The money play in Jharkhand in the Rajya Sabha elections appears to be destabilising the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, with its ally Jharkhand Mukti Morcha even threatening to pull it down if its candidate loses.
The Congress is working on stitching together a coalition government in Jharkhand minus Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren, who is not interested in discussing any deal which does not make him the chief minister of the state.
Noting that the Congress was not able to win even a single Lok Sabha seat in 17 states, he said it was time for the Congress to introspect and "accept defeat".
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Legislative Party leader Hemant Soren on Thursday submitted his resignation letter as an MLA to his father Shibu Soren and offered his Dumka seat to the Jharkhand chief minister to contest and enter the state assembly.
Welcoming Shibu Soren's resignation, the Congress on Sunday night said the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief took the right decision by not seeking a floor test. "It is proper that Shibu Soren resigned after knowing he had no majority. It is always good to resign instead of going to the House without a majority," Leader of Opposition Rajendra Prasad Singh told PTI. "If our high command directs us to initiate government formation, we will go ahead, if not we won't," he said.
It is in more than a decade that the IMD has predicted 'above-normal' rains in the country.
"The BJP and AJSU have agreed to support the JMM under the leadership of Guruji (Soren)," party Vice-President Hemlal Murmu told media persons hours after JMM legislature party elected Soren as its leader and authorised him to explore government formation. JMM has 18 MLAs, same as that of BJP, and AJSU has five members in the 81-member House. If BJP's ally Janata Dal-United with two MLAs also back JMM's bid to form government, its strength will go up to 43.
Jharkhand Governor K Sankarananaryanan has invited JMM chief Shibu Soren on December 30 to form the new government in the state.
'The UP government will implement the quota for the upper castes fully without touching the reservation for other sections of society'
Two Lok Sabha Members of Parliament of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha on Saturday formally withdrew support from the United Progressive Alliance government, slamming it for anti-people decisions like FDI in multi brand retail, inflation and "creating a record in corruption". A delegation of JVM MPs and seniors leaders, led by party chief Babulal Marandi, met President Pranab Mukherjee and submitted a letter withdrawing support from the government.
With 18 assembly seats in his kitty, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren on Thursday said the results indicated his popularity and expressed his desire to form the government in Jharkhand, which has given a fractured verdict. "The JMM is the single largest party and I should be given the chance to form the government," said Soren, who has emerged as the king-maker after the results of the state assembly polls were declared on Wednesday.
Thousands of migrants were stranded in places across the country since the lockdown was enforced on March 25, many even attempting to walk home.
'The Congress in the past backed the demand, but will not support it now since the SP opposes any division of UP.'
There is little doubt that the prime minister's own charisma exceeds that of his party, but 2024 is proof that no party can ultimately depend on one person to deliver victory all the time, points out R Jagannathan.
He denied speculations that the three ministers, who appear to be switching sides to the UPA to topple his government, have faxed their resignations to the governor.
Three battalions of the Border Security Force comprising more than 3,000 personnel will move across the border from Odisha to Chhattisgarh and an equal number of Indo-Tibetan Border Police units will further move into the Naxal stronghold of Abujhmad as part of a strategy to intensify anti-Maoist operations in their last bastions, official sources said.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Interim Budget on February 1 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections likely to be held in April-May.
The BJP will enter this election, as it does every election, as if it is fighting to prevent a 2004-style defeat. This is a party that wins big because it always behaves as if its back is to the wall, predicts Mihir S Sharma.
The threshold for a heat wave is met when the maximum temperature of a weather station reaches at least 40 degrees Celsius in the plains, 37 degrees in coastal areas, and 30 degrees in hilly regions, and the departure from normal is at least 4.5 notches.
Such private universities are empowered to award general degree programmes without the specific approval of the UGC, the official said.
'If Kejriwal is adamant on running his government from jail, then his government could be dismissed and Article 356 imposed on Delhi, in other words President's rule in Delhi.'
"I met the Governor and informed him that he was constitutionally not bound to accept the recommendation of House dissolution taken by a minority government," Jharkhand PCC Chief Pradeep Kumar Balmachu told reporters at the Raj Bhavan after calling on Ahmed
Maoists had surgically inserted an improvised explosive device inside the body of a Central Reserve Police Force jawan who was killed three days ago in an ambush in Jharkhand's Latehar district. Doctors conducting the autopsy of the CRPF trooper at a government hospital in Ranchi were shocked when they found a 1.5 kg unexploded bomb stitched inside the abdomen of 29-year-old Constable Babulal Patel, who was among those killed in the encounter with Maoists.
To ensure immediate cooling of the body, the hospital has set up a first-of-its-kind heatstroke unit.
As Election 2024 hurtles towards result day in a medley of mangalsutra, mujra, mutton, machli and other barbs, these may sound like character names from Hindi comics of yore. Instead, these are the mocking, sometimes vicious monikers given by political rivals to each other.
Kejriwal said that the ordinance must be defeated collectively in Parliament where it is likely to come up for voting as a law in the forthcoming session.
With the Income Tax department recovering over Rs 225 crore cash during a series of raids on an Odisha-based distillery group on charges of tax evasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday assured the people that the money looted from the public will be returned.
The Congress said the rally by the INDIA will send a "strong message" to the Lok Kalyan Marg, where the prime minister's residence is located, that the BJP-led government's "time is up".
Speaker Inder Singh Namdhari on Thursday had announced the defeat of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government under controversial circumstances.
Over 1,000 police personnel have been awarded with different categories of gallantry and service medals on the eve of the 75th Republic Day, a government statement said Thursday. This includes 277 gallantry medals.
Bharatiya Janata Party veteran L K Advani on Tuesday backed party leader Yashwant Sinha saying he is the 'right person' to be chief minister and suggested that he should leave jail after securing bail to lead the 'historic agitation' against power crisis in Jharkhand.
Political observers lauded the SP's choices in fielding several non-Yadav and Scheduled Caste candidates, the party's alliance with the Congress, and Rahul Gandhi's campaign around the danger to the Constitution if the BJP won a big majority.
The Centre on Saturday night announced that the probe into alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET will be handed over to the CBI for a comprehensive investigation.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday struck an alliance with the All Jharkhand Students Union for the upcoming polls to the 81-member state assembly for which it has given its new partner eight seats.
Optimistic over forming a new government in Jharkand, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is all set to stake a claim for government formation, with Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav vowing to install him as chief minister at all costs.Requiring a majority of 41 for the 81-member House, the JMM has 17 MLAs and guaranteed support of Congress, RJD and NCP.Four independents have pledged support to Soren and the JMM is lobbying to get the backing of at least 3 independents.
The JMM has convened a crucial meeting of the party's central committee and legislature party on Sunday where a formal decision of withdrawal would be made. Soren is scheduled to call on Governor Syed Sibtey Razi after the party meeting as Razi has allowed his request for an appointment at 7 pm, Raj Bhavan sources said.
BJP heavyweights Smriti Irani, Arjun Munda, Ajay Mishra Teni and Kailash Chaudhary were among the 13 Union ministers who tasted defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states forced the BJP to rely on allies to form the government.
Razi will arrive in Delhi on Friday, official sources said.
