Nitish Kumar appeared rather grumpy as he was sworn in as Bihar's chief minister for a record 10th time at the Gandhi Maidan in Patna on Thursday afternoon.
State BJP chief Temjen Imna Along, widely popular on social media across the country for his sense of humour, and Salhoutuonuo Kruse, one of the two women elected to Nagaland assembly for the first time, were among those who were sworn-in as members of the council of ministers.
'The question for the TMC is not whether it can hold its bastions, but whether it can expand effectively into regions where the BJP already possesses a good ecosystem.'
Rio is heading the 'People's Democratic Alliance' government in partnership with the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state.
The septuagenarian leader has with this victory, broken the record of veteran leader SC Jamir, who helmed the northeastern state thrice.
Nagaland Peoples Front Legislature Party, which swept back to power in assembly polls, will elect chief minister Neiphiu Rio as its leader and along with alliance partners Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal-United approach Governor Nikhil Kumar by Friday to form the next government in the state.
The Nagaland cabinet has decided to meet both the NSCN-IM and the Government of India to push for a resolution to the Naga political dialogue. This comes after the NSCN-IM threatened to return to the jungles due to delays in the resolution, and demanded third-party intervention. The Nagaland cabinet will meet with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi to press for expediting the negotiations. The NSCN-IM has accused the Centre of refusing to honour key provisions of the Framework Agreement, specifically the recognition of the "Naga national flag and constitution." The state cabinet is also scheduled to meet with the NSCN-IM leadership before their trip to Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh, chief ministers of Nationalist Democratic Alliance-ruled states and prominent personalities from industry and Bollywood on Thursday attended the grand swearing-in of Devendra Fadnavis as Maharashtra Chief Minister in Mumbai.
Scenes from the National Democratic Alliance meeting at the Ashoka Hotel in New Delhi, July 18, 2023.
The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP)-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance won 37 seats in Nagaland Assembly election, retaining the power in the state with Neiphiu Rio set to assume office as chief minister for a fifth consecutive term.
'People's expectations were very high.' 'We felt both sides had understood each other.' 'But the removal of Article 370 triggered apprehensions within the Naga people.'
A United Kingdom auction house has withdrawn a 'Naga Human Skull' from its lots for a live online sale on Wednesday following outcry in India over the issue.
Sources from both parties said their legislators would hold a joint meeting with consensus leader Neiphiu Rio, the outgoing chief minister, before staking the claim to form the government.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United on Wednesday described as "high indiscipline" and "arbitrary" the support extended by its Nagaland unit to the newly formed government in that state where the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance returned to power.
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio also attended the meeting, they said.
Rio also appointed 24 MLAs as 'advisors' to various departments in his opposition less government.
A coalition government, led by National People's Party leader and outgoing chief minister Conrad Sangma, will be sworn-in on Tuesday morning in Meghalaya, while an all-party government, led by Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDDP's) Neiphiu Rio will take oath later in the day in Nagaland.
This is the first time that Nagaland is witnessing the victory of so many political parties in the state assembly elections. LJP (Ram Vilas) and RPI (Athawale) are newbies in the state politics.
Here's how our netas fared in the elections.
The ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party are contesting the polls on a 40:20 seat-sharing basis.
Assembly speaker Sharingain Longkumer accepted the decision of the 21 NPF legislators to change party.
Prime Minister Modi was welcomed by BJP president J P Nadda, Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, former Tamil Nadu chief minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader K Palaniswami and Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio.
Independence Day was celebrated across states and Union territories on Thursday, as several chief ministers announced job schemes while some others vowed their support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.
'Conrad Sangma is an interesting mix of charisma, ability and has emerged as a capable leader.' 'Neiphiu Rio is very unassuming, quiet, subtle and stands out among all Naga leaders today.'
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday reviewed the situation in Manipur with Chief Minister N Biren Singh and top officials, even as the Centre dispatched additional security forces and anti-riot vehicles to maintain peace there, sources said.
Shah, who is closely monitoring the situation in Manipur, had a telephonic conversation with Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, who briefed him in the morning about the prevailing scene in the state and steps being taken to restore normalcy.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said he and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma will also visit the disputed areas later as a goodwill gesture.
What some of our leaders were up to on the weekend.
The resolution moved by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio was adopted by voice vote during the one-day special session of the Assembly held to discuss the AFSPA, 1958, and its application to Nagaland in the aftermath of the killing of 14 civilians by security forces, including six in a botched anti-terrorist operation, and eight others in subsequent incidents in Mon district on December 4 and 5.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Nagaland counterpart Neiphiu Rio held closed door interaction with NSCN (IM) chief negotiator Thuingaleng Muivah at Dimapur on Tuesday, a government official said.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party managed to notch up a morale-boosting win on its 'Mission Northeast' on Thursday by retaining Tripura emphatically, despite anti-incumbency and newcomer Tipra Motha playing spoilers to its party, while also piggy-backing to power in Nagaland on Neiphiu Rio-led NDPP's shoulder.
The state government has also decided to write to the Centre demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, they said.
'Chief Minister Rio is holding the Naga Peace Accord hostage with his tacit support to the NSCN-IM, egging them to refuse to accept a solution within the Constitution.'
Polling for assembly polls is underway in Meghalaya and Nagaland, northeastern states the Bharatiya Janata Party rules in alliance with regional powers.
Since negotiations are still ongoing, any report on possible solutions to various issues during the negotiations would only be speculative, the spokesperson said.
Over 83 per cent of the more than 13 lakh electorate cast their vote on Monday in the single-day Nagaland state election which passed off by and large peacefully, Chief Electoral Officer V Shashank Shekhar said.
Acharya said he has asked Rio to submit signatures of all the 32 MLAs supporting him by Monday.
Sarma, whose stock is high in Delhi had earlier captured eyeballs as the BJP's first star campaigner from the region in far away Gujarat and Delhi.
In a statement, the Army said the cause of the 'unfortunate' loss of lives is being investigated by the Court of Inquiry at the 'highest level' and appropriate action will be taken as per the course of the law.
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Sunday said that the Centre has decided to institute a five-member committee to look into withdrawal of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 from the northeastern state.
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