Raghopur assembly constituency in Bihar prepares for a high-stakes election where voters may be deciding the next chief minister. Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD's CM candidate, seeks a third term, facing a strong challenge from BJP's Satish Kumar.
Gangster-turned-politician Dular Chand Yadav, once known for rubbing shoulders with the who's who of politics in Bihar, was allegedly shot dead near the state capital during an election campaign on Thursday, police said.
Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh on Wednesday claimed that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had never sought to be projected as the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's prime ministerial candidate.
The Congress high command including Rahul Gandhi will decide the next prime ministerial candidate of the party, the All India Congress Committee said on Wednesday in the wake of suggestions from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam that P Chidambaram was a potential PM nominee.
After big win in Bihar, the BJP is likely to push harder in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK government and the uneasy BJP-AIADMK alliance are preparing for a tense election filled with seat-sharing fights, changing alliances, and the unpredictable entry of Vijay's TVK party, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the record turnout in the first phase of the Bihar assembly polls indicates people's trust in the NDA government. He predicted victory for the NDA, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and lauded the Election Commission for conducting successful elections.
The NDA in Bihar, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, strategically countered the Mahagathbandan's moves by implementing similar policies and announcements, effectively neutralising the MGB campaign promises and maintaining their political advantage.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday formally declared Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the party's prime ministerial candidate after hectic parleys by senior leaders to convince L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Murli Manohar Joshi to give up their opposition to him.
Amid suggestions by some Bharatiya Janata Party leaders that Narendra Modi was fit to be the prime minister, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday said the National Democratic Alliance has not yet decided on its prime ministerial candidate and this will be done at a later stage.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi jokingly mentioned ongoing discussions with RJD president Lalu Prasad regarding marriage, following a suggestion from Prasad's son to Union Minister Chirag Paswan.
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
Janata Dal-United President Sharad Yadav on Thursday tied himself in knots over his remarks that appeared to favour L K Advani as National Democratic Allaince's prime ministerial candidate for the next general elections.
Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh plans to constitute a new parliamentary board for the party soon. "As and when I do that, I would announce it to the media," Singh said.
In the first sign of cracks in the Pakistan People's Party, senior party leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim has said party chairman Asif Ali Zardari's 'unnecessary delay' in naming him as the prime minister has led to the perception that he was being 'humiliated and betrayed'. Asked what would be his reaction if he was not given the post of prime minister, Fahim said: 'I have a roadmap in my mind but I would reveal it only once the decision about the name is announced.'
Suspense over Pakistan's next prime minister continued with the Pakistan People's Party, which will head a planned coalition government, on Thursday delaying a decision on its nominee amid differences over the frontrunner Makhdoom Amin Fahim.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has sought an assurance from the Bharatiya Janata Party that his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi will not be National Democratic Alliance's prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections.
Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday took a jibe at Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray -- for his remarks that Sushma Swaraj is the "only deserving" prime ministerial candidate in the Bharatiya Janata Party -- saying it is premature to say anything at this stage.
Ignoring the strong reservations of ally Janata Dal United's leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi will be the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance if the party won the forthcoming assembly elections in Gujarat.
In yet another instance of growing feud within Bharatiya Janata Party and the Sangh Parivar, an article in a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh mouthpiece has criticised Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his style of functioning and also indicated that the party has several other prime ministerial candidates.
Janata Dal United leader Shivanand Tiwari on Saturday dismissed speculations about the party's differences with the Bharatiya Janata Party over the projection of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate. Talking about the meeting held in JD-U chief Sharad Pawar's residence, he said, "It was a routine meeting and had nothing to do with the 2014 Lok Sabha polls."
The BJP's MoSha leadership are past masters in encouraging defections from their allies if it helped their party capture the chief minister's chair. In Bihar, they are not sure if JD-U MPs and MLAs would be willing to cross over to the BJP if the Nitish leadership came on top -- and the NDA crossed the halfway mark together, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Batting for L K Advani as the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate, party leader Uma Bharti on Thursday claimed that he was the "most capable person" to lead the country in the present situation. "Advani ji is the most capable person to lead the country in the present situation," she said. Bharati added that though Advani turns 84 in November, he "retained the enthusiasm of a twelve-year-old".
The INDIA bloc in Bihar has announced Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate, signaling a united front after weeks of internal disagreements. The move aims to challenge the incumbent NDA government, with both sides engaging in political maneuvering and accusations.
'The name will be declared at the right time.'
As cracks appeared in NDA over Narendra Modi, Congress on Wednesday sought to drive a wedge in the Opposition alliance in the wake of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's call for a "secular" prime ministerial candidate in 2014 general elections.
Nishant Kumar's demand that the NDA name Nitish Kumar as its chief ministerial nominee is seen as a gambit to consolidate the CM's position in the ruling alliance.
Amid reports that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi may be anointed the Congress Prime Ministerial candidate, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said the recent Assembly polls results have shown the party has "failed" under his leadership and has no possibility of doing well in the Lok Sabha polls.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday said there is no rift among National Democratic Alliance partners on the issue of prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections and the matter will decided collectively within the alliance.
Downplaying Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's comment that he got mandate to serve the state till 2017, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday said that one should not read too much into it as Modi has articulated a "tactical, legal and constitutional position".
With Manmohan Singh clarifying that he will handover the baton after his term comes to an end, the Congress is all set to name Rahul Gandhi as its prime ministerial candidate for the Lok Sabha elections. However, before making the final announcement, the party would consult its members like the Aam Admi Party, reports Renu Mittal.
In a surprise development, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz on Tuesday nominated its president Shehbaz Sharif as the prime ministerial candidate of Pakistan instead of the party supremo and three-time former premier Nawaz Sharif.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha has asked newly-appointed party president Rajnath Singh to name Gujarat Chief Minister Narendre Modi as the party's official prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Here are some pictures that capture the upbeat mood at Rewari on one of its most happening Sunday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party appears to have come under pressure from Sangh Parivar on the choice of Narendra Modi as its next prime ministerial candidate, with Vishwa Hindu Parishad demanding announcement of the Gujarat chief minister's name.
The recent assembly results and the subsequent developments have proved the Congress wrong on every count, including its strategy to avoid a direct face-off between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi. Anita Katyal reports
The recent assembly results and the subsequent developments have proved the Congress wrong on every count, including its strategy to avoid a direct face-off between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi. Anita Katyal reports
As he snapped ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party, Bihar's caretaker chief minister Nitish Kumar has once again been pitched as a prime ministerial candidate for the 2024 elections by some, but a majority of the Opposition still view the Janata Dal-United leader with suspicion citing his numerous 'U-turns'.
The recent war of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party and its alliance partner Janata Dal-United seems to have come to an end after the former assured its allies it would decide on the prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections after consulting them
Realtime updates from Modi's 'Maha Garjana' rally at MMRDA grounds in Bandra Kurla Complex locality in Mumbai
'This outcome is thoroughly unexpected.' 'I travelled extensively across villages, engaged in detailed discussions with residents, and consulted with party workers who had been canvassing from village to village, from one location to another, seeking grassroots feedback.' 'Not a single interlocutor suggested that there would be an NDA wave of this magnitude.'
