The Congress party has announced its support for Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar as the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra.
Amidst the INDIA bloc conclave in Delhi, a significant number of Trinamool Congress MPs convened a closed-door meeting, signalling a deepening internal rebellion and discontent within the party's parliamentary ranks following recent electoral setbacks.
Rajya Sabha witnessed heated exchanges between the treasury and opposition benches after Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge made remarks on the manner in which political parties select women candidates from weaker sections and raised the issue of 'delayed' GST payments to non-Bharatiya Janata Party ruled states.
The Congress party in Odisha has moved its MLAs to Karnataka due to concerns about cross-voting in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. Meanwhile, the BJD has called for meetings of its legislators.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi engaged in a brief conversation during an event commemorating Jyotirao Phule, drawing attention due to the rarity of such interactions between the two leaders.
The party also nominated six others, including former Union minister Beni Prasad Verma, an influential Kushwaha leader who recently quit Congress and returned to the Samajwadi Party, and realtor Sanjay Seth for the biennial polls scheduled next month.
Even though MLAs are required to show their ballot to respective party whips before casting their vote, all parties have ensured their MLAs are housed in five star hotels closer to the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha where voting will take place on June 10.
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor secured a significant victory in the Bankipur assembly bypoll, defeating the BJP candidate by over 19,000 votes. Kishor attributed his win to support from disgruntled members of major parties and potentially Gen Z protests, while firmly rejecting any future political alliances. He claimed the mandate was a wake-up call for the BJP-led government in Bihar and its Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, giving his party its maiden presence in the state assembly.
A latest survey by the Association for Democratic Reforms reveals that 14 criminals and 50 crorepatis will be contesting the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
Mallikarjun Kharge and Narendra Modi addressed the Rajya Sabha, acknowledging the contributions of retiring MPs and emphasising the enduring nature of public service.
Former poll strategist Prashant Kishor made a stunning electoral debut by winning Bihar's Bankipur assembly seat, a long-held BJP bastion. Concurrently, the Congress retained the Datia assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh, while the BJP successfully held onto the Manjalpur seat in Gujarat, showcasing mixed results for the ruling and opposition parties in these crucial by-elections.
By nominating Madhusudan Mistry, Digvijaya Singh, Kumari Selja as the party's Rajya Sabha candidates, and roping in Sanjay Singh, the Congress vice-president has failed to walk the talk, argues Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Saturday re-nominated sitting MP M Kanimozhi, daughter of party president M Karunanidhi as its candidate for the June 27 Rajya Sabha elections for six seats, hoping to drum up support from other parties to ensure a second term for her.
As polling begins on Friday for the remaining 25 Rajya Sabha seats in six states, here's a list of some of the bigwigs who are seeking to be elected to the Upper House of Parliament.
BJP rebel Gokul Gite secured a surprising victory in Maharashtra legislative council's Nashik district local governing body constituency, defeating the ruling Shiv Sena nominee Narendra Darade by 109 votes, despite senior Mahayuti leaders' attempts to resolve his independent candidature.
The deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended on Friday afternoon.
The BJP team under the new national president Nitin Nabin, who took charge in January, is expected to be announced within this month, with sources suggesting that some holding positions in the government may move to the party.
The absence of NCP-SP leaders from a key Maha Vikas Aghadi meeting in Maharashtra has ignited concerns about opposition unity ahead of the crucial budget session and upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
Elections for 19 Rajya Sabha seats spread across eight states will be held on Friday with the contest in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan promising to be a close affair between the BJP and the Congress.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Dina Patil allegedly abused and threatened journalists, prompting Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to ask him to express regret. The incident occurred after journalists questioned Patil about a letter from Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut and his daughter's political stance, leading to a political controversy.
The BJP is still short of the halfway mark of 123 in the 245-member House, but can now muster a 'working' majority with help of allies, friendly parties, some Independents and nominated members.
This follows complaints from the Congress that nomination papers of two of its candidates were rejected "unconstitutionally."
A complaint has been filed against Rajya Sabha member Anurag Sharma, alleging concealment of property details and violation of election rules during the nomination process.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Jharkhand faced embarrassment on Thursday when their candidate S S Ahluwalia lost the Rajya Sabha elections, which was held afresh after being countermanded earlier as the Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha bagged the two seats.
'Something could happen to me... I understood that day itself that what they had sent me was a final warning.'
Its electoral triumphs in assembly polls, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, have made the BJP the single-largest party in the Rajya Sabha.
The election to the post is mostly decided by consensus, but opposition leaders complain that the Narendra Modi government was yet to reach out to them, reports Archis Mohan.
Speaking to the reporters on Wednesday, Minister J P Dalal said that they have called all the MLAs to make the new MLAs understand on the polling procedure.
Rebel Trinamool Congress MP Arup Chakraborty on Monday said the breakaway faction is trying to "rectify" the party, and would fight for the control of its election symbol, even as the Mamata Banerjee-led outfit termed the move illegal under the anti-defection law.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in Maharashtra is showing signs of strain as both Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress have announced their intention to field candidates for the upcoming legislative council elections.
Union minister Smriti Irani will also contest the Rajya Sabha polls from Gujarat from where she is already an MP and her term ends on August 18.
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.
Communist Party of India national secretary D Raja was also among the 6 to elected to the Rajya Sabha from TN.
BJP candidate Arun Lakhani, contesting the Maharashtra legislative council elections, addresses the unique situation of his son's marriage to Supriya Sule's daughter, emphasising the separation of politics and family ties.
Mayawati was outmanoeuvred by the BJP in the race for the Rajya Sabha in Uttar Pradesh just days after she helped the Samajwadi Party snatch two Lok Sbaha seats from the saffron party in bypolls.
But Congress' Kiran Chaudhary and BJP's Shakuntala Hegde lost in a close contest in the biennial elections.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's son, Nishant Kumar, is set to enter politics, with a formal announcement expected from the JD(U). Party leaders express enthusiasm and anticipate a significant role for Nishant within the party.
Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has accused the state government of imposing arbitrary conditions on crop purchases, alleging anti-farmer policies and demanding compensation for weather-related crop damage.
Whether Vijay has the political spine to stitch together a stable government from this patchwork of conditions, demands, and midnight drama is the question Tamil Nadu is living through right now.
Even his critics say Thaawar Chand Gehlot is a man of delivery. 'If a task is assigned, he wins it over with political sagacity,' they say.
