The constitution of a committee by the Centre to explore the feasibility of "one nation, one election" has opened up the possibility of Lok Sabha polls being advanced so that they could be held with a string of state assembly polls.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) distanced itself from the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on Friday, saying it is not part of the opposition alliance anymore and questioning the Congress party's role in leading it.
The abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 paved the way for outsiders to contest polls in the Union Territory.
Several party hoppers including Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Fateh Jang Singh Bajwa and Anil Joshi were trailing from their respective constituencies in Punjab, according to poll trends.
After many years, intricate caste calculations will dominate politics in Punjab.
The Congress appeared to have bounced back in the state's political landscape after suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of the AAP in the 2022 Punjab assembly polls.
To ensure free, fair and transparent assembly elections next month in Punjab, the police have intensified search operations, especially in the border districts, to keep a vigil on illegal activities in vulnerable areas.
Moderate turnout was recorded in the first four hours of polling across five assembly constituencies across Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat and Kerala where bypolls are underway on Thursday.
'The BJP has killed public anger. They have killed people's self-respect.'
Aam Aadmi Party leader and Ludhiana West MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi has died of gunshot injuries, with police saying on Saturday it could be a case of 'accidental fire' from his own licensed pistol.
Bhagwant Mann will take oath as the chief minister of Punjab on March 16 at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of iconic freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, party sources said on Friday after he met the party's national convener Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi.
'Politics is in a mess. Good people have to join to clean it up.'
Voting for 117 assembly seats in Punjab and 59 assembly constituencies spread across 16 districts of Uttar Pradesh were held on Sunday.
Ruling parties held sway in most of the 13 states in the assembly byelection results declared on Saturday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies wresting seats in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan and the Trinamool Congress sweeping West Bengal.
"Former Chief Minister Mayawati and I will not contest the assembly elections," Bahujan Samaj Party member of Parliament Satish Chandra Misra told ANI.
Ahead of the Punjab assembly polls, former Army chief Gen Joginder Jaswant Singh on Tuesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in Chandigarh in the presence of the party leadership, including Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
Asif Ali Zardari was overwhelmingly elected as the 14th President of Pakistan on Saturday, becoming the only civilian President of the coup-prone country for a second time.
Election rallies have been on for weeks, but nothing captures the immediacy of an election like the sight of candidates filing their nomination papers.
Amid intelligence reports of a pro-Khalistan group plotting an attack against him, Delhi Chief Ministerial candidate Arvind Kejriwal responded with faith, stating "God will save him." The threat comes ahead of the February 5 Delhi Assembly polls, with authorities reviewing Kejriwal's security and deploying round-the-clock surveillance.
Here are some of the glimpses.
The AAP suffered a humiliating defeat in Haryana with most of its candidates set to lose their security deposit.
Campaigning for the Punjab assembly elections came to an end on Saturday evening and major political parties -- the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress -- are keeping their fingers crossed.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday returned to power in Delhi after more than 26 years to sweep away the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party with a two-thirds majority on the back of a hyper localised campaign and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'AAP-da'(disaster) blitzkrieg.
Asserting that he is neither retired nor tired, Singh says the urge to make Punjab and the country a better place keeps him going at this age.
A five-time Olympic shooter, Randhir Singh was the lone eligible candidate for the OCA president's post.
About 20 Punjab Congress leaders met in Ludhiana on Tuesday, with some of them batting for a key role for Navjot Singh Sidhu, the former state party unit chief who was among the participants.
A social activist, a young law graduate, a debutante, and an eye surgeon -- Punjab polls gave gave birth to a number of giant killers from the Aam Aadmi Party, who drubbed such stalwarts as Navjot Singh Sidhu, the Badals, and even Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi.
This election will decide in what shape and form the Akali Dal will survive.
Yogendra Yadav, a founding member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), believes the party's defeat in the Delhi Assembly polls is a setback for the entire opposition and raises questions about its future. He attributed the loss to factors like the liquor scam, the 'Sheesh Mahal' row, and the constant fights between the Delhi LG and the AAP government.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by Arvind Kejriwal, suffered a major setback in the Delhi Assembly elections, losing to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The loss marks a significant blow to Kejriwal's national ambitions and raises questions about the future of the party. The AAP had been in power in Delhi for the past 10 years and had also formed a government in Punjab. Despite the defeat, the party still holds 13 MPs from Punjab and Delhi. The article examines the factors that contributed to the AAP's defeat, including allegations of corruption, poor civic facilities, and the BJP's relentless attacks. It also explores the impact of the loss on Kejriwal's national aspirations and the party's future.
The Dera chief has sought to stay in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, during the parole period, if granted.
Amid the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, a heated argument broke out between Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Thursday when the former accused the latter of getting the farm laws enacted while she was a minister in the Union Cabinet, and added that she 'doing drama' over the laws and showing 'fake support' to the farmers' cause.
The party's general secretary Arun Jaitley, who is in charge of the Punjab polls, will accompany Advani from Pathankot.
BJP leader Amit Shah in a poll rally last month had asked people of Ludhiana to send Ravneet Singh Bittu to Parliament, promising them that he will make him a 'bada aadmi' (a big man).
Sidhu and Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi are the main contenders for the chief ministerial candidate. Both have assured Gandhi they will stand by the party's decision.
The BJP may be in the Opposition in many states, but nowhere is it as divided as it is in Karnataka, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Results of the assembly polls held in five states -- UP, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Goa, Punjab.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi stayed away conspicuously from campaigning for his party in the poll-bound Uttarakhand and Punjab.
Nearly 3,000 polling booths have been identified as sensitive, and special security arrangements, including drone surveillance, have been ensured at some of these locations.
'The fight is between the Congress and Akali Dal.'
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