The Sindhudurg police on Saturday registered an FIR against Nilesh Rane, an MLA of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, for "trespassing" into a BJP supporter's house. The Shiv Sena leader had 'raided' the BJP supporter's home and claimed to have found bags of cash meant for distribution to voters ahead of civic polls.
Ghosh's elder son, Biswajit, claimed that this was a planned attempt to murder his father, and alleged that Shahjahan pulled strings sitting in jail to carry out the crime.
'The Congress has no positive vision for the country. The truth is that today the Congress has become the Muslimleegi Maowadi Congress -- MMC. The Congress' entire agenda revolves around this, so now a new faction is emerging within Congress itself, which is uncomfortable with this negative politics.'
'When maximum voter participation occurs, they do not vote to re-elect the incumbent government. They vote to change it.' 'How can anyone credibly suggest that crores of young voters -- particularly the unemployed youth -- would vote to re-elect an existing government that has demonstrably failed them?'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of sabotaging her helicopter ride to Bongaon, alleging political conspiracy. She claims the cancellation forced her to travel by road, allowing her to connect with more people. Banerjee also addressed concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
'Vijay is badly politically wounded.'
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Hemang Joshi has invited Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to join a 'Unity March' passing through Vadodara, Gujarat, organized in honor of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Tharoor said he was not invited to campaign in the Bihar election, while noting that the Congress would examine the reasons for its defeat.
Amid speculation over leadership change in Karnataka, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the issue will be resolved after discussions with senior leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, while deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar claimed there is unity in the party.
Home Minister Amit Shah criticized the opposition in Rajya Sabha, linking the division of the 'Vande Mataram' song to the partition of India. He accused Congress and Jawaharlal Nehru of dividing the song for appeasement politics.
Even if D K Shivakumar wanted to oust Siddaramaiah, whose support would he take?
The shrewd politician that he is, Siddaramaiah figured his rival had no option but to lump it, points out Aditi Phadnis.
'Prashant Kishor is a businessman before he is a politician, and given that the expected average turnout for JSP candidates is 5,000 to 6,000 votes and since Bihar has a significant number of seats where the margin between the winner and runner-up falls within that range he will capitalise on exactly that to showcase his presence.'
'These children possess catastrophically low birth weights -- often 1.4 kgs or less. Such extremely low birth weight results in profoundly compromised neo-natal immunity.' 'The escalation to 97 deaths in three months precipitated contemporary attention precisely because this magnitude concentrates the humanitarian emergency, rendering it impossible for the administrative machinery to ignore.'
Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj party faces skepticism and challenges as it enters the Bihar Assembly elections, with critics questioning its experience and impact.
The RJD, which has been voicing apprehensions that the SIR might have been carried out to "help" the BJP-led NDA, also urged the EC to divulge details of the 3.66 lakh persons whose names were deleted from the final electoral roll published earlier this week.
State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal has reiterated that the party would never join hands with "those who indulge in violence".
Top leaders of Maha Vikas Aghadi, including Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar head Sharad Pawar along with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray, will lead the Opposition's November 1 protest march in Mumbai against alleged irregularities in voters' lists.
Jan Suraaj Party leader Prashant Kishor on Tuesday claimed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United would have been bundled up with just 25 seats had his government not given Rs 10,000 to 60,000 beneficiaries in each constituency just before the assembly elections and promised Rs 2 lakh to 1.5 crore women across the state under self-employment initiatives.
'In these times of vitiated politics, we miss people like Advaniji and Atal Bihari Vajpayee in active politics more than ever.'
Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, D K Shivakumar, responding to several media queries regarding the current 'internal conflict' in Karnataka Congress in reference to the chief ministerial position, said on Tuesday that he doesn't want to embarrass or weaken the party.
'...in comparison to his presence in the previous election campaign where he looked robust and vibrant.' 'His television and social media interviews looked dull and predictable.' 'There could be a different kind of fatigue of being out of power for a long time at work here.'
'Even today illegal foreign immigrants live in Assam and their names might be on the voters list. This we can get rid of only by doing SIR.'
'If Nitish Kumar were to depart from this alliance, it would signal substantial instability in central government politics.'
If the Thackerays don't save a Marathi school in their backyard, who will, wonders Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
The Congress on Friday said that the leaders of the opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, were not invited to the banquet, and took a swipe at Tharoor for accepting the invite.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar accuses the BJP of politicizing the Dharmasthala 'multiple murders and burials' case, criticizing their protests and questioning their motives.
'...the electoral playing field is tilted significantly in its favour.'
Maharashtra legislative assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Monday said that after the Supreme Court's May 11 verdict, he will have to first recognise in the House which faction of the Shiv Sena is the political party before going ahead with any other decision.
The 28-year-old woman, police said, was working at a private firm in Coimbatore, and was living in a private women's hostel following separation from her husband. She hailed from Tharuvai near Melapalayam in the southern district of Tirunelveli.
Actor-politician Vijay, founder of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, is set to resume his political campaign on Sunday in Kanchipuram district. He will address people at an indoor facility, with arrangements made for a smooth event. Approximately 1,500 people with QR-coded passes will be allowed entry, and security measures are in place.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar expressed satisfaction over the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, stating that the exercise has 'purified' the voters' list after 22 years. He made the announcement during a press conference in Patna.
'If all of us (all the 57 Shiv Sena MLAs) stand together we can change the dynamic. We are not afraid of anyone.'
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra defended Rahul Gandhi's upcoming visit to Germany, questioning the BJP's criticism when Prime Minister Narendra Modi frequently travels abroad.
Kate Forbes, the second highest minister in Scottish government has chosen family over politics. The realisation that she must spend more time with her baby came to her in an orphanage in Pune.
China executed Bai Tianhui, a former top official of a state-owned financial firm, for accepting bribes totaling CNY 1.108 billion (about USD 157 million).
The Congress party has criticized the government for not inviting Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to the banquet for Russian President Vladimir Putin, while also questioning Shashi Tharoor's decision to accept the invitation.
The Assam government on Tuesday distributed the report of the Tewary Commission, which had probed into the 1983 Nellie massacre during which over 2,000 people were killed, and large-scale violence that year, in the Assembly on first day of Winter Session.
The Election Commission of India has invited all national and state political parties to provide suggestions by April 30 on any unresolved issues related to the electoral process. This call for feedback comes amid allegations of electoral roll manipulation, with opposition parties demanding a discussion in Parliament on the issue. The EC has also proposed an interaction with party presidents and senior members to further strengthen electoral processes.
Security has been tightened in Beldanga, West Bengal, ahead of a foundation stone-laying ceremony for a proposed mosque, modelled on Ayodhya's Babri Masjid. The area has been placed under high security with additional forces deployed.