathbandhan is experiencing internal conflict following their defeat in the recent assembly elections. Congress leaders have expressed dissatisfaction with their alliance with the RJD, leading to a blame game and further disarray within the opposition camp.
The agency has questioned the trial court's findings and sought appellate review, arguing that the refusal to proceed has caused serious prejudice to the investigation and prosecution.
Kejriwal claimed that the BJP has ruined Gujarat in its 30-year rule. The Congress has failed as an opposition because it helps the BJP retain power, he said.
='The Gujarat results show a wide chasm between the issues facing the common people and the way the BJP engineers electoral successes.'
Amid violence against Hindi-speaking people, Maharashtra minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ashish Shelar on Sunday drew parallels between the Pahalgam terror attack and the beating of 'Hindus' in Mumbai, which he said is condoned by some leaders.
As the Centre announced the inclusion of caste enumeration in the next census on Wednesday, opposition parties said it is a victory for their long-standing demand and sought time-bound implementation.
In Bihar, women outvoted men and, perhaps, became one of the decisive factors behind the NDA's landslide victory in the assembly polls in the state on Friday.
Maharashtra is set to hold local body elections on December 2 for municipal councils and nagar panchayats. The polls are seen as a test of the ruling coalition's strength after their recent assembly election victory.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah challenged BJP cadre to ensure the opposition is defeated in the upcoming local body polls in Maharashtra. He emphasized the party's strength and commitment to performance-based politics, citing PM Modi as an example.
The BJP won the Chandigarh mayoral election on Thursday, defeating the AAP-Congress alliance. Harpreet Kaur Babla of the BJP was elected as the new mayor, while the AAP-Congress alliance won the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The victory of the BJP candidate indicated that cross-voting took place during polling. The Supreme Court had previously overturned the result of the 2023 mayoral poll, which had seen the BJP candidate win despite allegations of tampering with ballots. The court had ordered prosecution of the returning officer for the poll, Anil Masih, a BJP leader, for his "misdemeanour." The court had also declared defeated AAP-Congress alliance candidate Kuldeep Kumar as the new city mayor. This latest victory is a significant win for the BJP in the city and represents a setback for the AAP-Congress alliance.
'This election was won because of Nitish Kumar's face and his policies.'
Former poll strategist Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj expressed disappointment over its poll debacle in the Bihar assembly elections, attributing the NDA's victory to cash transfers to women.
'In times of adversity, families unite, but the reverse is happening in the Lalu family.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the Congress party following the NDA's victory in the Bihar assembly elections, accusing them of divisive politics and highlighting the rejection of casteism and communalism by the people of Bihar.
He also told Shah that avoidable disruptions could potentially hinder the Mahayuti alliance's winning momentum and give undue advantage to the Opposition, they said.
An Assam Cabinet minister's use of 'gobi farming' imagery after the Bihar election results has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition, who allege it references the Bhagalpur communal riots.
The winter session of Parliament is set to begin with the government prioritizing its reforms agenda, including a bill to open the civil nuclear sector to private players. The opposition is expected to raise concerns about electoral roll revisions and air pollution.
The BJP has dismissed Rahul Gandhi's claims of vote theft in the Haryana Assembly polls as false and baseless, accusing him of defaming India's democracy and questioning the Election Commission to hide his failures.
'The question for the TMC is not whether it can hold its bastions, but whether it can expand effectively into regions where the BJP already possesses a good ecosystem.'
BJP and RSS leaders are once again pushing to remove the words 'secular' and 'socialist' from the Constitution's Preamble, showing a deeper effort to change India's identity from a diverse, multi-religious republic to a Hindu-first nation, even though they don't have the numbers in Parliament to officially change the Constitution, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The little-known 'Poll Diary' was the only pollster which predicted that the NDA would win over 200 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan would fall below 50.
Successive elections since 2019 have proved that the Modi charisma and Shah's strategy does not work in Tamil Nadu. Now, they have to see next year if the DMK is capable of losing, whether to an existing NDA alliance or an expanded version, if one becomes necessary and possible!, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Even if D K Shivakumar wanted to oust Siddaramaiah, whose support would he take?
The shrewd politician that he is, Siddaramaiah figured his rival had no option but to lump it, points out Aditi Phadnis.
The Bihar chief minister had a point to prove in the latest assembly elections, which were held amid speculations of a fatigue factor, if not downright anti-incumbency, made worse by rumours of his indifferent health.
Election times in India are also Laddoo Times. Politics and laddoos have always gone together and laddoos really come into their own post chunavs.
