A political source revealed that Naqvi assumed the role of chairman through a clear understanding between influential stakeholders and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
Tharoor's campaign team has also raised 'serious issues' in the conduct of the election in Punjab and Telangana.
The Election Commission has issued a notification banning the conduct, publication or publicising of exit polls between 7.00 am to 6.30 pm on February 5 (Wednesday) when votes will be cast for the Delhi assembly and two bypolls in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
'They fear their caste privilege will be exposed if there is an OBC caste census.'
The crucial, neck-to-neck contest was necessitated as the Bharatiya Janata Party fielded three candidates while Shiv Sena put up two and Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party one each.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party a clear winner in the Delhi assembly elections, meet the BJP aspirants for the chief minister's post.
Carney defeated former cabinet minister Karina Gould, former finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, and Businessman and former Liberal MP Frank Baylis. All four contenders entered the room to much fanfare and addressed the crowd, thanking supporters for injecting energy into the party.
Kumar said after the meeting that all parties from Bihar spoke in one voice on the need for a caste-based census, and asserted that statistics about different castes will help in formulating development schemes effectively as many of them have not benefitted so far in line with their actual population.
The residence of Samajwadi Party (SP) Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Lal Suman was attacked in Agra by alleged workers of the Karni Sena, days after his remarks in Parliament on Rana Sanga triggered a row. The attack comes as the latest instance of violence in India stemming from historical figures and caste-based tensions. The Karni Sena demanded an apology from Suman and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav for "insulting" their hero, while Akhilesh Yadav criticized the Uttar Pradesh government for its claims of "zero tolerance" against crime.
Voting for the presidential election in which NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu is pitted against joint Opposition pick Yashwant Sinha began at 10 am and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to cast his vote followed by BJP President JP Nadda.
'In India no matter your lifestyle, you will end up doing the same things as everybody else.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the underprivileged need economic and political power and not empty words as he again called for removing the 50 per cent ceiling on quota and demanded reservations for Dalits and tribals based on their population.
Atishi, a prominent leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has retained the Kalkaji Assembly seat in the Delhi elections. She defeated her BJP rival, former MP Ramesh Bidhuri, by a margin of 3,521 votes. Atishi's win comes as a relief for the AAP, which suffered major losses in the polls. She had previously served as the Chief Minister of Delhi for a short period last year. Atishi's victory is significant as she is one of the few AAP leaders to win in the elections. Her win is likely to solidify her position within the party.
In a viral video, Yerunkar alleged a mismatch in the polling data and EVM numbers. He received only two votes at the polling centre where four members of his family voted, he said, questioning the count.
The Supreme Court of India has asked petitioners in two Public Interest Litigations (PILs) to make representations to the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding their demand for uploading polling booth-wise voter turnout data on the ECI website. The PILs, filed by TMC MP Mahua Moitra and NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, seek a direction for the ECI to upload the data within 48 hours of the conclusion of polling in Lok Sabha and assembly elections. The ECI, represented by senior advocate Maninder Singh, expressed willingness to deliberate on the matter and suggested a meeting with the petitioners to address their concerns. The court has adjourned the hearing to the week of July 28.
The Janata Dal (United) has demanded action against BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla for his comments targeting an AAP leader, which the regional party said has caused deep displeasure among people from Purvanchal. The JD(U) said Poonawalla's remarks, made during a TV debate, were offensive and demanded action from the BJP leadership. The incident comes ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, where the AAP is facing a tough challenge from the BJP.
'If his health was good he would have become CM again after polls.' 'Those who are with Nitish Babu today will remain with him till the elections to use his name for votes and would definitely play games with him after the polls.'
Sri Lanka's National People's Power of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Friday swept the parliamentary elections by winning a two-thirds majority, and also dominating the Jaffna electoral district -- the heartland of the nation's Tamil minority.
The JD-U and the Opposition RJD are united on a caste census in Bihar, which the BJP is opposed to.
All MPs of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including nominated members, are entitled to vote in the vice presidential election.
These six male megastars have formed popular pairs with two starkly different leading ladies. Dinesh Raheja compares and contrasts the chemistry between the onscreen couples, and asks you, dear reader, to vote for your favourite jodi.
'We accept EVMs cannot be hacked because it is not connected, but can they be manipulated?' 'Are you allowing us to check if EVMs can be manipulated?'
The government on Friday refrained from releasing the caste-based data in its first Socio Economic and Caste Census released in eight decades and maintained that it was concerned with economic data which will help in effective implementation of its programmes.
Kejriwal claimed that 16 AAP candidates had received offers from the BJP with the promise of ministerial positions and Rs 15 crore each if they switch sides.
Officials said most of the preparations are complete and the counting will start at 8 am on Saturday.
The counting was scheduled to start at 5 pm Friday, but it could not be taken up as the Bharatiya Janata Party approached the Election Commission alleging violation of rules by three MLAs of the state's ruling alliance of Maha Vikas Aghadi.
The Congress has said the assembly polls results were "unexpected" and have alleged discrepancies in the EVMs in some seats.
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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday cast his vote at a polling station in Ahmedabad during the second phase of the assembly elections in Gujarat and said the state's people listen to everybody, but it is their nature to accept what is true.
The BJP is leaning on Yogi's 'batenge to katenge' theme to weave a unifying narrative that transcends caste and communal lines.
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar has thrown his weight behind villagers in Solapur, Maharashtra, who are demanding a repoll using ballot papers after raising doubts about the accuracy of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Pawar met with villagers in Markadwadi, where a police case was filed against over 200 people for attempting to conduct an unauthorized re-election. He expressed support for their concerns, claiming that the villagers were "the ones who thought of conducting polls using ballot papers." Pawar criticized the police action, calling it a restriction on the villagers' right to assemble and vowing to raise the issue with the Chief Minister, the state Chief Electoral Officer, the Prime Minister, and the Election Commission of India.
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.
Parliamentarians and legislators across the country voted on Monday to elect India's 15th president, choosing between opposition pick Yashwant Sinha and National Democratic Alliance nominee Droupadi Murmu who is favoured to win the battle to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
'If there is one thing Shyam Benegal expressed best: It was the Poetry of the ordinary face and ordinary lives.'
A BJP source admitted that a census will inevitably reconfirm the numerical majority of the OBCs. 'That will overturn social equations and consign the upper castes to a twilight zone of marginalisation. The RSS won't accept it.' Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
Kolewadi gram sabha in Maharashtra's Satara district has resolved to conduct future elections on ballot papers, becoming the second village in the state to pass a resolution against EVMs.
The Election Commission of India has dismissed claims by the Congress party alleging voter list irregularities during the recent Maharashtra assembly elections. In a detailed response, the EC asserted that there were no arbitrary additions or deletions of voters and that the electoral process was conducted with transparency and adherence to rules.
EPS has had its way on most things, alliance-wise. A week earlier, he reiterated that he would not re-admit OPS and Sasikala Natarajan back in the party. It was a message not just to detractors in the AIADMK. It was even more so for the BJP leadership in Delhi. Even more important for the AIADMK was their demand for accepting EPS as the chief ministerial candidate of any alliance that the party would form, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The BJP is hopeful of improving its performance in Dalit-dominated constituencies in Delhi ahead of the February 5 assembly polls, following a sustained outreach campaign. The party failed to win any of the 12 SC reserved constituencies in the 2015 and 2020 elections. The party has been out of power in the city since 1998.
Deputy Election Commissioner in charge of Bihar Chandra Bhushan Kumar said two-third or 2.7 crore votes of the total over 4 crore polled in electronic voting machines in the three-phase polls have been counted till 5.30 pm.
