'The clearest interpretation of the November 8 mandate is that the backwards, Dalits and minorities, and a huge proportion of women cutting across caste and class, displayed massive consolidation to the extent that despite chipping of votes by the Left Front, by the Third Front and by the BSP, Mahagathbandhan candidates won, and in many cases by huge margins,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
The new ministers include 20 of cabinet rank and eight ministers of state. The Chouhan ministry strength is now 34. Chouhan took oath as chief minister for a record fourth term on March 23, after Nath resigned from the post following rebellion by 22 MLAs of the Congress.
Our political history tells us this has never worked. A united Opposition does work in some specific, limited situations, especially in the states. But never as some brilliant pan-national collection of diverse interests with no ideological or political core, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
'By naming Tejashwi as the next CM candidate, he has put us in a dilemma.' 'Who will lead us in 2025?' 'What will happen to the party after 2025?'
Besides the four ministerial berths, the Congress has also sought the post of Speaker of the state assembly, but Kumar is not keen on giving that, sources said.
Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav is among six personalities chosen for this year's Padma Vibhushan.
Voting began on Thursday in the by-election to seven assembly constituencies in six states -- a contest symbolic of the fierce turf war between the Bharatiya Janata Party and regional parties.
Counting for assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur was held on Thursday. Here's how the big names fared.
Yogi Adityanath, who has been declared BJP candidate from Gorakhpur will be the second leader to contest from the district as a chief minister after Tribhuvan Narayan Singh, who lost in 1971.
The ruling BJP is confident of bettering its 2017 performance, especially with the new UP party chief, Bhupendra Chaudhary, at the helm of affairs, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah are powerhouse talents and are tailor-made for Jalsa's overwrought premise, notes Sukanya Verma.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday won four seats in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha, while the Rashtriya Janata Dal retained the Mokama assembly seat in the bypolls to seven assembly constituencies in six states.
Speaking at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Dussehra rally in Nagpur, Bhagwat said community-based population imbalance is an important subject and should not be ignored.
The police said ever since Chandrasherkar has been jailed, the prison had become a hub of illegal activities which he carried out with the help of jail officials.
'If the Opposition does make a dent, it could encourage the efforts of regional parties to come together for the larger battle in 2024 and mark the beginning of a new anti-BJP politics.'
A round-up of Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Wednesday.
Chief ministers and other senior leaders made last-minute appeals to voters for their support in Mokama and Gopalganj of Bihar, Adampur of Haryana, Manugoda of Telangana, Gola Gorakhnath of Uttar Pradesh and Dhamnagar of Odisha.
Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor on Thursday took a fresh jibe at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his former mentor, reiterating that the latter may ditch the 'Mahagathbandhan' and return to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's bypoll win in four of the six seats it contested has invigorated the party ahead of assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
Voting will be held on Thursday in bypolls to seven assembly seats in six states -- a contest symbolic of the fierce turf war between the Bharatiya Janata Party and regional parties.
Transition struggle for Indian archers in forgettable 2022
The meeting came after a letter of Khatik to Union Home Minister Amit Shah offering to quit surfaced on social media.
"Lalu Prasad has been sentenced to 5 years imprisonment while a penalty of Rs 60 lakh has also been imposed on him. Apart from Prasad, five years imprisonment each was announced by the Court for five convicts, four years each for 32 convicts and three years each for three convicts," CBI counsel B M P Singh told PTI.
The board will now be headed by Vinod Kumar Yadav as chairman and CEO, and it will have four other members.
'There is a famous saying here that 'the way to Delhi passes through Lucknow'.' 'If the BJP loses UP in 2022, Modi's premiership in 2024 will be in doldrums.'
Vaibhav Rawal scored a fine century before pacer Divij Mehra's dismantled Mumbai with a five-wicket haul to power Delhi to an emphatic eight-wicket victory in the Ranji Trophy Group B match.
More than 100 senior leaders and functionaries have been deployed to work as district in-charges in 44 assembly segments in Western Uttar Pradesh to coordinate and streamline campaigning and booth management, BJP leaders in New Delhi said.
Four people were killed and at least 10 injured Monday morning after a fire broke out in a hotel here, prompting authorities to issue orders for demolition of the four-storey building after following the 'due process'.
'There is dissatisfaction and disaffection for the BJP, but there is no anti-incumbency against the government in UP.'
After Rahul's Bharat Jodo Yatra began criss-crossing the Hindi heartland, BJP leaders have revived their attacks on 'dynasty politics' and 'family rule' in the Congress, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday said scare-mongering was being done by some that there was a danger to minorities, but asserted that this is neither the nature of the Sangh nor of Hindus.
Many bahubalis have fielded their wives and relatives as proxies.
In the backdrop of the ongoing farm protests, back into public consciousness in the aftermath of the recent Lakhimpur Kheri episode, smaller parties are expected to not only enliven the election theatre, but also queer the pitch for the Opposition.
In an order dismissing the bail plea of a man accused of cow slaughter, Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court also said that 'Panchgavya' prepared using cow's milk, curd, ghee, urine and dung helps in treating several incurable diseases.
The youth leadership taking the reigns of the states was a rare event in the last century as very few broke the glass ceilings.
'It is possible that these terrorists took advantage of the chaos and escaped in the melee.'
If Rahul's yatra makes a political statement from the other side of the aisle and Shah Rukh's success underlines a more relaxed popular mood, Mr Modi and Mr Bhagwat's cues to their followers are coming from another place, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'Shilpa is looking better than she did 20 years ago.'
'If we want a stable society, then all groups must feel that they have a seat at the table of power.'