Tamil Nadu will elect a new government on April 23.
Will the DMK retain power? Can the AIADMK spring a surprise? And what about Vijay's TVK? A Ganesh Nadar surveys the election landscape a day after the Election Commission announced the poll schedule.
Indian badminton star PV Sindhu and her coach were stranded at Dubai International Airport following an explosion near their location, triggered by escalating tensions in the Gulf region.
The new UGC regulations mandating all higher education institutions to form "equity committees" to look into discrimination complaints and promote equity were notified on January 13.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claims a Bengali-speaking woman and her child were threatened in Delhi after an alleged assault. She urges Bengali migrant workers in BJP-ruled states to return to Bengal if harassed and questions the absence of central commissions in BJP-ruled states when atrocities occur.
Following an examination and discussions held in the aftermath of the United States' decision to withdraw from dozens of international organisations, Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Sa'ar, has decided that Jerusalem will immediately sever all contact with several United Nations agencies and international bodies, citing what the government described as persistent bias, politicisation and actions hostile to Israel.
A woman doctor of a government hospital allegedly died by suicide in Maharashtra's Satara district, leaving behind a note accusing two police personnel of rape and mental harassment, police said on Friday.
Protests continue in Kolkata against attacks on minority Hindus in Bangladesh. BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari threatens a large-scale protest if the attacks are not stopped.
President Donald Trump has withdrawn the United States from over 60 international organisations, including United Nations bodies and the India-France-led International Solar Alliance, calling the institutions 'redundant' and 'contrary' to America's interests.
Anti-government protests in Iran have continued for the fourteenth consecutive day on Saturday, with authorities tightening security measures as demonstrations spread across multiple cities.
The ruling Mahayuti coalition in Mumbai has reached a consensus on seat distribution for the upcoming civic polls, with the BJP contesting 128 seats and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena 79.
While the DMK depends on a 'silver sieve' of welfare schemes to stay in power, its support is slowly draining away under the weight of poor governance, corruption, and voters who are no longer satisfied with benefits alone and now want basic administration to work, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'What has changed is that the new regulations are backed by a clear enforcement framework. They have real consequences and, for the first time, make compliance unavoidable.'
Votes will be counted on January 16 and the outcome will be keenly watched as the BJP-led Mahayuti will seek to stamp its supremacy in urban landscape, especially in Mumbai, while the Opposition parties will try to redeem themselves after last year's rout in assembly polls.
Mundane as it may seem, this is in some ways a metaphor for the challenges facing the nation, argue Arvind Subramanian and Devesh Kapur in their new book, A Sixth Of Humanity.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has announced a significantly relaxed dress code for next month's World Rapid and Blitz Championships in Doha, "allowing classic non-distressed jeans for both men and women", a year after the 'jeansgate' storm involving Magnus Carlsen at the same event.
He will hold the office till February 9, 2027.
Elections for municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Maharashtra are scheduled for December 2, according to the State Election Commissioner. The schedule for other local bodies will be announced later.
A string of welfare schemes and promises tests the state's budget, which is already heavily dependent on central support and spends little as capital outlay.
'This will split the Marathi and Shiv Sena vote.' 'The BJP has conducted 3 surveys indicating they shall secure 109 seats in the BMC.' 'They do not wish for the Shinde Sena to demonstrate excessive strength in the BMC.' 'If the Thackerays secure 60-70 seats, that will affect Shinde's seats.'
The Congress party has alleged that approximately 23 lakh women's names have been removed from the voter list in Bihar, particularly in constituencies with close contests in the 2020 elections. They claim this is a deliberate act of 'vote theft' orchestrated by the ruling party through the Election Commission.
The Bihar chief minister had a point to prove in the latest assembly elections, which were held amid speculations of a fatigue factor, if not downright anti-incumbency, made worse by rumours of his indifferent health.
The alleged gang rape of a second-year medical student in West Bengal's Durgapur has sparked massive outrage, snowballing into a major political storm, with the survivor's father likening Bengal to 'Aurangzeb's rule' and Governor C V Ananda Bose calling for a 'second renaissance' to make the state safer for women.
A woman in India has filed a police complaint claiming that a video showing BJP Gonda district president Amar Kishore Kashyap engaging in inappropriate behavior with her was distorted and circulated to malign her and Kashyap. The woman stated that Kashyap is like an elder brother to her and that there is no inappropriate relationship between them. The video, which has been circulating on social media for the past two days, purportedly shows Kashyap engaging in inappropriate behavior with a woman party worker at the party office. A fellow party worker allegedly recorded and circulated the video, sending it to senior party leadership with a request for investigation and action.
These civic body bypolls were a litmus test for the BJP, as they were its first big electoral battle after coming to power in Delhi in February this year.
'...the electoral playing field is tilted significantly in its favour.'
The National Democratic Alliance was set to sweep the Bihar assembly polls, surging ahead in over 200 of 243 seats on Friday with the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as single largest party with about 90 per cent strike rate, reaffirming the popularity and campaign clout of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the face of the ruling alliance through the poll battle in the highly sensitive political state.
Former poll strategist Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj expressed disappointment over its poll debacle in the Bihar assembly elections, attributing the NDA's victory to cash transfers to women.
The first phase of Bihar assembly elections saw a moderate pace of polling across 121 constituencies, with 53.77% voter turnout reported till 3 pm. Sporadic incidents of violence were also reported. Key leaders are in the fray for both the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc.
Relatives of a woman doctor who committed suicide in Maharashtra are demanding capital punishment for the men she accused of rape and harassment in a note. The case involves a police officer and allegations of political pressure to alter medical reports.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accuses the NDA of plotting to steal the Bihar assembly elections, alleging collusion with the Election Commission and voter roll manipulation.
The entire election process will be concluded by November 16.
Justice Surya Kant is set to become the 53rd Chief Justice of India, bringing extensive experience and a record of significant verdicts on key issues.
Left to its machinations, the BJP would have loved to cut Nitish down to size, but it can't afford to do so as the JD-U is in alliance with the BJP at the Centre, and cannot form a government on its own in Bihar. For now, both need each other: Nitish for legitimacy, the BJP for numbers, points out Ramesh Menon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday claimed that people were not voting for the Rashtriya Janata Dal-helmed opposition in Bihar as they fear that if voted to power, its regime will 'put katta to their heads and order them to hold their hands up'.
The Election Commission of India informed the Madras High Court that actor Vijay's TVK is not a recognised political party during a hearing regarding a PIL seeking its derecognition following a stampede at a party rally.
Festive sales are expected to surge 27 per cent to cross Rs 120,000 crore in 2025, driving Amazon and Flipkart to expand warehousing capacity by millions of cubic feet and extend delivery networks to thousands of new pin codes -- an infrastructure buildout that could reshape India's retail landscape for years.
Democracy in India is too important to be left to a leader with a limited appeal. If Rahul Gandhi cares for India, he should step aside for a new crop of leaders, suggests Harishchandra.
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
'The informal sector can grow at a 100 per cent rate -- we have to plan big.'
'When the BJP wanted the election to focus on 'ghuspathiya' and promises that look like pies in the sky, we forced them to talk about jobs, giving free 125 units of power, and addressing women's indebtedness.'
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