Campaigning has concluded for the second and final phase of the Bihar assembly elections, marking the end of a month-long intense political battle. Key candidates and prominent leaders from various parties held rallies and roadshows to woo voters.
With the party fielding three Union ministers, besides four other MPs, as candidates in the Madhya Pradesh assembly polls, it may continue with the strategy in Rajasthan.
BJP MLA Vishal Nehria had claimed that Dravid will be participating in the Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha's National Working Committee session in Dharamshala.
BJP national president JP Nadda has asked party's Uttar Pradesh chief Swatantra Dev Singh to convey it to the MLA to stay away from the probe, sources said.
Nadda said the investigating agencies had nabbed one accused from Azamgarh and another from Jaunpur.
Some newly elected Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs met former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje at her Civil Lines residence on Sunday, amid suspense over whom the party will pick for the chief ministerial post in the state.
At the customary meeting ahead of the session beginning Monday, the opposition raised various issues, including voter roll revision in Bihar, the Pahalgam terror attack and Trump's 'ceasefire' claims.
Jagdeep Dhankhar's sudden resignation as Vice President has led to speculation about underlying political tensions and disagreements with the ruling alliance.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has nominated Maharashta Governor Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan as their candidate for Vice-President of India. The announcement was made by BJP President J P Nadda, highlighting Radhakrishnan's extensive public service and cross-party respect.
This is the second time that Ranaut has met the BJP president since she stirred a controversy earlier this week with her disparaging remarks on the farmers agitation against the now repealed three farm laws.
BJP president JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh were among those who attended the meeting.
The meeting, which began around 10:30 pm on Thursday, lasted for more than four hours and was held at the party's headquarters in New Delhi.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spent Rs 1,737.68 crore for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, according to the expenditure report submitted to the Election Commission of India. A majority of the funds were allocated to general party propaganda and candidate-related expenses, with media advertisements accounting for a significant portion. The BJP's election outreach also included extensive use of publicity materials and campaign-related travel. The party's expenditure on public meetings, processions, and rallies, including arrangements for stages, audio setups, barricades, and vehicles, stood at Rs 19.84 crore. The travel expenditure of star campaigners authorized by the party's central headquarters amounted to Rs 168.92 crore, while Rs 2.53 crore was spent on the travel of other party leaders.
Bharatiya Janata Party chief J P Nadda and Union home minister Amit Shah held a brainstorming session on Tuesday with key party leaders tasked with boosting its prospects in 144 Lok Sabha seats, considered difficult for it, in the 2024 polls.
Outgoing Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who returned to Mumbai from New Delhi on Friday morning, is travelling to his native village in Satara district amid continuing suspense over his successor a week after the assembly poll results. Shinde had told reporters in New Delhi on late Thursday night that the next meeting of the Mahayuti alliance on government formation will be held in Mumbai on Friday. However, the caretaker CM, who heads the Shiv Sena, is travelling to his native village Dare in Satara district in western Maharashtra and the meeting is now expected to take place on Sunday, the sources said. The Shiv Sena leader has repeatedly said he would not be an obstacle in the government formation and abide by the decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the next chief minister. Different viewpoints are emerging in the Shiv Sena over Shinde's place in the next government to be headed by the BJP, the biggest constituent in the Mahayuti, which posted a thumping win in the just-held assembly polls. Many leaders in the Shiv Sena are asking Shinde to accept deputy CM's post if offered by the BJP. However, another section feels it wouldn't be right for him to accept No. 2 position after serving as CM for more than two-and-a-half years, the sources said. "The government formation process will start after the BJP announces its legislature party leader," they said. During his Delhi trip, Shinde had met Shah and discussed formation of the next government in the state. His deputies in the outgoing state cabinet Devendra Fadnavis (BJP) and Ajit Pawar (NCP) had also met the senior BJP leader. Talking to reporters in the national capital, Shinde called the discussion good and positive. Shinde, Fadnavis and Pawar had also met BJP president J P Nadda.
Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari, all former BJP presidents, besides RSS joint general secretary Arun Kumar met at the residence of incumbent party chief JP Nadda.
The INDIA bloc in Bihar has announced Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate, signaling a united front after weeks of internal disagreements. The move aims to challenge the incumbent NDA government, with both sides engaging in political maneuvering and accusations.
The choice of 59-year-old Nadda has come as a bit of surprise as the party had indicated last week that it could take a call on the issue after the membership drive after about six months.
The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which secured a landslide victory in the recent Maharashtra assembly elections, is set to form the new government in the state. Outgoing Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar met Union Home Minister Amit Shah to finalize a power-sharing agreement. The alliance partners, BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, will decide on ministerial berths at the meeting with Shah. Political circles are abuzz about the social equations in Maharashtra influencing the choice of the next Chief Minister.
Sources said Paswan's party may contest on five of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar.
Even as Gujarat polls are underway, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated a two-day meeting of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in New Delhi to review the party's preparations and chalk out strategy for the next round of elections in states and the all-important Lok Sabha contest in 2024.
Former Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras announced that his Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) is no longer part of the BJP-led NDA, citing the alliance's support for his estranged nephew Chirag Paswan. Paras also accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of being "anti-Dalit" and demanded a Bharat Ratna for his late brother Ram Vilas Paswan, calling him the "second Ambedkar."
The list includes constituencies where the BJP came second or third in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, and also some which the party has never won.
With Maharashtra in its kitty, the BJP has consolidated its position in the north-western region and now has set it eyes on southern states, especially Telangana.
Opposition parties have called for a discussion in Parliament on the Maha Kumbh tragedy and the UP government's alleged focus on VIPs rather than the common pilgrims. Union minister Kiren Rijiju has stated that the Business Advisory Committee will decide on the agenda of the Budget Session, which will start from January 31. The Session will commence with President Droupadi Murmu addressing the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Union Budget will be presented on February 1.
The Lok Sabha's Privileges Committee, headed by BJP member Sunil Kumar Singh, took up other issues on the agenda as Bidhuri, who was campaigning for the party in poll-bound Rajasthan, kept away.
The Shiv Sena leader also asserted that Eknath Shinde will take any position in the Union cabinet as his interest lies in Maharashtra politics.
The decision by BJP's highest decision-making body was announced by former party president and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh after the meeting, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.
The Bhopal MP was pulled up and asked to refrain from making statements that go against the party's programmes and ideology
Scindia has been named as the BJP's Rajya Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh.
This will be the first physical meeting of BJP's key decision-making body outside he national capital after a gap of five years.
The leaders will also raise the issue of alleged "use of religious symbols" by the Bharatiya Janata Party in their campaign, they said.
While BJD leaders held a marathon meeting at Naveen Niwas, the residence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday, the BJP leaders had a similar meeting in the national capital, discussing election matters, including a potential alliance.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday held discussions with Tipra Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, in the presence of Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda, over various issues faced by the indigenous people of Tripura, a senior leader of the saffron party said.
He also urged all the ministers, MLAs, and public representatives to respect party workers.
BJP president JP Nadda held a meeting with the ministers on Wednesday to deliberated on the exercise to be held between May 30 and June 15, and to finalise the tour plans.
The meeting, which lasted for over four hours, was attended by chief ministers and deputy chief ministers of 18 states.
The strike will continue following the tragic incident at the RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, it said.
The jan man survey seeks the people's response on various aspects of governance and leadership and its questions include both central-level development and specifics related to the user's constituency.
Union minister and the BJP's election in-charge for Rajasthan Pralhad Joshi, co-in-charge Nitin Patel, the party's in-charge for Rajasthan Arun Singh, state president C P Joshi, Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Arjun Ram Meghwal and Kailash Chaudhary, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Rajendra Rathore, Deputy Leader of Opposition and former state president Satish Poonia and other leaders were present at the meeting, which is likely to continue till late, the sources said.
