The Rajya Sabha election scene in Karnataka heated up with the Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (Secular) combine fielding its second candidate, even though the alliance has the strength to win only one out four seats.
There is little doubt that the prime minister's own charisma exceeds that of his party, but 2024 is proof that no party can ultimately depend on one person to deliver victory all the time, points out R Jagannathan.
Modi shared the warmth of Chief Minister M K Stalin who briefly held the PM's hand and patted the back of the latter's palm while walking through the displays exhibited at the new Chennai airport terminal.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will visit Chennai on November 2 and is likely to hold a meeting with her Tamil Nadu counterpart M K Stalin to discuss their strategies for the 2024 Lok Sabha poll, a senior government official said on Tuesday.
'Nehru remains central to the polemic between the Congress and the BJP, or stated ideologically, between secular and Hindu nationalism.' 'The reason is that Nehru represents what is optimally possible as a secular politics along with liberalism and democracy in a country like India.'
The Lok Sabha is set to witness a fierce debate on the no-confidence motion against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government on Tuesday with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, whose membership was restored following a Supreme Court direction, likely to be the lead speaker of the opposition bloc INDIA.
The remarks came after former President Ram Nath Kovind was tasked with the responsibility of heading a committee to explore feasibility of "one nation, one election".
Kharge's comments were a reference to the prime minister's remarks in February in Rajya Sabha wherein he had asserted that he alone outweighs all those who take turns to shout slogans to oppose him.
A basic outline and roadmap for Opposition unity are likely to be deliberated upon with the contentious issue of seat sharing and leadership questions to be avoided for now.
Rahul hits out at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for joining hands with the BJP.
"Just bargaining was going on over what he (Ajit) should be getting. As per our information, he has been given a promise of chief minister's post by pushing Eknath Shinde aside with the help of Assembly speaker's decision (on disqualification of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs)," the former CM claimed.
The L-G will take decisions on police, officers of all-India services such as the IAS and the IPS, and giving sanction for prosecution in various cases.
The government said on Friday that the controversial Women's Reservation Bill would be brought for consideration in the Lok Sabha in the Monsoon Session of Parliament -- a move apparently aimed at dividing opposition unity.
As the tussle for control of the Nationalist Congress Party hotted up after its vertical split, Sharad Pawar on Thursday declared he was the president of the party and hit back at nephew and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's retirement jibe, saying he will work more effectively "whether 82 or 92."
'When I started this, I just took it as an ordinary yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. Slowly we understood that this yatra has a voice and feelings'
The issue of conversion of some Muslims in Agra rocked the Lok Sabha for the second day on Thursday with opposition members creating uproar and demanding immediate discussion on the matter, which they said could have grave consequences like causing riots.
He will call for 'an end to the politics of resistance and retribution', a senior aide said.
"The Opposition's mahagathbandhan is an alliance of corruption, negativity and instability. The Opposition has 'dhanshakti' (money power), we have 'janshakti' (people's power)," the prime minister said.
However, the AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the SC committee has limited terms of reference and 'cannot bring out the deep nexus between' the prime minister and the billionaire businessman.
The Congress wants to reinforce the tax more powerfully now after its four generations reaped benefit of the wealth passed on to them, he said.
We did not take part in the meeting since our chief was accused of violating coalition dharma, DMK said.
A G20 dinner invitation from President Droupadi Murmu describing her position as 'President of Bharat' triggered massive debate on Tuesday, with the opposition alleging that the government is planning to drop India and stay with just Bharat as the country's name.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday came down heavily on opposition leaders, asserting that he will not "spare anyone involved in corruption" while pledging "to take every scamster to task".
Sonia stated that it was not surprising that people would back one of their own, said Tharoor.
The JD-U leader's outbursts against his former ally came in response to queries from journalists about Shah's speech earlier in the day at Sitab Diara.
In the Muslim community, views on this Lok Sabha election seem to vary, with some seeing it as crucial for India's pluralism while others feel neglected by political parties.
During the visit to the gurudwara, some pro-Khalistan elements shouted questions about Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, killed in Canada in June this year.
In a fresh bid to forge opposition unity, Pakistan's two most popular leaders Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto are expected to meet on Monday to consider boycotting the January 8 polls, while electoral authorities were to decide on the validity of the PML-N leader's nomination papers.
India's new home needs all its family members to reside in it, he said. He said he believed in participatory democracy and hence call upon all opposition parties who have chosen to boycott the event to reconsider it.
The bahujan hitai, bahujan sukhai motto was used in the press note issued by the BSP informing about the party chief Mayawati's election meetings in Nagpur (Maharashtra) on Thursday.
Top opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday agreed to work together to prepare a common minimum programme.
'As general elections draw near, the BJP and the JD-U (in whatever form it is) will do a deal -- the state to the JD-U in return for support at the Centre for the BJP.'
Prasun Banerjee and Jawhar Sircar represented TMC in the meeting, which discussed the Opposition strategy on Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Parliament.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday accused the Congress of seeking to divide women in the name of caste and by spreading lies, as he launched a fierce counter-attack on the party over its demand of OBC sub-quota in women's reservation in legislatures.
'The situation in India is much more grave and serious than all of us think.' 'That's why it's important to defeat the BJP in 2024.'
Seat sharing and campaign is likely to be top of the agenda, they added.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said Narendra Modi should be referred to as a Bharatiya Janata Party leader and not as the prime minister in the saffron party's campaign as he is a 'caretaker PM'.
'The central BJP leaders were determined to push Hindutva hard, and it failed.'
"All opposition parties should work together. It should be a one-to-one fight against the BJP. All opposition parties should help the strongest one in the state against the BJP," Banerjee said.
