By comparing I.N.D.IA. with banned terror outfits, Modi has exhibited the kind of nervousness never ever associated with him even at the height of the Gujarat riots, and certainly since his prime ministerial days, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
As the Odisha CM prepares to face the BJP onslaught, the BJP hopes to rope in some BJD heavyweights.
Sparking speculation of cracks within the ruling Biju Janata Dal in Odisha, two groups t held separate meetings on Tuesday night at the houses of party member of Parliament Pyari Mohan Mohapatra and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is on a London visit.
If there is unity in the Opposition, it is only about regional parties other than the DMK not wanting Rahul Gandhi or any other Congress leader for prime minister, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
With the Biju Janata Dal backing the National Democratic Alliance's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, the vote share of the ruling dispensation has now crossed 50 percent, virtually paving the way for her election as the first tribal President and the youngest too.
Leaders of a number of opposition parties on Tuesday met twice after which they decided to put up a united fight for the post.
The Cabinet on Wednesday approved amendments to the GST bill to compensate states for revenue loss for five years on introduction of the uniform nationwide indirect tax regime.
Candidates of the Naveen Patnaik-led party have won in 105 assembly seats, while the Congress has won 16 seats (11 in the previous assembly), and the Bharatiya Janata party 10 seats.
'In the Indian context it is not easy for rival parties to come together, especially pre-elections.' 'Having pulled it off, they should be taken seriously.'
The fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections will go to polls on April 29. The voting will be held for 71 seats spread across 9 states.
The session will commence with the maiden address of President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament. The address essentially highlights the government's achievements and policy priorities.
The Election Commission will start counting votes for Vidhan Sabha elections on May 23. The assembly elections were held in four states -- Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim -- simultaneously with the Lok Sabha Elections over April and May. The Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim Assemblies went to polls in the duration between 11 April and 19 May, and the Election Commission will declare the results for at least 534 assembly seats - which is almost as many as the Lok Sabha seats - on May 23.
Narendra Modi on Tuesday tore into Naveen Patnaik government over lack of development in Odisha and mocked the fledgling Third Front, of which Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal is a member, saying its only job is to "save" Congress.
Leaders of various opposition parties on Sunday demanded that issues of price rise, 'Agnipath' scheme as well as the alleged misuse of investigative agencies be taken up in Parliament and also raised objections to the list of 'unparliamentary words' at an all-party meeting convened by the government ahead of the Monsoon Session.
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.
The Biju Janata Dal will not oppose the government simply for the sake of opposing it, BJD Member of Parliament Bhratruhari Mahtab tells Aditi Phadnis.
Cross-voting by Left and Congress MLAs on Friday helped Trinamool Congress gain an extra seat in West Bengal while a similar action by Congress MLAs in Andhra Pradesh saw the Telangana Rashtra Samithi making its debut in Rajya Sabha as high drama marked the polls to the upper House in the two states.
Modi garners nearly 37% vote nationally, courtesy West Bengal, Odisha, Karnataka and Telangana.
After winning 117 of the 147 assembly seats and 20 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats, the BJD chief was sworn in as CM on Wednesday, becoming the first in the state to be sworn in for the fourth straight year.
P Chidambaram and Rajeev Shukla of the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party's Sumitra Valmiki and Kavita Patidar, former Congress leader Kapil Sibal, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Misa Bharti and Jayant Chaudhary of the Rashtriya Lok Dal were among the 41 winners declared elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha.
'We might have lacked somewhere but our commitment was absolute. We might have made mistakes and fallen short to some extent. We might not have done something but what did you do'
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's 'rashtrapatni' remark snowballed into a major political row on Thursday with the Bharatiya Janata Party accusing the opposition party of insulting President Droupadi Murmu and demanding that Congress chief Sonia Gandhi should apologise to the nation.
Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal supremo Naveen Patnaik on Thursday ruled out his party's support to the UPA government at the Centre which was facing "instability" following Trinamool Congress' decision to withdraw support.
CBI has registered three FIRs in West Bengal against Saradha group and 44 FIRs in Odisha against chit fund companies allegedly operating on the lines of Saradha.
Opposition parties now recognise that the king on one side of the chessboard, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is ensconced, and unlikely to be shaken, although on his side there are no identifiable kings, queens, rooks, bishops or knights.
Describing P A Sangma as a prominent tribal and minority leader, Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal supremo Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday said he would accompany the Presidential aspirant during filing of his nomination in Delhi on Thursday. "Sangma is the BJD's candidate. We first announced his name for the top post in mid-May and later other political parties supported him," Patnaik told reporters shortly before leaving for Delhi.
Maintaining that former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma is gradually "gathering strength" in the race for Presidential polls, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said there should be a consensus in favour of the tribal leader for the top post.
In the second phase on April 18, 97 seats,spread across 13 states and one Union Territory, will go to the polls.
The Biju Janata Dal on Saturday resolved to abstain in the vice-presidential polls. It has 20 MPs in both houses.
Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma, who is being backed by the Biju Janata Dal and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for the President's post, on Tuesday sought to reach out to political parties, saying he hoped they will respond "to the call of conscience of the tribal people of the nation."
Maoists have released abducted Biju Janata Dal Member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka on Thursday morning. The release comes after captivity of over a month. Media reports said that Hikaka was released at an undisclosed location into the custody of his wife, and Nihar Ranjan Patnaik, a lawyer.
For the government to meet its GST roll-out deadline of April 1, 2017, the states will have to ratify the Bill before Parliament's winter session, starting November.
In the third phase of the Lok Sabha election on April 23, 116 seats spread across 13 states and two Union Territories, will go to the polls.
Murmu's vote share is now likely to go past 61 per cent, while it was earlier estimated to be around 50 per cent at the time of her nomination.
Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com gives the lowdown on the constituencies going to polls in the first phase on April 11.
This issue was raised in the Lok Sabha by BJD member Bhartruhari Mahtab who said Chand has the potential to win a gold medal in Olympics and government must help her in the case.
'Faith, and the notion that it has been 'outraged', is used to justify the most outrageous, illiberal and regressive acts,' notes Shuma Raha.
Cyclone 'Titli' did dampen the spirits of hockey fans to some extent but not veterans like Dilip Tirkey and Dhanraj Pillay who were excited about the exhibition match played, in Bhubaneswar, on Wednesday.
Here are some of the big political leaders' who await their fate on Monday.
BJP and other rivals took the opportunity to slam the Congress and asked that there be no political intervention.
