While the responses of the candidates were predictable, depending on which side they belonged to, an interesting point slipped through when Rahul Shewale cited the Dharavi Redevelopment Project as a scheme that would add to Mumbai's importance. No big infrastructural project in Mumbai, he said, could be successful without the Centre's nod.
The BJP may win more seats in the February 5 assembly election, but not enough to trump AAP, notes Ramesh Menon.
The future challenger to Narendra Modi would be somebody who can bring the Hindus and Muslims together again. The Hindus as Hindus, not broken caste groups, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Muslims were the deciding factor in 60 out of the 234 constituencies in Tamil Nadu, Hamsa claimed.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma believes that the BJP could win more seats in the state by aggressively campaigning in minority-dominated areas. He attributed the party's recent success in the bypolls to its beneficiary schemes, which he claims have garnered support from the minority community. Sarma emphasized that the BJP will continue with its development work for all communities and has no plans for appeasement. He also gave an update on the Guwahati-North Guwahati bridge project, which is progressing well and is scheduled to be opened to the public in July 2025. Sarma also hinted at a possible cabinet reshuffle in the coming months.
The Samajwadi Party's move to join hands with Kalyan Singh, who was the Uttar Pradesh chief minister when the Babri mosque was demolished 17 years ago, may dent the party's Muslim vote bank in the coming Lok Sabha elections with some of the minority community leaders openly raising a banner of revolt.
Narrating the role of Vadivelu in Maamannan, the judge said the eighth respondent Karuppu faced a similar situation in this case.
"The government will establish an Arabic-Persian university in state capital Lucknow and we have allocated Rs 10 crore for the purpose. Besides, the number of madrasas on government grant-list will also be increased from 360 to 460," Mayawati said, addressing a national convention on the 'Problems of Muslim Community: Reasons and Solutions' in Lucknow.
Steadily marching ahead for almost a decade now on the strength of his unassuming versatility, the 35 year old is ready to showcase his mettle in one of the most challenging roles of his career as India's first Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw in Meghna Gulzar's biopic, Sam Bahadur.
The Deen Bachao, Desh Bachao conference in Patna on April 15 was attended by lakhs of Muslims. Will the electoral dividends from this rally be reaped by Nitish Kumar, the BJP (through Hindu consolidation), by both Nitish and the BJP or will it be reaped more by the anti-BJP forces, asks Mohammad Sajjad.
It is this new Muslim who is not burdened by the Pakistan guilt, who is ready to fight it out for the rights enshrined under the Constitution, and who is not defensive about Muslim identity that the BJP and the Sangh Parivar are out to crush, argues Mohd Asim.
A prominent Islamic body has issued a decree asking Muslims to exercise their franchise but said one should not vote for a party or leader just on the basis of religion. "The vote should not be kept back," leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband said in a fatwa in response to a question whether Muslims should vote in the elections.
'Today in Uttar Pradesh all big parties like Samajwadi Party, BJP or even Bahujan Samaj Party are out to woo smaller parties as they know the Hindu votes are getting divided.'
Bidhuri's responsibility will be akin to the party's poll in-charge of the district, sources said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal during his campaign rallies in Delhi, accusing him of being involved in the "liquor scam" and of being "afraid" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Gandhi also criticized Kejriwal's governance style, calling it "sheesh mahal politics" and accusing him of being absent when violence and hatred engulfed Delhi during the 2020 riots. He also attacked the BJP, accusing them of trying to change the Constitution and insulting the country's founding fathers.
The BJP and Congress have called out the 'Delhi model' as a hoax, built on sustained propaganda when the ground reality is different.
'Akhilesh Yadav made voters think why is the BJP asking for 400 paar.' 'They understood his words and believed the BJP wanted 400 paar only to demolish the Constitution and end reservations.'
'Just today a shopkeeper I went to was saying how bad business is. He must have been a BJP supporter.' 'He finally said, "It's a good thing there's an NDA government, not a BJP government, 'they' had become too big for their boots,".'
Despite the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance throwing all its weight to snatch Jharkhand from the hands of a Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-headed coalition, the saffron camp suffered a debacle leaving the party's rank and file wondering what had gone wrong.
The respective Dussehra rallies of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray were once again about whose version of Hindutva is genuine and who is the true inheritor of party patriarch Bala Thackeray's legacy.
None of its candidates won. Most of them lost badly.
The BJP urged the EC to take 'suo motu cognisance' and take suitable action.
The curious onlookers that greet the candidates are, however, unaware about the importance of history. They are just there to catch a glimpse of 'Rani Ma' Amrita Roy or Mahua Moitra.
'It's like the BJP is mocking people: Do what you want, we'll still win.'
In an apparent bid to cash in on the Muslim vote bank, a number of outfits representing the community in Uttar Pradesh have decided to field candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. Projecting them as the the "real" well wishers of the minorities, these organisations have already announced their candidates.
Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi was on Wednesday suspended from the Maharashtra legislative assembly till the ongoing budget session ends on March 26, over his remarks eulogizing Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi's remarks praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb sparked outrage in the Maharashtra legislature, leading to calls for his suspension and accusations of treason. The issue, which was politicized by both the ruling coalition and opposition parties, led to the adjournment of both Houses of the state legislature. Azmi later retracted his statements, saying they were twisted and that he had not made any derogatory remarks against Shivaji Maharaj or Sambhaji Maharaj. The BJP, however, seized the opportunity to slam the Congress and other opposition parties, accusing them of trying to "eradicate" Sanatan Dharma. The Mumbai police have initiated a probe into the matter, registering a case against Azmi for his remarks.
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accused his successor, Narendra Modi, of lowering the dignity of public discourse and the gravity of the office of the prime minister by giving "hateful speeches" during the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign. In an appeal to voters of Punjab ahead of the seventh phase of Lok Sabha polls, Singh asserted that only the Congress can ensure a growth-oriented progressive future where democracy and the Constitution will be safeguarded.
'What the Hinduisation of Muslim names by the BJP suggests is that the party's anti-Muslim outlook matches the virulence of almost any other far right outfit such as the Ku Klux Klan,' argues Amulya Ganguli.
Is it a divine, sacrosanct university, a holy cow, prohibiting human intervention?
With most political parties failing to articulate the concerns of Muslims, who account for 15 per cent of the population and can swing the electoral outcome in 21 constituencies, the AIMIM hopes to make a mark in the ongoing assembly elections, says Shafeeq Rahman.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday took serious exception to political statements being made on the sub-judice matter related to the withdrawal of four percent Muslim quota in Karnataka, saying "some sanctity needs to be maintained".
'Gyanendra back on the throne would be bad news for the Nepali people. He may not have learnt from his experience, but we have.'
Cow vigilante Monu Manesar, who was booked by Rajasthan Police for the murder of two Muslim men in February and is also accused of inciting communal hatred in home state Haryana, was arrested Tuesday, officials said.
In a complaint to the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer, the Congress mentioned about a video uploaded on social media platform 'X' by the official account of Karnataka State Bharatiya Janata Party @bjp4karnataka which is operated by Amit Malviya, the head of IT cell on instructions of J P Nadda, BJP national president, B Y Vijayendra, BJP state president and social media in charge- Karnataka BJP on May 4 at 5.34 pm.
The parliamentary panel's meetings have become a virtual battleground between the opposition and the ruling party members, who have been vociferously debating the changes to the Waqf Bill proposed by the government.
'A government whose policies are focused around making the life of ordinary citizens, specially the most deprived sections, richer; a government that prioritises education, health and transport, that doesn't treat its citizens as subjects who must come to it for everything, is rare in our country.' 'When such a government is thrown out, one is left stunned,' notes Jyoti Punwani.
'Pro-incumbency worked big time for the ruling party.' 'It has never happened in the past of pro-incumbency working so much for the ruling party.'
The meeting of the Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill took an ugly turn as the Trinamool Congress MP smashed a glass water bottle and threw it towards panel chairman Jagdambika Pal of the Bharatiya Janata Party during a heated exchange of words with BJP's Abhijit Gangopadhyay, a former Calcutta high court judge.
The welfare schemes of the government, particularly Lakshmir Bhandar, have had a major impact on the electoral outcome.
