From royalty to a tea vendor-turned-politician's wife and from a first lady to a Bengali actress, the 18 Muslim women who treaded the hallowed corridors of power in the Lok Sabha are an eclectic mix, with each of them having an interesting backstory, but one common thread -- their path to power was always strewn with struggle and hurdles.
Delhi's third woman Chief Minister Atishi, who replaced Arvind Kejriwal after his resignation in September last year, filed her nomination on Tuesday for the upcoming Assembly polls, declaring a net worth of Rs 76.93 lakh, with no car or house in her name. According to Atishi's affidavit submitted to the Election Commission (EC), her movable assets include Rs 30,000 cash in hand, gold jewellery worth Rs 1 lakh and approximately Rs 75 lakh held in bank accounts as fixed deposits and savings. The affidavit also revealed that Atishi does not own any immovable property.
The Congress has tried to inflict capital punishment on true secularism, he claimed, asserting that the Waqf law has no place in the Constitution.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) distanced itself from the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on Friday, saying it is not part of the opposition alliance anymore and questioning the Congress party's role in leading it.
Six Indian Americans have won the elections to the House of Representatives, increasing their number from five in the current Congress.
India took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series, with the final game scheduled to be played in Birmingham on Saturday.
AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami is under pressure from his party as his unclear stand on the BJP alliance has brought back fears among party workers that the party may lose its identity, be forced into an unwanted coalition, and be taken over by the BJP later, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Ajit Pawar criticised Patil, a senior BJP leader, for his remarks two days after polling in the Baramati Lok Sabha seat in Pune district concluded.
The chief adviser's decision to stay in office came two days after he told student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders that he was mulling resignation as he felt "the situation is such that he cannot work", citing difficulties in working amid the failure of political parties to find common ground for change.
Following that, Sudhakaran, at another event in Alappuzha on Thursday, claimed that what he had said earlier was not completely true and he had added something extra to it from his "imagination".
United States President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his January 20 inauguration, CBS News reported citing sources.
The future of Rishi Sunak as Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party hangs in the balance as polling booths opened across the United Kingdom on Thursday, with millions expected to turn out to cast their votes in the general election.
Only in the event of the RSS managing to force Modi into accepting a consensual candidate, will the party not continue to 'being' the 'next Congress', observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The BJP registered emphatic victories in seven municipal corporations in Haryana, while its nominees were leading in two other civic bodies in the recently held elections. The Congress, which was hoping to improve its electoral fortunes after a defeat in the 2024 Assembly polls, suffered another setback. The BJP candidates won with large margins in Faridabad, Gurugram, Hisar, Karnal, Rohtak, Sonipat, and Ambala. The BJP was also leading in Yamunanagar and Panipat. In Manesar, an Independent candidate, Inderjeet Yadav, won the mayoral election. The results are seen as a major setback for the Congress, which has been facing internal turmoil and factionalism.
As part of the investigation, EC officials visited Sudhakaran's residence on Thursday and recorded his statement. They said the matter would be submitted to the district collector for further actions.
India has to fill in all the critical gaps in missiles, ammunition, sensors and stockpile in the fastest possible manner, focusing on the critical instruments that worked this time, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
'There was a strong undercurrent of deprivation, and also frustration against misuse of power and authority.' 'This election was an opportunity for the manifestation of this discontentment.'
Clash of the two richest titans, a celebrity and a 'royal', is on the cards in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, known for electing erstwhile 'royals' maximum number of times.
According to a report in the Hindustan Times newspaper, the couple's relationship began to unravel following Onler's candidature in the 2022 Manipur assembly elections.
'... dividing society not just on religious lines, but also creating rift in families and among brothers and sisters.'
Akhilesh's fielding candidates from a broad spectrum of castes, not just Yadavs, and with the BJP losing in several seats in Purvanchal, suggests that smaller OBC communities shifted from the BJP to the SP in the region.
Kodikunnil Suresh, the Opposition's pick for the Lok Sabha speaker who will go up against the Bharatiya Janata Party's Om Birla, is a Congress veteran, an eight-term MP and one whose election in 2009 was declared invalid by the Kerala high court before being restored by the Supreme Court.
The 62-year-old former deputy chief minister was first elected the party president in 2008. His re-election at the outfit's general delegate session in Amritsar comes barely four months after he quit after he was declared 'tankhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct) by the Akal Takht for "mistakes" committed by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and its government from 2007 to 2017.
Indian-origin lawmaker Zohran Kwame Mamdani stunned in the Democratic primary race for New York City mayor, upsetting former governor Andrew Cuomo.
Navendu Mishra (Stockport) and Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East) were among the other Labour MPs re-elected with convincing majorities.
The Sena-UBT pointed out that the Congress only spoke about itself in the Ahmedabad meet, and INDIA or Bharat was nowhere in the discussion.
'Like me there are crores of Marathi people in the state hoping for this miracle to work.'
The most important lesson is that you have to build your political proposition, and sell it yourself. You can't leave it to the courts, media, NGOs and civil society and expect them to play the role of the Opposition. That's precisely what Mr Modi's challengers have been doing and we know the results, notes Shekhar Gupta.
AIFF chief Chaubey accuses Bhutia of running football schools for "vested interest"
India had better be prepared. Munir could be back at our throats soon, even within the next 12 months, warns Shekhar Gupta.
If history is anything to go by, Leeds always has room for a little magic.
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.
The Congress leadership on Friday held separate meetings to review its performances in the assembly polls in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, and said its defeat in the two states at the hands of the BJP was unexpected.
'You're paying Rs 42 lakh for one game. Why not link it to qualification? It just shows how clueless the management is.'
Successive elections since 2019 have proved that the Modi charisma and Shah's strategy does not work in Tamil Nadu. Now, they have to see next year if the DMK is capable of losing, whether to an existing NDA alliance or an expanded version, if one becomes necessary and possible!, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Samajwadi Party candidate Afzal Ansari is the incumbent MP and slain don Mukhtar Ansari's elder brother. Afzal had won the 2019 election on a BSP ticket after defeating the BJP's Manoj Sinha, now the J&K lieutenant governor.
'He has emerged as a formidable leader who cannot be ignored anymore, who cannot be mocked.'
Pezeshkian gained the attention of people for his stance against the crackdown on the 2009 pro-democracy protests and the violence perpetrated by the notorious morality police in 2022 after Mahsa Amini's death.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party a clear winner in the Delhi assembly elections, meet the BJP aspirants for the chief minister's post.
Former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who was chosen as the Biju Janata Dal president for the ninth time in a row, on Saturday called upon party workers to expose the alleged false narrative of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
