Prateek Yadav is the son of Mulayam Singh Yadav's second wife, Sadhna Yadav. His stepbrother and former chief minister, Akhilesh Yadav, currently heads the Samajwadi Party, the main opposition in Uttar Pradesh.
If TVK MLAs and ministers are perceived as clean, or demonstrably cleaner than their predecessors, the credibility dividend will be enormous. The voter will feel rewarded, points out Ramesh Menon.
Special police observer Ajay Pal Sharma toured West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district during the second phase of Assembly elections, facing political controversy and allegations of intimidation from TMC leaders.
such alerts are issued before most elections, but they should be taken seriously this time as the campaign for the Lok Sabha polls promises to be a bitter and divisive one, says Vicky Nanjappa
'If the Opposition associates itself too much with the minorities, then it becomes easy for the BJP to get Hindu consolidation votes.'
Investigators probing the murder of Chandranath Rath, a close aide of West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari, have found a key lead in the form of a UPI transaction made at a toll plaza in Howrah.
'The real fault line in Assam is not Hindu versus Muslim. It is Assamese versus Bengali -- and within that, the specific anxiety about undocumented Bangladeshi settlers claiming land and altering the demographic balance of the state.'
Opposition parties have submitted a fresh notice in the Rajya Sabha seeking a motion for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, citing concerns over the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct.
Hopefully, the BJP will realise that it's the right time for parivartan (change) in its polarising poll strategies after achieving the impossible-looking goal of winning West Bengal, argues Sheela Bhatt.
Rahul Gandhi accuses Mamata Banerjee of not directly fighting the BJP, alleging that this indirect approach benefits the ruling party. He also criticised her government's performance on job creation and handling of corruption.
TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee criticised the BJP for not fulfilling its promises, highlighting the continuation of West Bengal's welfare schemes and challenging the BJP to match them in their ruled states.
Mamata Banerjee appeared before the Calcutta High Court alleging police inaction during post-poll violence in West Bengal and sought judicial intervention to protect citizens.
TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release pending central dues to West Bengal before professing his love for the state. Banerjee also criticised BJP leaders for their reaction to the 'Jai Bangla' slogan and accused the BJP of failing to act on its promise to develop the Sagar islands.
West Bengal's final phase of assembly elections focuses on the TMC's southern stronghold, where the BJP aims to make inroads. The outcome will determine whether Mamata Banerjee's party retains its dominance or if the BJP can secure a path to power.
Analysts believe that the strong Modi wave in the state will help the saffron party win 35 to 40 seats much to the detriment of the Congress and Samajwadi Party, who are fighting the anti-incumbency factor at the Centre and state respectively. Bikash Mohapatra reports.
The Supreme Court overturned a Delhi High Court order that had suspended the life sentence of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case, instructing the High Court to reconsider the plea.
Tension flared outside the Chief Electoral Officer's office in Kolkata following a confrontation between Trinamool Congress supporters and police over alleged voter list manipulation, with accusations of illegal voter enrolment from other states.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Ministers and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav visited BJP MLA Anupama Jaiswal in hospital after she sustained burn injuries during a protest. The incident occurred while she was setting fire to an effigy during a demonstration in support of the 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam'.
The Election Commission's move to transfer West Bengal's chief secretary and DGP soon after the announcement of Assembly poll dates triggered a political slugfest.
Since 2004, 12 states have added 160 million people to their rolls.
On the eve of the sixth and penultimate phase of the marathon Uttar Pradesh elections, Rediff.com's Aslam Hunani reports on what's at stake.
Rahul Gandhi appeared before an MP-MLA court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, to record his statement in a defamation case related to his 2018 remarks against Amit Shah. The case, filed by a BJP leader, alleges derogatory remarks made during the Karnataka elections.
The INDIA bloc faces a significant challenge as the Congress and DMK part ways, raising questions about the alliance's future and unity.
Amidst barbs flying back and forth, Rediff.com's Aslam Hunani lists all that you need to know about the fourth phase of the UP assembly elections, which will take place on February 23.
Bhim denotes Dalit icon Bhimrao Ambedkar, while Mim denotes the letter 'M' in the Urdu alphabet; the party used the slogan effectively in the 2014 Maharashtra assembly elections
If the Aam Admi Party has gained popularity in Delhi, its symbol -- the broom (jhadoo) -- has become a bone of contention in Uttar Pradesh, where a regional party has staked claim to it.
Mohammed Shami on Tuesday appeared before poll officials in Kolkata for his scheduled hearing under the ongoing SIR exercise in West Bengal.
The sweeping victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the Bihar Assembly elections has caused ripples across the country, but perhaps more pronounced in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, where Assembly elections are due in 2027.
The Allahabad high court on Thursday stayed with immediate effect caste-based rallies throughout Uttar Pradesh, while issuing notices to central and state governments, the Election Commission and four major political parties. "We stay caste-based rallies throughout the state of UP," the Lucknow bench of the court comprising justices Uma Nath Singh and Mahendra Dayal said on a PIL filed by a local lawyer Motilal Yadav.
Political Pundit R Rajagopalan lists his big takeaways from the election results.
TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee has accused the Congress party of indirectly supporting the BJP in West Bengal, urging voters to reject them in the upcoming elections. He alleged a nexus between the Congress, BJP, and Left parties, claiming that votes for Congress would split the opposition and benefit the BJP.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday slammed the Congress and DMK over the defeat of the amendment bill regarding the Women's Reservation Act in Parliament but said the government was determined to implement it and that "no power in the world can stop us," from doing so.
The Election Commission removed 6.5 crore electors from the draft electoral rolls of nine states and three Union territories as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The removals are due to voters being absent, shifted, deceased, or duplicates.
The kings of the ruling family of India's heartland -- father Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Samajwadi party supremo, and son Akhilesh Yadav, the UP chief minister -- are at war. And as on any chessboard, the queens have emerged as the power centres. Meet Dimple Yadav and Aparna Yadav.
Sacred spots and soaring peaks: Bucket-listing across the heartland. Roopa Unnikrishnan and her father journey through the heart of India.
'The nepotism, corruption, bad governance and 15 years of rampant crime that has happened across West Bengal under her rule led to her ouster.'
Sending out a strong message to party office bearers, the Aam Aadmi Party on Friday sacked two leaders from Uttar Pradesh for allegedly demanding money in exchange of party tickets.
Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee challenged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to resign, citing hypocrisy in Shah's call for 'clean politics' given his past arrest. Banerjee also criticised the Election Commission and defended his party's record.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N V Anjaria said it would issue whatever orders or clarifications are required in the matter.
The Election Commission on Thursday extended the timeline for Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in six states and Union territories following requests from the chief electoral officers.
