The Bharatiya Janata Party replaced at least 25 sitting MPs with new faces as the party released its second list of 72 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on Wednesday.
Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, IT expert Nandan Nilekani and cricketer Mohd Kaif are among 194 candidates as Congress tonight released the first list of its nominees for Lok Sabha polls that contains several new and young faces.
A large part of the productive time in Parliament is spent on non-legislative matters such as discussion on motion of thanks by the President, conduct of fellow MPs and so on.
Only 18 Bharatiya Janata Party legislators switched parties to contest the polls in this period
''The outcome of the state polls may lead to some strategy-related permutations and combinations and the markets may extrapolate it to the likely outcome in the general elections.'
Dave complained of uneasiness at his home on Thursday morning and was rushed to AIIMS.
AAP organisational general secretary Sandeep Pathak cited the performance of the party in recent local bodies polls in MP and said it will form the next government.
As nominations for Rajya Sabha biennial polls closed on Tuesday, a contest is on the cards in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana even as Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram are among those set to be elected to the Upper House.
The Congress rebels are seeking to install a person of their choice as the new chief minister of the state.
Mitra, who had resigned from the BJP a few days ago, is considered close to veteran leader L K Advani.
The party also announced that Kamal Nath will contest the bypoll for the Chhindwara assembly constituency.
Amit Shah wants to increase the party's nationwide vote share by at least 10 per cent from the 37.7 per cent it secured five years ago and ensure above 50 per cent vote share in the states where it came close to that benchmark, but couldn't cross it.
Many changes are likely in the BJP and government in coming weeks.
While Rahul loyalists were keen that he be given the post, a leader known to be close to him said, "If he does not become the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, then he should quit politics."
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday ridiculed Congress leader Digvijaya Singh over his remark -- that Sushma Swaraj would be a better prime ministerial candidate than Narendra Modi -- saying the party did not need advice from a man who has not "dared" to fight Lok Sabha elections and who has been involved in his party's consecutive defeats in Madhya Pradesh.
The opposition is likely to put up a joint candidate for the July 18 presidential election despite not having numbers on its side, and consultations in this regard have already begun.
Elections will be held on June 10 to fill 57 Rajya Sabha seats from 15 states falling vacant due to the retirement of members on different dates between June and August, the Election Commission said on Thursday.
More than a year after playing a key role in installation of a Bharatiya Janata Party government in Madhya Pradesh, Jyotiraditya Scindia was rewarded with a berth in the Union Cabinet, a familiar terrain for the Rajya Sabha member who had served as a junior minister in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government.
Nakul Nath's move has added fuel to rumours swirling for the last few days that he, along with his father, are defecting to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The BJP has played the social engineering card in Rajasthan with an eye on the Lok Sabha election where the party will try and retain all the 25 seats that it had won in the 2014 and 2019 elections.
The AAP on Wednesday last had posted a video story on 'X' featuring industrialist Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Modi. The next day, the party posted a picture of Adani and Modi, and alleged that the prime minister works for the industrialist and not the people.
The party may announce Somen Mitra as the Lok Sabha candidate from North Kolkata whose name is set to be decided upon following intra-party elections to choose contenders -- a move initiated by the Congress vice-president to ensure transparency in ticket-distribution system. Renu Mittal reports.
With the general election campaign less than six months away, the BJP has more to think about than it had on the eve of 2019. It's the states that will be robbing BJP strategists of their sleep at this point, not the Lok Sabha, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
BJP president JP Nadda said on Sunday that the party does not seek to control the Waqf Board but wants to ensure that those managing it operate within the bounds of law and adhere to established rules. He said the properties and funds of the Waqf Board should be dedicated to promoting education, providing healthcare and employment opportunities for the Muslim community. Nadda also highlighted the BJP's growth and achievements, emphasizing its commitment to national unity and cultural heritage.
The rules for the CAA are likely to be issued before the MCC comes into effect, sources privy to the development said.
With May 31 being the last date for filing nomination, the party is set to announce the names of more candidates soon.
To mollify the protesters, Jyotiraditya Scindia drove to the palace gate and asserted that he stood by them and Goyal.
Voters include 8.4 crore men, 8.23 crore women and 11,371 from third gender. There are as many as 35.67 lakh first time voters, besides 3.51 crore young voters in the age group of 20-29 years.
The BJP is focusing on 160 seats 'we have never won, seats where we have reasonable support, and those we lost narrowly.'
A delegation of the National Commission for Women (NCW), led by its chairman Vijaya Rahatkar, met with riot-affected women in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, assuring them of safety and demanding an NIA probe into the recent communal clashes. The women narrated their harrowing experiences and demanded permanent BSF camps in select areas of the district. The NCW team also visited relief camps in Malda district and assessed the condition of women affected by the violence.
Nath has been reprimanded for repeated violations of the model code while campaigning for the bypolls in 28 assembly constituencies in the state.
Veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday said he does not need an invitation from anyone to visit the newly-constructed temple in Ayodhya as Lord Ram resides in his heart.
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Congress general secretaries Digvijay Singh and Madhusudan Mistri are among the five Congress nominees for the Rajya Sabha elections announced on Monday. However, suspense still remains on whether former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit will join them.
'The RSS guides us, never dictates.'
The united Opposition on Wednesday checkmated yet another promise given by Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi to set up a central agricultural university in the Bundelkhand region, spread across Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Rahul Gandhi's focus will be on his Nyay Yatra, rather than the INDIA bloc's election campaign, leading to speculation among allies that the Congress leader is already looking at the Opposition's fight beyond May 2024.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, the AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha alleged that the BJP is offering two options to his party MLAs -- they should either join the saffron party or the CBI-ED will put them in jail.
The appointments holds significance as a large number of senior leaders, who had no organisational post currently, have now been given new responsibilities.
Singh in a statement noted several newspapers have claimed that he cancelled his visits to Jhabua and Khategaon due to his displeasure.
A list of prominent journalists who also became successful politicians.
