The Centre has sought a detailed report from the West Bengal government on the circumstances leading to the violence.
The Odisha assembly has a strength of 147 MLAs while there are 21 Lok Sabha MP seats in the state.
Former MLA Harshwardhan Sapkal has been appointed as the new president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), tasked with reviving the party in the state after its crushing defeat in the last year's assembly polls. Sapkal, a veteran politician, replaces Nana Patole, who held the position since 2021. The Congress aims to rebuild its base and prepare for upcoming local body polls, including those in Mumbai, Pune, Thane, and Nagpur. The party will also need to work with its allies, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), to strengthen the opposition against the ruling BJP-led alliance.
Kolewadi gram sabha in Maharashtra's Satara district has resolved to conduct future elections on ballot papers, becoming the second village in the state to pass a resolution against EVMs.
The Union cabinet on Wednesday accepted the recommendations of the high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind on simultaneous elections.
The auction, a violation of democratic norms, has been condemned by several political leaders. Elections to gram panchayats in Punjab will be held on October 15.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced that the state will become the first in independent India to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), with the date of implementation to be announced soon. The UCC, which aims to unify personal laws for all citizens, has been approved by the state cabinet and preparations for its implementation are almost complete. Dhami stated that the training process for UCC implementation is nearly finalized and the government is aiming for a swift rollout. Speculation is rife that the UCC could be implemented on Republic Day, coinciding with the conclusion of municipal elections. The UCC includes provisions related to marriage, divorce, annulment of marriage, succession, and live-in relationships. The state government has introduced a dedicated portal for online registration of related matters and has authorized Common Service Centers (CSC) to simplify access for citizens. In remote areas, CSC agents will provide door-to-door services. The Gram Panchayat Development Officer will serve as the Sub-Registrar for registration work in rural areas. The government has also implemented Aadhaar-based registration to make the process easier. Citizens can track their application status through email and SMS, and an online complaint portal has been set up. Dhami dismissed Congress allegations of divisive politics, emphasizing that the UCC provides a uniform system and law for all.
Political sources say Modi is 'keen' on getting the NCP (SP) over to the Mahayuti to counter Eknath Shinde's 'demands' and to act as a cushion against his present allies, Nitish Kumar and N Chandrababu Naidu, 'in case their relationship became untenable'.
The elections are not only a means for TMC to prove its wide, unopposed mass allegiance but also a way to bargain for national leadership among regional political parties in the road to New Delhi.
In a tweet on Saturday night, Nehwal, who is a member of the BJP wrote, "Hearty congratulations for thumping victory in Zila Panchayat Chairperson election in UP @myogiadityanath sir."
Elections are not won or lost by expounding on such macro-economic matters. For the aam admi, what matters in manifestos are promises that will improve their quality of life, notes Vinayak Chatterjee.
Hitting out at Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar for indulging in a blame game over the MVA's defeat in the state assembly, Raut said those who don't believe in consensus and compromise have no right to be in an alliance.
No arrest has been made so far as the police are still verifying the authenticity of the clip, Chothe explained.
He was reviled by critics in his party as a neo-liberal in disguise but till the end, he retained his belief in secularism and the humanity of Communism.
Islamic seminary Darul Uloom's fatwa evoked sharp reactions from political parties.
On the eve of Durga Puja in October 2008, industrialist Ratan Tata announced that Tata Motors would withdraw from the nearly completed Nano car plant in Singur, attributing the decision to Mamata Banerjee's anti-land acquisition movement, which he claimed had derailed what was meant to be a "groundbreaking project" -- the world's cheapest car.
This will pave the way for emergence of 24,000 new panchayat-level leaders in Telangana, he said.
According to estimates, a total of 11.80 lakh polling stations would be required to be set up across India for Lok Sabha polls this year.
A Haridwar-based community welfare organisation, Divya Prem Seva Mission, will host a series of seven lectures on diverse themes, including one on the contentious subject of simultaneous polls, at its camp at the Maha Kumbh site in Prayagraj. The lecture series, starting on January 12, will also cover topics like Swami Vivekananda's philosophy, India's glorious past, global terrorism, gender equality, and the challenges of privacy and safety on social media. The organization has been involved in philanthropic activities for 29 years and is raising awareness about the discrimination faced by people with leprosy.
West Bengal Governor Dr CV Ananda Bose on Friday said that political violence in the state must come to an end, after visiting Bhangore, where supporters of two political parties clashed a day before leaving three dead.
This senior citizen, helped by youngsters, arrives at the polling station in Aurangabad, Bihar, to cast her vote in the state's panchayat elections.
'The message is loud and clear: "If you're not falling in line, we will open a line of understanding with the MNS, and then the Shiv Sena will be in trouble".'
While the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress alleged that the killings were a fallout of the TMC's infighting, the ruling party pointed fingers at the grand old party of India.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the verdict has quashed a 'false propaganda' aimed at defaming the state government.
A man vying for the mukhiya's post and two of his supporters have been booked for pro-Pakistan slogans allegedly raised in a procession in Giridih when he was on his way to file nomination papers for the coming Jharkhand rural poll, the police said on Thursday.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal for 'one nation, one Election' as recommended by the Kovind panel, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.
A local Aam Aadmi Party leader was shot at in Punjab's Fazilka district with the ruling party and MLA Jagdeep Kamboj accusing a leader of the Shiromani Akali Dal of opening the fire.
While the panchayat and urban local bodies are completing their five-year term between November 5 and January 9, 2024, almost all political parties are demanding early assembly elections in J and K for restoration of popular government.
The Law Commission is working on a formula to synchronise all assembly polls by extending or reducing the tenure so that all state elections can be held along with the Lok Sabha polls 2029 onwards, sources said on Friday.
The Rajasthan high court on Thursday refused to immediately interfere with a state government ordinance fixing educational qualifications for candidates in local body elections, saying the poll process is already on and the petitioners will have to wait for the final order.
Residents of a village in Kapu assembly segment of Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha constituency have decided to boycott the upcoming election, in protest against the poor civic amenities there.
Sporadic violence was reported on Thursday in the fifth and last phase of panchayat elections in West Bengal covering four districts of north Bengal with 30 per cent voter turnout reported till noon.
'We have learnt lessons from Mamata Banerjee who overcame the BJP's canard by reciting Chandi Path and playing up her Brahmin origins in her campaign. We need to adopt strategies like asking Muslims to lie low and distributing tickets prudently so that we are not accused of favouring one community.' Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
Eighteen distinct amendments to the Constitution and other statutes would be required for the implementation of the Kovind committee's recommendations on simultaneous elections, according to the panel's report accepted by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday.
Results of the panchayat polls indicated a paradigm shift in state politics with the baton of main opposition party passing from the Left to the BJP.
The SEC claimed that BSF could not provide central forces to more than 10,000 booths.
This is the first time in many years that the BJP has been elected to the gram panchayat level in every district of the state.
Olympic medalist Yogeshwar Dutt has criticised Vinesh Phogat's handling of her disqualification at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Yogeshwar, a bronze medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, believes that Vinesh should have taken responsibility for her actions rather than blaming external factors.
The first of the two-phase urban local body polls in Uttar Pradesh will take place on Thursday, a major poll battle in the politically crucial state ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections.
'Gyanendra back on the throne would be bad news for the Nepali people. He may not have learnt from his experience, but we have.'
