With local body elections approaching in Maharashtra, a significant portion of the Congress party is advocating for contesting independently to regain lost ground amidst the BJP's growing influence. The party is currently part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.
Ganderbal district recorded the highest of 56.40 per cent polling in the Valley, while Poonch district of Jammu region polled the highest of 71.62 per cent votes across J-K.
The ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh on Monday suffered a major blow in the urban civic body polls in the Seemandhra region, where opposition Telugu Desam Party put up a stellar performance, but stole the show in Telangana for whose statehood the party claims credit.
Maharashtra heads to the polls for 29 municipal corporations, with Mumbai's BMC election taking center stage as the BJP-led Mahayuti faces off against the Thackeray front. Key issues include promises for women, pollution control, and the city's financial health.
As counting is underway for the civic bodies in Maharashtra, and all eyes are on Mumbai's cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Here are a list of some of the big winners and losers from these elections.
Posters featuring Fadnavis and declaring 'ha shabda maza ahe (this is my word)' have been put up all over Mumbai to counter Sena posters.
Measures are being taken to implement the local self-government concept after the elections, Minister for Tourism and Urban Development Ghulam Hassan Mir said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray criticized the BJP over the arrest of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and accused the party of corruption and divisive politics during his Dussehra rally.
19 wards of Srinagar Municipal Corporation, having an electorate of 1.78 lakh, witnessed a turnout of just 2.3 per cent, officials said.
'If the BJP had contested all 227 seats, I believe they would have managed to secure a majority on their own.'
The February 16 polls are clearly a precursor to the big fight in the state in 2014. Neerja Chowdhury analyses
Launching the Ayushman Bharat scheme via a video-conference to extend health insurance benefits to all residents of Jammu and Kashmir, he said the three-tier panchayat system has fully taken shape in the UT, describing it as a realisation of Mahatma Gandhi's dream of 'gram swaraj' (village self-rule).
Marked by a poor turnout, polling is in progress on Thursday in 10 municipal corporations across Maharashtra, including the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, with no untoward incident reported so far.
The Trinamool Congress moved the Supreme Court on Friday seeking a probe by a court-monitored panel into the alleged large-scale violence during the municipal polls in Tripura.
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Union ministry of home affairs to provide two additional companies of the Central Armed Police Forces to secure every polling booth during the Tripura municipal polls.
While separatists have called for a boycott of the polls, terrorists have threatened to target persons taking part in these elections.
The 10-day Ganesh festival has begun in Maharashtra, with devotees welcoming Lord Ganesha into their homes and public pandals. The state government has declared the celebrations a state festival for the first time.
The LDF was also leading in 10 out of the 14 district panchayats and 108 block panchayats of the total of 152, according to the State Election Commission figures.
An SIT investigating the Sabarimala gold loss case has questioned former Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran. The interrogation has sparked political controversy, with opposition parties alleging interference in the investigation.
'What must the Indian Air Force pilots -- who destroyed terror bases in Pakistan using BrahMos missiles' -- be thinking?'
The EC postponed polls to 4 municipal corporations by three weeks to February 12.
The Bharatiya Janata Party bagged 48 wards and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen of Asaduddin Owaisi secured 44.
The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) swept the maiden District Development Council (DDC) polls by winning 110 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the single largest party by getting 75 seats after securing the largest vote share in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Wednesday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has begun preparations for polls to the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, as well as other major civic bodies including Pune and Thane, likely to be held later this year.
'This will split the Marathi and Shiv Sena vote.' 'The BJP has conducted 3 surveys indicating they shall secure 109 seats in the BMC.' 'They do not wish for the Shinde Sena to demonstrate excessive strength in the BMC.' 'If the Thackerays secure 60-70 seats, that will affect Shinde's seats.'
Polls to 108 municipalities of West Bengal will be held on February 27, the State Election Commission said in its notification on Thursday, setting the stage for yet another contest for the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, nine months after the assembly polls.
Data from the State Election Commission reveals that over 11 lakh voters in Mumbai have duplicate enrolments in the electoral roll. The SEC has extended the deadline for submitting objections, and opposition leaders have alleged irregularities in the voter list revision.
The ruling party won eight out of 10 civic bodies, votes for which were cast on August 12.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said the State Election Commission has already issued a notification and it will remain unchanged.
Elections for municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Maharashtra are scheduled for December 2, according to the State Election Commissioner. The schedule for other local bodies will be announced later.
The Gujarat government and State Election Commission have decided to introduce e-voting in the next local body elections becoming the first state in the country to enable citizens to cast their franchise online.
Zohran Mamdani, of Indian descent, was sworn in as the 112th Mayor of New York City, marking a historic moment as the first South Asian and Muslim to hold the position. The ceremony took place in an old subway station, symbolizing a new era for the city.
Nineteen candidates saw an extremely close contest in the maiden District Development Council (DDC) polls in Jammu and Kashmir where the margin of victory was less than 100.
Refusing to interfere in policy decisions, the Bombay high court on Wednesday said it was not inclined to grant a stay on the upcoming civic elections in Maharashtra.
Congress-Nationalist Congress Party combine's bid to wrest control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Friday appeared coming to a naught with the country's richest civic body's ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance set to emerge as the largest bloc.
These civic body bypolls were a litmus test for the BJP, as they were its first big electoral battle after coming to power in Delhi in February this year.
Posters announcing plans for an Ayodhya-style Ram temple complex in Salt Lake have appeared, escalating the political duel between religious groups ahead of the Bengal assembly polls. The proposed complex includes a school, hospital, and old-age home.
The Supreme Court Wednesday directed the Maharashtra State Election Commission to notify the programme for local bodies elections within two weeks.
'This is purely transactional politics -- there exists no family reunion as such.'
BJP leaders in Maharashtra criticized Uddhav and Raj Thackeray's joint rally in Mumbai, calling it a desperate attempt to revive their political fortunes ahead of civic polls. They accused the Thackerays of using the Marathi language issue as a guise to regain power and criticized their past actions.
