The Front partners welcomed the visit of the 19-member team ahead of Assembly elections.
If the Budget makes no big announcements on new schemes, projects, or tax giveaways, the government would face a major political dilemma as it may have to reluctantly consider shunning the practice of unveiling pre-election sops to woo voters, notes A K Bhattacharya.
'He should not come to Kerala and fight against the CPI which is an integral part of the INDIA alliance'
Jammu and Kashmir's Chief Electoral Officer Hirdesh Kumar said the Union territory is likely to get around 25 lakh additional voters, including outsiders, after the special summary revision of electoral rolls being held for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370.
Indian-American Nikki Haley suspended her presidential campaign on Wednesday after being defeated in 15 states across the United States on Super Tuesday, paving the way for a rematch between her rival Donald Trump and incumbent Joe Biden in the November elections.
The transmogrification of Prime Minister Modi to Saint Modi began with the ground-breaking ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. By identifying himself with Lord Ram, Modi raised himself in popular imagination to a saintly person.
In his reply to a letter written by Dhankhar, Kharge said the Chairman's letter 'unfortunately justifies the autocratic and arrogant attitude of the Government towards Parliament'.
From the voter-level, traditionally anti-BJP, anti-Hindutva minorities and other secular voters would have an option, especially in the face of the mounting anti-incumbency against the ruling party -- as it happened in the 2001 assembly polls, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
As the curtain falls on the campaign for the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat on Wednesday, April 24, a ringside view of the closing ceremonies.
'Are we supposed to look the other way as Islamists go on a rampage against Hindus and the Hasina government pay lip service to secularism?' A revealing excerpt from Avishek Biswas and Deep Halder's book, Being Hindu In Bangladesh: The Untold Story.
'Rahul Gandhi should have prevented Nitish Kumar from going.' 'He must pacify Mamata Banerjee if he has a cause of Mohabbat Ki Dukaan.' 'He should bring this Mohabbat Ki Dukaan on the political canvas.'
'The tragedy with Indian Muslims is that they do politics from the heart, not from the head.'
'Young Dalits are looking for better educational opportunities, more job avenues in the private sector, which need not necessarily mean job quotas, but a more welcoming corporate world that offers a liberated social environment, essentially a new India.'
The Congress should take the lead in resolving differences of opinion within the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and show 'large-heartedness' in seat sharing to emerge as a viable alternative to the Bharatiya Janata Party in upcoming elections, according to some opposition leaders.
The Supreme Court on Monday ordered no coercive steps shall be taken for two weeks against Hyderabad University professor Kham Khan Suan Hausing over two complaints lodged against him in strife-torn Manipur.
Taking potshots at the Bharatiya Janata Party, some opposition leaders also wondered if Goel resigned to contest the Lok Sabha polls on its ticket like former Calcutta high court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay.
Freebies being doled out by the Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan governments ahead of the assembly polls Friday came under scrutiny by the Supreme Court which sought responses from the two states, the Centre and the Election Commission on a PIL alleging misuse of public money.
'We have created fear in the minds of villagers so that they don't indulge in wrongdoing. We have already seized Rs 1 crore of bribe money,' Madurai Superintendent of Police Vijayendra Bidari tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar.
'The BJP, already falling short of a strong OBC leader from Maharashtra, will be more than happy to welcome Chhagan Bhujbal in its fold.'
'The BJP has started a war-like situation against farmers and the Jat community.'
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday cautioned people against political parties making 'tall pre-election promises' and asked voters not to get misled and carried away.
'Congress is being increasingly seen to be standing with Pakistan as Tharoor's statement was not an isolated incident'
'The Congress government is on its way out in Himachal Pradesh.'
The ministry of home affairs (MHA) on Monday sent a letter to the West Bengal State Election Commission (SEC) seeking details of the need for additional 485 companies of central forces, for which it has sent a requisition, an official said.
Since 1993, when the BJP came to power after a stint of President's rule, the state has alternated between the Congress and the BJP.
''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.'
When Reeti Pandharipande walked into the polling booth at 7 am, she expected to vote. Many hours later, she returned home tired and frustrated, with a finger that was not ink-stained.
'Not even a single rupee from the electoral bonds should be allowed to be used in the election.' 'If it is used in the election, it will taint India's electoral process itself.'
India's demographic dividend may not automatically give rise to tangible economic gains -- at least not with immediate effect -- but it is likely to have a big impact on the coming Lok Sabha elections, Mayank Mishra
By keeping the Sanatana Dharma row alive and adding the Ayodhya temple consecration scheduled for January 22 and adding the free darshan promise from four polled states to the entire country, the BJP may have a self-fulfilling concoction, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
'We want to send a notice to the BJP that Rajputs are no longer their slaves.'
According to poll observers, there are about 3.88 lakh voters in Rampur assembly constituency and of them, about 2.27 lakh, about 60 per cent, are Muslims.
Nobody is claiming that Indian democracy is perfect. Yet, all of us need to go out there and participate in the incredible event called Indian elections. Sheela Bhatt explains why.
The northeastern state is set to witness a triangular fight this time, with the BJP-IPFT coalition seeking to retain supremacy, the Left-Congress combine looking to wrest power, and regional outfit Tipra Motha making its debut at the hustings after its stunning performance in the autonomous council polls.
There are constituencies in the remote, far-flung corners of certain parts of Gujarat with only a handful of registered voters. Why, there is just one voter, who lives amid the lions and leopards in the Gir forest. But the Election Commission of India ensures that every eligible citizen gets to participate in the country's five-yearly democratic rite.
For many Mumbai voters, the experience left a bad taste in their mouths on Thursday, after they found their name missing in the voting list and were not allowed to exercise their right.
'Gehlot made it a Modi versus Gehlot contest. It was for the first time in a northern Indian state where the prime minister had to confront a chief minister.'
The electoral bonds scheme for funding political parties should not become a tool for "legitimisation of quid pro quo" between power centres and people who are benefactors of that power, the Supreme Court said on Thursday as it underscored the need for reducing the cash component in the electoral process.
From all indications, Sunil Kanugolu is here to stay, though whether his magic will help the Congress in the northern states in the Lok Sabha elections remains to be seen, wonders Aditi Phadnis.
At a time when the BJP's stars are at the top on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls, the Puri-Joshimath Sankaracharyas may have kick-started a row whose efforts might be to divide Hindus, not in the name of castes, but on what passes for greater belief, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
