'Of equal importance was the AIADMK's precarious assembly membership, what with 11 of its MLAs including deputy chief minister OPS facing court cases for disqualification and by-elections due in another 21. To shore up the party's numbers for anticipated eventuality on the 11-MLAs' front, the AIADMK leadership in general and chief minister EPS in particular, were even more focussed on assembly seats than LS seats, just now,' says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Her victory significantly coincided with a verdict of the Calcutta High Court upholding the Singur land act as constitutional and valid.
A petition has been filed in the Madras high court against the candidature of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Deputy General Secretary TTV Dinakaran for the April 12 RK Nagar assembly by-election on the ground he had been penalised in Foreign Exchange Regulation Act cases.
In a break from tradition, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was on Thursday administered the oath as a member of the state assembly by Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said that youths of Azamgarh had to hide their identities due to narrow-minded divisive forces.
Firing a fresh salvo at the Bharatiya Janata Party which had accused the Shiv Sena of paying only lip service to the cause of Hindutva, the latter's member of Parliament Sanjay Raut on Tuesday claimed that the Sena was the first party in the country to contest an election on the Hindutva plank.
The bypolls were held in Vengurla, Sangmeshwar and Rajapur assembly constituencies in Konkan region and Sangli Lok Sabha seat in western Maharashtra.
The CBI had interrogated Rujira in February last year ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections.
The Samajwadi Party's Mainpuri district unit Thursday gave a written request to the party chief to contest from the Karhal seat and he agreed, sources said.
Yadav fought hard, but his party was well behind the BJP.
The Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat is hoping to make a clean sweep in the Dalit and tribal-dominated Sabarkantha district comprising four Assembly constituencies even as unemployment has become a major issue that the ruling party hopes to negate with Hindutva and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charisma.
While amending the rules on the suggestions of the Election Commission, the ministry also allowed "COVID-19 suspected or affected persons" to use the postal ballot facility.
Soon after meeting, Raut hinted at a pre-poll alliance with the Congress in UP and Goa, stating that the parties are thinking of working together in both the states that are scheduled to go to assembly polls early next year.
The party, banking on the legacy of former PM Chaudhary Charan Singh, had no MP and its lone MLA had switched to the BJP.
Murmu's vote share is now likely to go past 61 per cent, while it was earlier estimated to be around 50 per cent at the time of her nomination.
The politically crucial Malwa-Nimar region of Madhya Pradesh played a key role in propelling the Congress to power in 2018 after a gap of 15 years and the party is utilising the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra to strengthen its position in the belt a year ahead of the assembly polls.
For the AIADMK's cadres, it is much more than an election symbol, they believe the party's electoral chances rest on owning it, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Dhami under whose leadership the BJP had contested the February 14 assembly polls was the frontrunner for the post.
The Election Commission today announced by-polls to three assembly constituencies in Delhi which fell vacant after Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha in the recently-held general elections.
Asserting that there was no split in the party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader from Sasikala camp M Thambidurai on Thursday requested the Election Commission "not to entertain" the dissenting cadres, who have staked claim to AIADMK symbol and sought fresh election to the general secretary's post.
A bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar asked the Election Commission of India to take an appropriate decision with regard to political rallies as per law and keeping in mind COVID-19 guidelines.
Nath has been reprimanded for repeated violations of the model code while campaigning for the bypolls in 28 assembly constituencies in the state.
'My role will be to take her message across the country.'
The cabinet expansion is on the cards for nearly two months ever since the BJP won the maximum number of seats in the December 5, 2019 bypolls and got a majority in the Karnataka assembly.
JD-S leaders have already dropped enough hints about the party being open to such a possibility.
He is not experienced enough to run a state and ultimately "Lalu would have been at the helm" of Bihar, Bharti said.
The party also announced the names of Milan Ghosh and Sujit Das for Samserganj and Jangipur seats respectively.
