Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned on Sunday, following months of ethnic violence in the state. BJP leaders have begun closed-door meetings to decide the next course of action. The opposition welcomed Singh's resignation, while the BJP hopes the move will help restore peace in the region.
Siddaramaiah, who is upset over his loyalist former Union Minister C M Ibrahim being denied nomination, said he has already shot off his resignation letter to party president Sonia Gandhi and state party chief G Parameshwar.
The much-delayed expansion of the 41-day-old Maharashtra ministry saw as many as 17 former ministers taking oath on Tuesday.
The development came on a day Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah arrived on a three-day visit to the state capital.
Elections for 18 of these 24 seats were deferred due to the coronavirus pandemic. Of these 18 seats, four each are from Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, three each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, x'two from Jharkhand, and one each from Manipur and Meghalaya.
The monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature, slated to begin on July 18, has been postponed, a senior official said on Friday.
Amid intense discussions among Mahayuti allies over the distribution of portfolios and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena's insistence on the home ministry, the clarity on the composition of the council of ministers is expected by Sunday, sources said.
With major political parties shying away from giving them tickets for Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, lesser-known political outfits have become a hot favourite of listed gangsters and those having a criminal past.
Kumar recommended Sahani's expulsion from the cabinet to the governor in the evening, after a written submission to the effect by the BJP, hours after the minister for fishery and animal husbandry was given the ultimatum to withdraw forthwith a recent notification.
'The poll body should have taken a decision in a holistic manner rather than passing an interim decision'
A purported conversation in an audio tape between Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and nominated legislator Elvys Stephenson, aired in a section of local television channels, has given a new twist to the cash-for-votes controversy.
'We try to connect people, but they disconnect people.'
The party has taken a very serious view of the party candidate getting just four votes while seven other MLAs voted for other parties' candidates, party spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad told media persons on Friday.
AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday asked the leaders and party workers to bury their internal differences and ensure victory of Congress candidates in the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections.
Manjhi's son Santosh Suman, who is a minister in the Nitish Kumar cabinet, made the statement a day after reports emerged that a seat-sharing formula has been arrived at in the National Democratic Alliance, and the HAM was likely to get only one of the state's 40 constituencies.
The cabinet of the new government led by Rekha Gupta balances representation of all major communities that propelled the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Delhi with a massive majority after over 26 years.
Political sources say Modi is 'keen' on getting the NCP (SP) over to the Mahayuti to counter Eknath Shinde's 'demands' and to act as a cushion against his present allies, Nitish Kumar and N Chandrababu Naidu, 'in case their relationship became untenable'.
This marks the entry of the 8th member from the Gowda family into politics.
Members from the Jayant Chaudhary's Rashtriya Lok Dal too were part of the group, their participation seen as another indication that the party is all set to switch sides from the SP to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna passed away at his residence in Bengaluru early Tuesday morning, his family said.
'Bommai is everybody's man and nobody's man'
SP has gained a majority in the 100-member Uttar Pradesh legislative council. The party had earlier faced difficulty pushing through its legislative in the upper house due to lack of numbers.
Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha assured the newly elected legislative assembly on Monday that the Omar Abdullah government will make all efforts for the restoration of full statehood and constitutional guarantees available to the state.
'I gave enough evidence and proof to punish corrupt officials.' 'But my own government has not filed any FIR against such officials.'
The BJP's victory in the Delhi Assembly elections has sparked speculation over who will lead the next government. Several prominent leaders, including Pravesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Pawan Sharma, Vijender Gupta, and Satish Upadhyay, are in the running for the chief minister's post. The party's national leadership is expected to make the final decision, leaving the contenders in a state of anticipation.
Narvekar's father-in-law Ramraje Naik of NCP is the chairperson of the Legislative Council.
'The CM's credibility is on the line.'
Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has called upon Palestinian militant factions to shun mainstream politics and end the ceasefire with Israel, saying in a new video that jihad is the only way to bring about change in the Middle East.
'People of the state who bless me will give a befitting replay to the Congress.'
'Our numbers were less (than BJP's) but PM Narendra Modi blessed us. Modi Saheb told me before the swearing-in that he will extend all possible help to me. Amit Shah Saheb said he will stand behind us like a rock,' Shinde said. 'But the biggest kalakar (artist) is this one,' Shinde said, pointing to Fadnavis sitting to his right on the treasury benches.
Thackeray, who is currently not a member of either of the Houses of state Legislature, was not present at the Cabinet meeting where the decision was taken.
But as voters gear up for crucial assembly and parliamentary polls on May 13, all eyes are on the high-stakes battle in Pulivendula, an assembly constituency that has been a Reddy family stronghold for over four decades.
Nearly 4,800 elected MPs and MLAs will vote on Monday to elect the 15th President of India, with National Democratic Alliance candidate Droupadi Murmu having a clear edge over Opposition's Yashwant Sinha as over 60 per cent votes are expected to be cast in her favour.
Overhaul of the goods and services tax (GST) structure, including possible changes in the tax slabs, may now be taken up only after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, given the number of states that are going to the polls in its run-up. "No major overhaul of tax rates is expected in GST until the end of next fiscal year. One major reason for this is that some members of the group of ministers (GoM) - mandated to look at rate rationalisation by the GST Council - are from poll-bound states. Later, this may lead to reconstitution of the panel," a senior government official told Business Standard. Besides, both the Centre and states are not in favour of frequent changes in the tax rates amid inflationary uncertainties; they believe any major change should be brought in after extensive deliberations, according to the official.
Shiv Sena spokesman Rahul Narvekar, who recently withdrew his candidature from the legislative council elections, met Nationalist Congress Party chief and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Sunday morning.
Election to fill up 55 seats in the Upper House of Parliament was to be held on March 26, but 37 candidates have already been elected without a contest.
With organisations like the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, which is a front of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, telling Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman they want OPS back, the government is in a bind, report Shiva Rajora and Aditi Phadnis.
'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
'This means the remedy will be worse than the disease. The thing which you want to avoid will happen.'
