Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday arrived in the holy city for a month-long campaign and was greeted with posters that accused him of being a 'deserter', an apparent reference to his resignation as Delhi chief minister within 49 days of taking charge.
He said Priyanka could have been a wonderful candidate in Varanasi as well, especially looking at how good the Congress candidate did against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
'What matters is policies, not personalities like Priyanka, Rahul or Modi.'
Other prominent candidates among the 904 in the fray are Union minister Anurag Thakur, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti.
The winners of Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2024 have been revealed.
Abe, who is on a three-day day visit to India from Friday, along with Modi will attend the 'Ganga Arti', a beautifully choreographed ritual worship of the holy river performed daily at the fabled Dashashwamedh Ghat.
The long-term plans for Varanasi will take time to materialise but what has changed is the mood, says Aditi Phadnis
'Election funding needs a little more transparency.'
A student of IIT-Benares Hindu University, Varanasi, was allegedly molested and stripped by three motorcycle-borne men, who also recorded a video of the act, near her hostel, the police said on Thursday.
'Patients under the scheme may ultimately have to go to private hospitals.'
Wrapping up his two-day visit to Varanasi, Modi said work done in the city is clearly visible.
"No material has been placed on record to make the petition triable," the judge said.
A strategist and a quintessential political leader with grassroots connect, Rajnath Singh is credited with expanding the Bharatiya Janata Party's organisational network in the Hindi heartland state of Uttar Pradesh in the 1990s and the subsequent decades.
The Election Commission has expressed "surprise" and "disappointment" over Bharatiya Janata Party's decision to hold protests on Thursday against denial of permission to Narendra Modi for his programmes in Varanasi.
Despite the hype over the possible candidature of All India Congress Committee General Secretary Digvijaya Singh for the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, the Congress has narrowed down its choice to local legislator Ajay Rai and former party MP Rajesh Mishra, with the former emerging as a front runner.
The weather office said intensity of heat wave/severe heat wave has slightly reduced over some parts of northwest and adjoining central India.
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday asserted that 'something major' will take place, after Lok Sabha results are out, in Bihar where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar seemed to be 'not going along well' with ally Bharatiya Janata Party.
A team of officials from the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad and directorate of forensic science, Gandhinagar has reached Varanasi to study Tuesday's blast at Dashashwamedh ghat.
Sachin Tendulkar performs Jal Abhishek at the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
The Uttar Pradesh Police Wednesday conducted searches at the native place Chandauli of Varanasi Sankatmochan bomb blast case accused in the aftermath of the Delhi blast.
Around 5 to 6 Union Ministers may accompany Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his 2-day visit to his parliamentary constituency Varanasi from November 7.
Banda chief judicial magistrate Bhagwan Das Gupta appointed Garima Singh, additional chief judicial magistrate (MP-MLA Court Banda) as the investigating officer in the case, the official said.
The Aam Aadmi Party will find it difficult to repeat its Delhi success in Uttar Pradesh as it will have the Bahujan Samaj Party to contend with, says Archis Mohan
Ranveer Singh never said this, and he does not have any relation with any political party, his father said in the complaint.
A huge make-shift stage has been erected on the river bed with the help of pontoons, while a thick blanket of security has been thrown over the city for the VIPs.
'The Opposition will continue to be attacked through misuse of agencies, civil society will be force-marched towards extinction and India's plummeting on global indices will continue.' 'Minorities and especially Muslims will continue to have open season declared on them. Institutions will continue their decline,' predicts Aakar Patel.
Recalling the blasts that shook Varanasi in March 2006
Narendra Modi could be in for a tough fight in Varanasi with the Congress declaring its resolve to put up a formidable candidate against the Bharatiya Janata Party's PM nominee in the Lok Sabha polls and ruling out support to the Aaam Aadmi Party's Arvind Kejriwal.
The issue came up at the quarterly meeting of the standing committee on Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanwapi security in Varanasi on Wedmesday.
'Last Tuesday's bombing might best be interpreted as an attack against the tolerant, cosmopolitan character of modern Varanasi, which also characterises India at its best.'
The Railway Board has reduced the speed of semi-high speed trains Gatimaan Express and Vande Bharat from 160 kmph to 130 kmph till the automatic train protection system gets operational.
Javed, who arrived from Kolkata early in the morning, visited Sarnath and the Banaras Hindu University and took a boat ride in river Ganga before winding up his visit.
Escalating his attack on the Election Commission, Narendra Modi questioned the poll body's neutrality over denial of permission for a public meeting at a venue of his choice in Varanasi even as appealed to party workers to maintain peace while protesting the move.
Do you, our dear readers, think Arvind Kejriwal should take on the BJP's prime ministerial candidate from Varanasi? Or do you believe Kejrwal is fighting a losing battle?
Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, who has extensively covered Election 2014, reports from Varanasi on voting day
'You can focus on Vande Bharat but focus on the common man too.' 'You can have both. They are mutually exclusive.'
The Centre is considering a proposal on increasing coverage under the Ayushman Bharat scheme to Rs 10 lakh from the current Rs 5 lakh.
A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com visited many polling booths in Varanasi on polling day. This is what he discovered.
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear an appeal of the Gyanvapi management committee against an Allahabad High Court order which held that lawsuits for "restoration" of a temple where the mosque stands in Varanasi are maintainable.
