Former Bengal pace spearhead Ashoke Dinda, who is fighting from the Moyna constituency in Purba Medinipur district, said the BJP desperately wants BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly to join the party.
Joining hands with smaller parties with a political base in different castes was a part of the BJP strategy as it won big in Uttar Pradesh in the 2017 assembly polls and 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Hooda and Azad were reported to have discussed concrete proposals to strengthen the Congress and ensure collective leadership and decision making as demanded by the grouping which met on Wednesday and signed a joint statement.
Congress is the only other horse in the race for national power, never mind how distant. Narendra Modi and Amit Shah know better than to take the Congress lightly, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'I am not in favour of the hijab myself.' 'I personally think it wrong to make women shut themselves out of the world, where there is so much to see.' 'But I can't dictate to others about what they should wear.'
The Congress will hold a chintan shivir immediately after the Budget session of Parliament and the CWC will meet again before that, he told reporters
The nodal officer for EVMs in Varanasi, a returning officer (RO) in Sonbhadra district and an additional election officer in Bareilly district have been pulled out from election duties, a day ahead of the counting of votes in UP.
While acknowledging Shivaji's naval contributions, questions are being raised about the inadequate acknowledgement of Chola sea-power in southern Tamil Nadu, which dates back by a few centuries, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
The RSS uses its resentment against mosques and loudspeakers to stoke anti-Muslim feelings among other Hindus, whenever it can, be it during riots, or before elections, says Jyoti Punwani.
Replying to a discussion on the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, he also slammed some Opposition members for their claim that the proposed law negates the hopes of the region getting back its erstwhile statehood.
'When I said the Gandhi family had to step aside, it was because we have consistently seen that the public has not accepted them.'
To beat BJP, you either deny them a critical mass of Hindu vote or build a regional leader and party strong enough to protect their turf, observes Shekhar Gupta.
The Nationalist Congress Party Saturday said the coalition dharma has to be understood by both partners
Despite being in New Delhi for nearly one-and-a-half years, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said he has not "settled" in the national capital as he can never be a "Delhi politician".
He also said if the prime minister likes abusing the Congress and his great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru, 'be my guest, but do your job'.
Pawar said he was upset that his three sisters were dragged into this.
'Removing Biplab Deb and replacing him with Manik Saha is a fruitless exercise that the BJP national leadership has indulged in.' 'It is foolish to think that people will forget what these two have done to the state and its people in the last four years.'
Hindu festivals are now becoming occasions when anti-Muslim hatred is expressed freely through slogans and songs that are full of abuse against Muslims or calls to either kill them or humiliate them, observes Apoorvanand.
Former Public Works Department Minister Churchill Alemao has been arrested in connection with the Louis Berger bribery case by Goa police which is closing in on former chief minister Digambar Kamat and preparing to oppose his anticipatory bail plea.
With the controversy over 'love and narcotic jihad' remark by Pala Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt refusing to die down, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday engaged in a fresh round of verbal sparring.
The prime minister may go for new faces with an eye on grooming younger leaders while also factoring in caste and regional balances
A delegation of the Maharashtra government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday to discuss issues like Maratha and OBC reservation, and Cyclone Tauktae relief measures, informed State Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil.
Goa police investigating an allegation against famous pop singer Remo Fernandes that he threatened a minor girl, have sought CCTV footage of the ward at GMCH.
The Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday said the Missionaries of Charity's application for renewal of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) registration was refused on December 25 for not meeting eligibility conditions as some adverse inputs were received.
The 10-day-long annual Ganesh Chaturthi festival began on a low-key note on Friday with several state governments prohibiting public celebrations due to the Covid pandemic and devotees taking the virtual route to pay obeisance and join the festivities.
The cons are dull, the chemistry is off, the zingers are in short supply and a kitschy display of brand logos and hammy accents takes centre stage, sighs Sukanya Verma.
However, Anup Sardesai, the writer of the book titled Nathuram Godse: The Story of an Assassin, said he would go ahead with its release at a different venue.
"The Opposition's mahagathbandhan is an alliance of corruption, negativity and instability. The Opposition has 'dhanshakti' (money power), we have 'janshakti' (people's power)," the prime minister said.
The warrant of appointment of Murmu, a 1985 batch IAS officer from Gujarat, was read out by Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam.
'The future looks quite bleak unless we ramp up testing and start vaccinating on a war footing.'
Marandi returned to the BJP after 14 years and the party now wants him to lead the state unit. But a generation of new leaders isn't familiar with him, explains Radhika Ramaseshan.
The crisis staring at the 13-month old government after over a dozen MLAs of the ruling combine quit on Saturday deepened with two Ministers and Independent MLAs -- H Nagesh and R Shankar -- resigning from the ministry and withdrawing their support to the coalition.
'The wish is that 2022, if not bring us into happier times, at least sees some easing of the pain,' hopes Aakar Patel.
Political watchers believe that there is little denying the loss of face the party has suffered in its bid to rule India's richest state.
'The staff student ratio in Kerala medical colleges is already compromised as in the last few years, the Kerala government has taken a decision to admit maximum number of students in all the medical colleges.'
Big ticket defence deals including purchase of missile systems, frigates and joint production of helicopters were sealed on Saturday.
The Goan paradise has become one of the world's most powerful drug cartels, which is being operated by Russians, Israelis and Nigerians -- in their own distinctive styles -- and is backed by local political interests. Vicky Nanjappa's special report.
Modi, who addressed a poll rally in the Malwa heartland, asked the electorate to vote for the SAD-BJP combine for the third time, warning that Punjab as well as the entire nation could face a "crisis" if government led by any party other than the alliance comes to power.
Radha Mohan Singh appointed in-charge of politically crucial UP. Kailash Vijayvargiya will continue to be the in-charge of West Bengal and he will be assisted by BJP national secretary Arvind Menon and party national IT cell head Amit Malviya.
Jaitley's tenure as defence minister saw clearance of a number of big ticket reform measures and simplification of military acquisition process.
