Voting for the bypolls in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were held on Wednesday.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asserted that the NDA government, led by him, put an end to frequent Hindu-Muslim clashes in the state by taking measures such as fencing graveyards and bringing to justice those involved in communal riots. He also criticized the opposition, particularly Tejashwi Yadav, accusing them of lacking understanding and experience. Kumar's claims were met with anger and walkout by the opposition members.
The Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) had issued a whip, asking its 10 legislators to remain absent from the House during voting on the confidence motion. However, when the issue of trust vote was taken up, five of its MLAs left the House.
Kerala had the highest number of average sitting days at 48 days a year, followed by Odisha (41) and Karnataka (35).
The expert panel headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai will hand over the draft of the UCC to the state government on February 2, he said.
An alleged attack on a Marathi-speaking family by a government employee in Thane district sparked outrage in the Maharashtra Assembly, where the BJP-led government assured justice and condemned the incident. Opposition parties demanded immediate action against the accused, Akhilesh Shukla, and his wife, who have been arrested. The incident has raised concerns about discrimination against Marathi people and fueled tensions in the state.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said an earthquake which impacted parts of the state on Wednesday was mild, and appealed to people to stay alert and not panic as the administration was taking all precautionary steps.
Key states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana would go for polls this year, besides states from the North-East.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has denied rumours that a cloth with Quranic verses was burnt during a protest in Nagpur. He attributed the subsequent violence to a planned attempt to disrupt social harmony and vowed to punish those who attacked police. Fadnavis stated that the violence was triggered by false rumours about the burning of a 'chadar' with Quranic verses during a protest demanding the removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb.
The newly-elected members couldn't take oath even one month after the results of the assembly polls were announced, due to political up and downs in the state.
The Aam Aadmi Party MLAs spent the night in the state legislative assembly building demanding copies of the Bill which the state's Congress government is now expected to introduce on Tuesday.
Each time her little boy wakes up from sleep, his voice trembles with the same haunting questions: "Where is Papa? Did he go somewhere?"
The Sharad Pawar-led NCP is just two short of the Sena's tally in the Upper House of the state legislature.
Sarma said his government was looking forward to the legislation on the Uniform Civil Code, which will be considered during a special four-day session of the Uttarakhand assembly that is starting from February 5.
The Jammu and Kashmir assembly unanimously passed a resolution on Monday expressing shock and anguish over the terrorist attack in Pahalgam and resolved to fight resolutely to defeat the nefarious designs to disturb communal harmony and hinder progress.
Nearly 4,800 elected MPs and MLAs will vote on Monday to elect the 15th President of India, with National Democratic Alliance candidate Droupadi Murmu having a clear edge over Opposition's Yashwant Sinha as over 60 per cent votes are expected to be cast in her favour.
Among the free symbols are walking stick, baby walker, air conditioner, balloon, bangles, wheel barrow, whistle, window, wool and needle, water melon, walnut, wallet, violin, vacuum cleaner and trumpet.
"Press Conference by Election Commission of India for the announcement of Schedule for General Election to Legislative Assemblies of Goa, Punjab, Manipur, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh," reads the statement issued by ECI.
Former Jharkhand chief minister Shibu Soren is on ventilator support in critical condition. Jharkhand Education Minister Ramdas Soren was airlifted to Delhi after suffering a brain stroke.
He said the empowerment of women is very close to his heart.
The Assam Assembly on Thursday witnessed a noisy scene after Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Rama Kanta Dewri alleged that women school teachers in Morigaon district are harassed by 'Bangladeshi Miya Muslims', leading to adjournment of the House. All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA Aminul Islam objected to the ruling legislator's tone and language. The Speaker repeatedly asked Dewri to stick to the point and directly ask the supplementary question instead of raking up controversial issues.
Around 25 BJP MLAs led by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari then walked out of the assembly, claiming that several party legislators were roughed up by TMC MLAs inside the House.
The Congress had on Saturday shifted its 14 MLAs to Jaipur fearing horse-trading by the ruling BJP ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls.
Ahead of the Delhi assembly polls scheduled to be held early next year, state Congress chief Devender Yadav said on Friday that the party will contest on all 70 seats and there would be no alliance.
Thackeray also drew a comparison between the current regime and Hitler.
In a historic move, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul has signed legislation making Diwali a holiday for public schools in the major American city.
The chief minister further informed that an FIR has been registered following the incident and a probe has been ordered to nab the culprits.
She held a roadshow in Nagpur on Sunday for BJP candidate Pravin Datke.
Vijay, despite the loud message from his delayed arrival at the road-show/stampede venue, and more so his continued inaccessibility for fans-turned-cadres after graduating from a super-star to a political party leader with electoral ambitions, refuses to change. Or, so it seems, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The people who were protesting and getting violent were all in the age group of 14-25.'
Chief of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Raj Thackeray, along with the 13 party members who were elected to the Maharashtra legislative assembly, plays floral tribute at the Hutatma Chowk in Churchgate on Monday.
The Congress on Monday promised that a government led by it will conduct a nationwide caste census and implement 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies at the earliest, including adequate representation for women belonging to the OBC community.
Amid Congress leaders in Karnataka openly discussing possible change of Chief Minister in the state, All India Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said it is up to the party high command to decide on such matters and that one should not create any unnecessary problem.
Congress legislators will spend Thursday night inside the Karnataka legislative assembly and council, demanding the sacking of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K S Eshwarappa and also that he be booked for sedition for his statement about the national flag.
They were suspended for misbehaviour and shouting slogans in the House.
The Bihar assembly passed an amendment bill that seeks to make the liquor ban less stringent for first-time offenders in the state.
A 15-member delegation from the Samajwadi Party (SP) will travel to Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, on Saturday to investigate violence that occurred following a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid complex. The visit comes after tensions escalated in Sambhal due to the survey, which was ordered by a local court based on a petition claiming the mosque was built on the site of a demolished temple. The violence on November 24 resulted in four deaths and numerous injuries, prompting the SP to postpone its initial visit. The delegation, led by SP state president Shyam Lal Pal, includes prominent party figures, including the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council. The district administration has imposed prohibitory orders, barring outsiders from entering Sambhal until Saturday. However, the SP delegation is expected to proceed with its visit, aiming to gather information about the violence and submit a report to party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
The federal probe agency also said it seized Rs 12 crore in cash (including about Rs crore in foreign currency), gold jewellery worth Rs 6 crore, silver about 10 kg along with four vehicles following raids launched on Friday in multiple states.
The end of the last session of the 12th Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly on Thursday was as stormy as most of its tenure. Almost the entire opposition stormed the well of the House to disrupt the last statement of the Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy on the issue of separate Telangana state.
Thackeray's tour comes a week after Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government.
