A new report reveals that nearly half of West Bengal's MLAs have declared criminal cases against themselves, and over half are crorepatis. The report analyses the criminal, financial, and educational backgrounds of the state's legislators based on affidavits submitted during the 2021 elections.
The political rivalry in Nandigram that defined West Bengal's 2021 assembly polls is set to return to centre stage in a new arena, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee locking horns with her protege-turned-adversary Suvendu Adhikari in Bhabanipur, turning the south Kolkata seat into the likely epicentre of the 2026 electoral battle.
In a strategic move for the upcoming West Bengal elections, the BJP has announced its first candidate list, highlighted by Suvendu Adhikari challenging Mamata Banerjee in both Nandigram and Bhabanipur.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat was unable to end its 18-year jinx in Visavadar as it lost the bypolls to Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party despite a strong campaign.
Moderate turnout was recorded in the first four hours of polling across five assembly constituencies across Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat and Kerala where bypolls are underway on Thursday.
Aam Aadmi Party's Gopal Italia on Monday won from Gujarat's Visavadar assembly constituency and his party also retained Punjab's Ludhiana West seat while the Congress-led United Democratic Front wrested Nilambur from the ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala, according to results of assembly bypolls in four states.
A female student of primary school was killed in Kaliganj in West Bengal's Nadia district on Monday after bombs were allegedly hurled from a Trinamool Congress victory celebration rally taken out even before the results of the assembly bypoll were officially announced.
The NC has won every assembly election in Budgam whenever it has fielded a candidate from the Shia-dominated segment. The only time the seat was not represented by the NC was in 1972 when the party had boycotted the polls across J-K.
The ruling NDA is expected to win the upcoming election for the post of Vice President of India, following the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Following the UDF's victory in local body polls, KPCC Chief Sunny Joseph suggests Kerala Congress (M) consider rejoining the UDF. He also discusses expanding the UDF base and potentially including Trinamool Congress leader P V Anvar.
The Election Commission on Monday rescheduled from November 13 to November 20 the assembly bypolls to all nine and four seats in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, respectively, and one seat in Kerala in view of festivals, an official statement said.
The Election Commission of India has initiated the process to hold the vice presidential election following Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation. The electoral college is being constituted, and the election schedule will be announced soon.
Political parties have fielded sons, wives and daughters-in-law of legislators who quit after being elected to the Lok Sabha.
BJP sources said the formal process to elect current party President J P Nadda's successor will begin in mid-January, following Makar Sankranti, with Nitin Nabin expected to be the frontrunner to file his nomination.
The counting of votes for the bypolls to 46 assembly seats in 13 states and in the Lok Sabha segments of Nanded in Maharashtra and Wayanad in Kerala, a crucial electoral exercise since the parliamentary polls in April-May, will begin at 8 am on Saturday.
"How many gods are there for Hindus? Three crores? There is Hanuman for those who are not married. There is another god for those who marry twice," Reddy said.
Election Commission data reveals Bhabanipur constituency in West Bengal recorded significantly higher voter deletions compared to Nandigram, sparking political debate ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
The Punjab Congress has suspended Navjot Kaur Sidhu from its primary membership after she made a controversial remark about the chief minister's chair costing Rs 500 crore.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has stated that he did not authorize the celebration of the 150th anniversary of 'Vande Mataram' in schools, emphasizing the need for autonomy in governing the Union Territory and rejecting outside interference.
Two police teams have been conducting the search to collect evidence at his apartment in Kunathurmedu since morning, officials said.
Bypolls will be held on Wednesday in 31 assembly seats spread across 10 states and Kerala's Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, from where Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is making her electoral debut. Though these bye-elections are not going to have any bearing on the governments, they are seen as a big test for the Congress and the INDIA bloc which failed to put up a united show in the recent Haryana assembly polls. Most of these seats fell vacant after the sitting MLAs contested the Lok Sabha elections and won while in some constituencies, the bypolls are being held due to death of the representatives. The Wayanad seat was vacated by Rahul Gandhi, who also won from the Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency which he kept. Voting will be held in seven seats in Rajasthan, six in West Bengal, five in Assam, four seats in Bihar, three in Karnataka, two seats in Madhya Pradesh, and one seat each in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala and Meghalaya. Votes will be counted on November 23.
The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu has won the Erode East bypoll with a massive margin, defeating actor-politician Seeman's NTK. The victory is seen as a boost for the DMK ahead of next year's Assembly elections. DMK candidate V C Chandhirakumar trounced Naam Tamilar Katchi's (NTK) M K Seethalakshmi by a margin of 91,558 votes, leading to the NTK forfeiting its deposit. Chief Minister and DMK president Stalin attributed the win to the DMK government's good governance, while AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami termed it a "fake" victory. The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of Congress MLA EVKS Elangovan last year.
For Adityanath, it's not just a chance to reaffirm his dominance in Uttar Pradesh, it's an opportunity to solidify his narrative as a vote-winner.
The police first information report (FIR) against suspended Congress MLA Rahul Mamkoottathil alleged that he raped the complainant multiple times even when she was pregnant.
Punjab Police and Chandigarh Police got into a minor scuffle on Tuesday over the custody of a Rajasthan native who is accused of filing his Rajya Sabha polls nomination with forged signatures.
The Election Commission released the names of deleted voters in West Bengal ahead of the publication of the draft electoral rolls for the upcoming assembly elections.
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.
While the results of the bypolls will not directly impact the composition of the 403-member state Assembly, the contest is being seen as a prestige fight between the BJP and opposition parties.
Bypolls will be held on Wednesday in 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand. The bypolls, however, will not have any direct impact on the respective legislative assemblies. The results will be declared on November 23. In Uttar Pradesh, polling will be held in Katehari, Karhal, Meerapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur and Kundarki. Ninety candidates are in the fray in these seats with the maximum of 14 in Ghaziabad. This will be the first electoral test of the INDIA bloc as well as the NDA in the politically-crucial state after the Lok Sabha elections. In Punjab, bypolls will be held in four assembly seats - Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala. The bypolls were necessitated after MLAs representing them were elected to the Lok Sabha. Polling will also be held for the Palakkad seat in Kerala and Kedarnath in Uttarakhand.
The BJP is leaning on Yogi's 'batenge to katenge' theme to weave a unifying narrative that transcends caste and communal lines.
This has invited sharp reaction from the Opposition, with the Samajwadi Party saying that the BJP was afraid of its defeat in Milkipur due to which it moved the court for "stalling" polls on the assembly seat.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress's alliance in Uttar Pradesh came under scrutiny as both parties did not hold a single joint campaign for the bypolls to nine assembly seats. While both parties maintained that the alliance is strong, BJP ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) claimed a crack in the alliance. The Congress opted out of the bypolls and announced coordination committees for all nine seats to support the SP. However, the absence of joint rallies raised questions about the alliance's strength. The SP campaign was spearheaded by its chief Akhilesh Yadav, while the Congress cited its leaders' busy schedules in Maharashtra and Jharkhand for the lack of joint campaigns. The bypoll results will be announced on November 23.
A team of Election Commissioners will visit Patna to review poll preparedness in Bihar ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. The team will meet with political parties, police, administrative officials, and observers to ensure a free and fair election.
Acting on complaints, the Election Commission on Wednesday ordered suspension of police personnel violating its guidelines on checking of voters and stopping them from casting votes in the Uttar Pradesh bypolls, officials said.
Akhilesh said the alliance's decision was not informed by any seat-sharing math but its pursuit of victory.
Incidents of violence rocked Assam's Samaguri assembly constituency where by-elections will be held on November 13 with both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Congress alleging that gunshots were fired targeting each other's supporters over the last 24 hours, police said on Sunday.
An average voter turnout of 20 per cent was recorded in the first four hours of voting in the bypolls to 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand on Wednesday amid an incident of stone pelting in a village in UP's Meerapur and allegations of police personnel deterring voters from casting their ballot.
Navjot Kaur Sidhu claims support within the Congress party after being suspended for her controversial remarks. She also accuses Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa of corruption and links to smugglers.
Bypolls to 10 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh will be a litmus test for the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)'s unity after the group's success in the recent Lok Sabha polls when they won more than 40 seats, significantly contributing to the Bharatiya Janata Party's failure to win a simple majority in parliament.
The Congress announced on Thursday that it would not field candidates in the nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh where bypolls are being held and would support Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) nominees.
