The Congress party in Kerala has strongly condemned the heckling of its MLA, T Siddique, during the inauguration of a government township project in Wayanad, alleging a conspiracy by the CPI(M). The party claims that hired individuals disrupted the event, and criticizes the Chief Minister's silence during the incident.
Three persons were shot dead and several others were injured as violence and arson marked the conclusion of nomination filing for the three-tier West Bengal panchayat polls slated next month.
Maharashtra Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule blames the State Election Commission (SEC) for the Bombay High Court's decision to defer the counting of votes for local bodies polls, citing 'misinterpretation of laws'.
'For the politics of patronage in West Bengal, it has always been important to have territorial control.'
'It was very clear in the Parliament election that there was an erosion of Hindu votes in southern Kerala from the CPI-M to the BJP.'
The repolling started at 7 am amid tight security with four central forces personnel deployed in each booth, besides state police. Till 11 am, 10.9 per cent voter turnout was recorded.
The latest trend issued by the State Election Commission showed the BJD had already won or was leading in 762 Zilla Parishad seats, as compared to BJP's 46 and Congress's 36 seats.
'If the BJP had contested all 227 seats, I believe they would have managed to secure a majority on their own.'
'The entire Pawar family -- Sunetra Vahini, Jay and Parth Pawar (Ajit Pawar's sons), Sharad Pawar, his daughter Supriya Sule -- will sit together and decide how to move forward.'
Maharashtra is set to hold local body elections on December 2 for municipal councils and nagar panchayats. The polls are seen as a test of the ruling coalition's strength after their recent assembly election victory.
Votes will be counted on January 16 and the outcome will be keenly watched as the BJP-led Mahayuti will seek to stamp its supremacy in urban landscape, especially in Mumbai, while the Opposition parties will try to redeem themselves after last year's rout in assembly polls.
Six policemen were injured and a police vehicle vandalised in a mob attack during an attempt to arrest a TMC worker in Sandeshkhali, once again pushing the coastal block into political focus ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
The talks about the reunification had already started when Ajit Pawar was alive. In fact, the two parties even contested the civic polls in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad together.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticizes Kerala's ruling Left government over the Sabarimala gold loss case, demanding a neutral investigation and accusing the government of protecting the real culprits. He also signals the start of the BJP's campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections.
Among those killed were eight from TMC, and one worker each of the BJP, the CPI-M, the Congress and the ISF.
In a press release, BJP Nagpur Rural president Sudhakar Kohale said his party had won 238 sarpanch posts in 361 gram panchayats, while the Congress said the Maha Vikas Aghadi had been victorious on 223 posts.
Maharashtra is set to hold local body elections for municipal councils and nagar panchayats, marking the first phase of a Supreme Court-mandated process. The elections are seen as a key indicator of political sentiment following the BJP-led Mahayuti's victory in the assembly elections.
A technical snag was detected in a helicopter scheduled to transport Maharashtra Minister Pankaja Munde for campaigning, delaying her journey. The issue was discovered during a routine inspection, leading to the grounding of the helicopter and a DGCA investigation.
The Election Commission is preparing to roll out a special intensive revision of voter lists across India, potentially before the end of the year. Most voters may not need to provide additional documents if they are already on the electoral roll from the last special intensive revision in their state.
A man who left his home in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district 22 years ago after his family opposed his marriage was reunited with his mother because of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, police said on Saturday.
'Basic Covid protocols were not followed, which is why so many teachers lost their lives.'
The first phase of polling for municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Maharashtra was disrupted by violence and allegations of bogus voting. Clashes occurred between supporters of ruling allies BJP, NCP, and Shiv Sena. The Bombay High Court directed the SEC to postpone the counting of votes.
AICC general secretary K C Venugopal announced the Congress party's goal to win 100 seats in the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections. He highlighted the party's strategy, including early candidate selection, opportunities for youth, and addressing alleged alliances between CPI(M) and BJP.
The court also left it to the discretion of the State Election Commission to take a call on extension of time for filing of nominations, refusing to consider a prayer in this regard.
The death of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has created a leadership crisis within the NCP, raising questions about the party's future and potential reunification with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).
Hours after taking a 'U-turn' by informing the high court that it is withdrawing its notification dissolving all gram panchayats in the state, the Punjab government suspended two senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers on Thursday for a 'technically-flawed' decision.
The BJP has won just eight out of the 40 zila panchayat seats in Ayodhya, a disappointment for the ruling party in the district on which the Centre and the state government have lavished much attention.
Home Minister Amit Shah defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Lok Sabha, accusing the opposition of spreading falsehoods and questioning the safety of democracy if leaders are chosen by infiltrators.
Amid the political push and pull, the Centre's decision to allow sugar exports and remove the 50 per cent duty on molasses exports has rekindled hope in the industry that more relief may follow.
Bandana Preyashi, the bold IAS officer from Bihar who took on dreaded dons, is the court-appointed mentor to 18-year-old Sakshi, who had fled home to follow her IAS dream.
'They are not abandoning their ideology. They now believe it is better to pursue their goals through the Constitution rather than from the barrel of a gun -- even if the ideology itself remains intact.'
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah said that his government intended to hold the deferred Panchayat elections in the state on non-party basis.
Rahul alleged that 25 lakh votes were stolen in Haryana through 5.21 lakh duplicate voters, 93,174 invalid voters, and 19.26 lakh bulk voters.
Gandhi shared a video carrying the remarks of an eyewitness, who said timely action could have saved the man, and that of the deceased's father, who lamented that there were several people there with some of them making videos but did not act to save his son.
About three months back when Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati announced the government's decision to hold state panchayat elections without political parties, it was pretty evident that something big was cooking on her mind.
In what analysts are terming as a political masterstroke, the ruling Biju Janata Dal President Naveen Patnaik Friday decided that his party will field candidates from Other Backward Castes (OBC) for 27 per cent of seats in the forthcoming three-tier panchayat elections in Odisha.
The panchayat polls will be seen as a kind of verdict from the hinterland for Yogi Adityanath ahead of the crucial 2022 Uttar Pradesh elections.
Violence had rocked West Bengal's rural polls on Saturday, leaving 15 people dead while ballot boxes were vandalised, ballot papers torched, and bombs thrown at rivals in several places.
''Women are coming into public spaces in larger numbers than ever before. They are educated, capable, opinionated, and determined.' 'But the more women push for access to public space, the harder they are pushed back -- through attacks like this, through discrimination, through the glass ceiling, through the deliberate denial of recognition.'
Ajit Pawar became a ray of hope for Muslims, the only man in power who could resolve their grievances.
