Many senior BJP leaders and outgoing Rajya Sabha MPs, including seven Union ministers such as Dharmendra Pradhan and Bhupender Yadav, have not been renominated by the party for the biennial Rajya Sabha polls amid strong indications that several of them may contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Jannayak Janta Party chief Ajay Singh Chautala on Wednesday said his party worked with full honesty to fulfil the 'gathbandhan dharma' over the last four and half years of the alliance and his party was never power hungry.
The trouble started when the SP member wanted to make a point on an ongoing heated discussion between Opposition parties and the Chairman in the Rajya Sabha over certain remarks made by BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari on Kharge a few days ago.
There is also speculation within the BJP that its national president J P Nadda, whose extended tenure will end by this month and who was among the leaders meeting Modi, may also be brought back in the government.
'We want to strengthen hands of Modiji and sure that LJP (Ram Vilas) will contest polls as an ally of NDA.'
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Thursday met senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Union minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, and is also likely to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief J P Nadda during his two-day visit, sources said.
His visit comes close on the heels of the party holding a series of review meetings in Lucknow, which had fuelled speculation of a ministerial reshuffle in the state.
It is a double century with a difference for the cricketer turned politician, who is the lead campaigner for the Opposition Mahagathbandhan in the state.
A delegation of Congress leaders met EC officials and raised several issues, including the use of pictures and large cut-outs of the prime minister in government buildings and colleges and demanded that those be removed to maintain a level-playing field in the upcoming parliamentary election.
The leaders will also raise the issue of alleged "use of religious symbols" by the Bharatiya Janata Party in their campaign, they said.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said his government has decided to hand over the Hubballi student murder case to the Crime Investigation Department and that a special court will be set up for its speedy disposal.
Electoral setbacks and thwarted ambition can have an unpredictable effect on leaders,, observes Aditi Phadnis.
That he hasn't done so yet, has continued to be active on the political street, in public debate and on social media, signals an important change. It will give his party hope. Maybe the achievement of reducing Mr Modi well below the majority mark will now motivate him to stay committed, observes Shekhar Gupta
The apex court bench, also comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra, will assemble at 10.30 am to hear the two petitions.
The top brass of the Bharatiya Janata Party, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, met in New Delhi on Wednesday.
'The lack of a majority isn't the issue. He has enough in 240, especially as none of his allies can pull down his coalition.' 'That's why he's started as if this were just another, normal term. That pretence is vital for him.' 'The change for Modi 3.0 comes not from numbers, but from the new environment of contestation,' points out Shekhar Gupta.
An unidentified person threw ink at Union Health Minister J P Nadda at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal, amid protest by students over "poor facilities" at the institute.
'Just because the NDA has a majority and the BJP is the single largest party does not mean that this Modi government enjoys a majority in the Lok Sabha.' 'It is always possible that some members (of the NDA and even the BJP) may defect, some members may not want him to be the prime minister and they might vote differently (against Modi) in the confidence vote.'
Preparing to take office for a record third consecutive term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday pledged to work with all states, regardless of the party in power, to build a developed India.
National Democratic Alliance nominee Om Birla was elected as Lok Sabha speaker on Wednesday after a motion moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was adopted through voice vote, capping intense debate on the issue with the opposition in a rare move proposing its own candidate.
The Rajya Sabha chairman asked him to authenticate his assertions and refused to accept newspaper clippings that the Congress leader showed to buttress his points.
Former chief minister ML Khattar also indicated the BJP government was not averse to a floor test and that six Jannayak Janta Party MLAs are with it.
'Traders must adopt digital payments as soon as possible within a set timeframe, as the nation is moving rapidly towards digitisation.' 'Ignoring digital systems is not an option for strengthening trade.'
The Tamil Nadu assembly on Friday once again passed a unanimous resolution urging the Centre to exempt the state from National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and allow it to admit students to medical courses based on Plus Two exam marks.
All private medical colleges will come under the ambit of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Health Minister J P Nadda said on Tuesday after an Ordinance to keep the state boards out of it for a year was signed by President Pranab Mukherjee.
The 58-year-old leader was administered the oath of office by Governor Mangubhai Patel.
The swearing-in ceremony of Pramod Sawant as Goa's chief minister will be held on March 28 and prominent Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will attend the event.
'We would continue with the Congress government's schemes with a review to enable it reaches the beneficiaries.'
Both Khera and Suman joined the saffron at its headquarters in Delhi in the presence of senior leaders, including BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde and national media department in-charge Anil Baluni.
Malviya, the MLA from Bagidora in Banswara district, said he joined the BJP for the development of the Vagad region.
Neglect of older dedicated workers who worked without the urge for recognition by the new age social media-aided selfie powered activists was also evident in the poll results, it said.
It will be in Modi's interest to reinvent his party, read the writing on the wall that voters wrote, and move ahead. He has little choice now. The country is watching, asserts Ramesh Menon.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday appointed election in-charges and co-in-charges for 23 states and Union territories in view of the Lok Sabha polls this year.
In the morning, he offered prayers at the Dashashwamedh Ghat and the Kaal Bhairav temple in Varanasi.
Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, Rashtriya Lok Dal's Anil Kumar and two Bharatiya Janata Party leaders were sworn in on Tuesday as Yogi Adityanath expanded his council of ministers, weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
Polling is scheduled in all 13 seats of Punjab and four of Himachal Pradesh, 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha and three seats in Jharkhand besides Chandigarh.
Ahead of the crucial floor test of the newly elected Nayan Singh Saini-led Bharatiya Janata Party government in Haryana, Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) has issued a whip to its MLAs to remain 'absent' from the state assembly at the time of voting on Wednesday.
The report indicates that the miscreants forcibly entered her house and physically assaulted her. Shockingly, they also snatched her infant daughter and callously threw her away, the commission said.
'Kasab was never given mutton biryani.' 'What I had said was Kasab had asked for mutton biryani to be served in jail.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a meeting of the Union Council of Ministers on July 3, officials said on Thursday.