Religion matters. Aspirational India is still poor. India admires strong leaders. India values decency. Shreekant Sambrani highlights the reasons why the BJP pulled off improbable victories in the Hindi heartland.
While Bharatiya Janata Party's countrywide vote share shot up by over 12 per cent at the expense of other parties, the chart throws some contrary pictures as parties like Bahujan Samaj Party got no seat in spite of third-highest vote share, but Trinamool Congress and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam clinched over 30 seats each with less than 4 per cent vote share.
The Congress secured 43.90 per cent vote share as it wrested Himachal Pradesh from the Bharatiya Janata Party, winning 40 seats in the 68-member assembly in the hill state which maintained its tradition of voting the incumbent government out of power since 1985.
Leaders of several like-minded opposition parties are likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka chief minister-designate Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday in Bengaluru.
The Bahujan Samaj Party on Monday threatened to take a "tough stand" in case the government does not help bring order in the Rajya Sabha and get passed a bill providing for reservation to SCs/STs in promotion in government jobs.
Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi held a virtual meeting on Friday evening with leaders of 19 Opposition parties, including the chief ministers of some Opposition-ruled states, amid efforts to boost Opposition unity and evolve a common strategy against the National Democratic Alliance government.
"The murder of Atiq-Ashraf was committed in front of the media. The three shooters are under arrest. We will take them in police remand and all the questions regarding the killing will be answered," DIG, STF, Anand Dev Tiwari told reporters.
'People are saying Mayawati has an understanding with the BJP.' 'They are calling us the BJP's 'B' team which I did not like.'
The Bahujan Samaj Party on Thursday kept its cards close to its chest on the issue of a debate in Parliament on FDI in retail, saying the government should first decide under what rule it wanted such a discussion.
A 17-year-old girl was allegedly abducted and gangraped by three persons, including a Bahujan Samaja Party MLA's son, police said.
Opposition leaders on Saturday stepped up pressure on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for stringent action against Bharatiya Janata Party's Ramesh Bidhuri over his derogatory remarks against Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali in the House.
Speaking to ANI, Asha (mother of the arrested accused Lovelesh) said, "Pata nahi uske naseeb mein kya likha tha (Don't know what was written in his destiny)."
Madhya Pradesh police said violence in Bhind and Morena districts was 'sponsored'.
The opposition on Tuesday termed as an 'election jumla' the women's reservation bill brought by the government with many leaders raising questions over the proposed legislation, contending it doesn't account for reservation for OBC communities and that it will be effective at the earliest by the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.
But she added that her government will be open to erecting memorials to honour leaders from 'other communities' and keep their religious sentiments in mind.
A fierce competition among parties to offer freebies and guarantees, a scramble for tribal, OBC, women votes and a touch of Hindutva -- all have combined to make the Madhya Pradesh assembly polls a high-stakes battle with main rivals BJP and the Congress pulling out all the stops to gain power.
Gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari's alleged aide Sanjeev Maheshwari Jeeva was shot dead on Lucknow court premises on Wednesday, the police said.
On Tuesday, the former minister also claimed that he wanted to table the diary in the assembly.
The Congress, meanwhile, alleged that both the Samajwadi Party and the BJP are hand-in-glove with the criminals and were two sides of the same coin.
An independent Muslim candidate has secured a surprise victory in a ward in the Hindutva nerve centre of Ayodhya in the civic election results declared on Saturday.
"The court of Additional Sessions Judge/First MP-MLA Court Durgesh also imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on Mukhtar and Rs 1 lakh on Afzal," ADGC Criminal Neeraj Srivastava said.
The PM is seen as slipping up in confidence levels as aired by his 'exposure' of the BRS on a crucial issue as alliance negotiations, which is not done under normal circumstances, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Bahujan Samaj Party will make efforts to not field 'bahubali' (strongmen) or mafia candidates in next year's Uttar Pradesh polls, party supremo Mayawati said Friday, announcing that jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari will not be given a party ticket from Mau again.
The petitioner alleged this hurt his religious sentiments as the BSP supremo compared herself to Lord Rama.
The latest case was registered at the Dhoomanganj police station on Monday, the official added.
Congress veteran Kapil Sibal had on Wednesday filed his nomination as an SP-backed Independent candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls.
However, constitutional experts say it was not the first time such thing had happened and there is nothing serious if the upper house does not approve the bills.
"Former Chief Minister Mayawati and I will not contest the assembly elections," Bahujan Samaj Party member of Parliament Satish Chandra Misra told ANI.
The Congress and the Left parties have not only extended support to the Samajwadi Party candidate but are also campaigning for him, in accordance with the spirit of the new opposition togetherness ahead of next year's general election.
'He will use these five years to project himself as the next PM candidate within the Hindutva fold.'
The Uttar Pradesh police on Monday gunned down one of the accused in the sensational February 24 killing of a prime witness in the 2005 murder case of then Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Raju Pal in an encounter in Prayagraj.
Rajesh Shukla, the lone SP MLA in Madhya Pradesh, along with an MLA of the Bahujan Samaj Party and an independent legislator joined the BJP in Bhopal on Tuesday in the presence Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Adityanath on the occasion praised the Centre's 'Agnipath' scheme and highlighted its benefits.
Rahul Gandhi said the meeting was very productive and everyone decided to stop the BJP from further assault of institutions and the Constitution.
Azmi has slammed the Maharashtra government for atrocities against minorities.
Ill-health forced Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to cancel his scheduled visit to Chennai on Tuesday, where he was invited by his Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin, a key aide of the Janata Dal-United leader said.
As the analysts were exploring common links in the rise of Barack Obama as the United States President and the Mayawati phenomenon back home, the Bahujan Samajwadi Party chief was busy finalising her caste-based plans for the coming Assembly elections.The BSP, which had romped home in Uttar Pradesh last year, is planning to contest Assembly elections in all the constituencies in the five states -- Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir.
Justifying the demand for SPG security cover to Mayawati, senior Bahujan Samaj Party leader and leader of opposition in the Uttar Pradesh state assembly Swami Prasad Maurya on Friday said it was necessary because of the "prevailing goonda raj" of the Samajwadi Party.
Mayawati led Bahujan Samaj Party will contest on all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, party's state general secretary, Nalin Bhatt said in Vadodara on Tuesday.
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