Politics
parties, elections, legislature, political statements and disputes
Two nominations rejected, one Form 26 fight: Hardeep Puri is set to enter the Rajya Sabha unopposed
The returning officer in Madhya Pradesh rejected the papers of Kante Sayanna and Congress-backed Rajkumar Lohani at scrutiny on Tuesday, leaving Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri as the only candidate in the Rajya Sabha bypoll. Congress objected to Puri's Form 26 affidavit and said it will move court. The result is due on November 5.
Down to one MLA, UDP walks out of the Sangma government after eight years
The United Democratic Party's central executive committee decided on Tuesday to withdraw support to the NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance. President Metbah Lyngdoh quit the cabinet on October 31. Eleven of the party's 12 MLAs had already moved to the BJP and the NPP.
Constitution Day session: Haryana MLAs to sit on November 26, Saini says
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini announced the date after a cabinet meeting in Chandigarh. The move follows a Constitution fortnight that included a 'Janpratinidhi Sammelan' in the assembly on Monday, attended by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Details of the session's business were not disclosed.
Shah offers a special session on SIR, and dares the Opposition to turn up
The Home Minister told a Chhattisgarh Rajyotsav gathering in Raipur that the government is ready to convene a special session of Parliament on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. He accused the Congress of backing Naxalism and alleged Rahul Gandhi had 'mocked Parliament'. No date has been set.
Mahadev app accused reaches Raipur court, and a fight over what Oman agreed to
Saurabh Chandrakar, alleged kingpin of the Mahadev online betting network, was brought to Raipur on Tuesday evening and will be produced before a special CBI court on Wednesday. His lawyers argue Oman cleared extradition only for the money-laundering case, not the CBI's. The agency says the two are linked.
Seven of 13 corporations, 75 of 86 municipalities: TDP-led alliance sweeps Andhra civic polls
The TDP-led alliance has won seven of Andhra Pradesh's 13 municipal corporations and 75 of its 86 municipalities and nagar panchayats. In Kadapa, the YSRCP's stronghold, it took just seven of 279 wards. Jagan Mohan Reddy has rejected the results and alleged manipulation.
No seat, no problem: Akhilesh says he will take CM oath as an MP and skip 2027
The Samajwadi Party president said in Varanasi that he will not contest the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election and will take oath as chief minister while remaining a Lok Sabha member, as he did in 2012.
No Shivaji Park Dipotsav this year: Raj Thackeray says not while farmers are leaving
MNS chief Raj Thackeray called off the party's annual Dipotsav at Mumbai's Shivaji Park on Wednesday, citing the drought. In a video message he said it would be wrong to celebrate lavishly while farmers in rural Maharashtra migrate to cities. The state has declared 85% of its area drought-hit and announced ₹5,000 interim aid for farmers.
JD(S) stakes claim to Hiriyur bypoll ticket, Kumaraswamy says BJP brass will decide
JD(S) has made a strong pitch to contest the Hiriyur assembly bypoll as the NDA candidate, with Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy saying he will take the demand to the BJP's central leadership. The seat fell vacant after the death of former minister D. Sudhakar. The Congress is expected to field his son, Suhas Sudhakar.
ED team at AAP MLA's Moga home before dawn; neighbours locked out of the lane
An Enforcement Directorate team reached the Moga residence of AAP MLA and Punjab Mahila Wing president Dr Amandeep Kaur Arora early on Wednesday. Moga's Senior Deputy Mayor Rakesh Kumar Bajaj said the team arrived around 3 am, sealed the area and allowed no one inside. The case behind the search has not been made public.
Governor broke procedure on PSC chief, but that won't shield the guilty: Satheesan
Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said on Wednesday that former Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar's recommendation to the President to remove PSC chairman M.R. Baiju was made without following due procedure. He also made clear that the procedural lapse cannot be used to cover up irregularities inside the commission.
Akhilesh Yadav wants preacher Dhirendra Shastri barred from Uttar Pradesh over Ram-Krishna remarks
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday demanded that preacher Dhirendra Shastri be stopped from entering Uttar Pradesh, after remarks comparing Lord Ram and Lord Krishna at a Ram Katha in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district. Shastri has apologised, saying he meant no insult to any deity.
Ruhullah quits NC and Lok Sabha, tells Budgam crowd 'this is my azaadi'
Srinagar MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi resigned from the Lok Sabha and from the National Conference on Tuesday, accusing the party leadership, particularly Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, of betraying its promise to fight for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's special status. He announced the decision at a rally in Budgam. The BJP said it had no role in the party's internal rift.
Rahul and Kharge open Congress's 2027 Punjab run from Mann's own district
Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge reached Sangrur on Wednesday for the 'Insaaf Rally' at Phaguwala village, the party's launch of its campaign for the 2027 Punjab assembly elections. Both are expected to meet families of victims of drug-related violence. State unit president Pargat Singh said the party is working to a target of one lakh people.
Nadda in Bhopal, Nabin with Yogi in Gorakhpur as BJP's 'save democracy' marches fan out
The BJP is holding 'Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao' marches and rallies in several states on Wednesday, with Union minister J P Nadda leading one in Bhopal and party president Nitin Nabin walking beside Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Gorakhpur. A third march is planned in East Delhi, and the ABVP is taking out a 15,000-strong student rally at Delhi University. The campaign runs alongside the BJP-opposition row over the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.
Rs 2 crore for Rs 17 crore: Kerala hands a 2006 bribe charge against the CEC to Vigilance
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has asked the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to examine a fresh complaint against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, who was Kerala's PWD secretary in 2006. A former Kollam contractor alleges a Rs 2 crore demand to release Rs 17 crore in approved bills, and links it to a Malaysian engineer's suicide. The claims are unproven and Kumar has not responded.
Amit Shah to close Chhattisgarh Rajyotsav as 33rd Mahtari Vandan instalment is released
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will attend the closing ceremony of Chhattisgarh's three-day Rajyotsav on Tuesday. He will inaugurate the Artemis Shanti Hospital and the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Park in Raipur, and the 33rd instalment of the Mahtari Vandan Yojana will be released in Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai's presence.
Three BSF men injured in Tripura border village attack, eight arrested, says CM Manik Saha
Three BSF personnel were injured after being attacked at Ashabari village in Tripura's Boxanagar, and eight people have been arrested, Chief Minister Manik Saha said on Tuesday. Saha said authorities were told to act swiftly and stringently, and that violence against security personnel would not be tolerated.
Not talking about building the Siang dam yet, says Pema Khandu as a 36-hour bandh empties Upper Siang
No decision has been taken on the 11,200-MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project and only a pre-feasibility report is being prepared, Chief Minister Pema Khandu said on Monday evening. He said a PFR does not amount to approval for construction. The Congress has demanded the project be scrapped and a 36-hour bandh began on Monday.
Shah calls INDIA rally a 'save infiltrators' march, dares Congress to debate SIR in Parliament
Addressing a BJP padayatra in Hyderabad in support of the SIR, Home Minister Amit Shah called the INDIA bloc's Delhi rally a 'save infiltrators' rally. He rejected the charge that 13 crore voters had been removed, saying six crore had changed address and three crore were dead. He challenged the Congress to a Parliament debate on SIR and EVMs.
A 67-year-old social worker takes on Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in MP Rajya Sabha bypoll
Rajkumar Lohani, a social worker from Old Bhopal's Ghoda Nakkas, filed as a Congress-backed independent against BJP nominee and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri for Madhya Pradesh's vacant Rajya Sabha seat. Nominations are scrutinised on November 3, withdrawals close on November 5 and polling is on November 12. The BJP has 164 MLAs in the 230-member House; a candidate needs 116 votes.
Shivakumar heads to Hiriyur as Congress and BJP gear up for a bypoll with a deadline
Karnataka Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar visits Hiriyur on Tuesday to launch development works, including a Rs 244 crore project to fill 16 tanks and the Gayatri reservoir. The seat fell vacant after the death of MLA D. Sudhakar on May 10. A bypoll must be declared within six months, a deadline that ends on November 10. BJP state president B. Y. Vijayendra said the NDA wants the seat and will discuss a joint candidate with JD(S) leader H. D. Kumaraswamy.
Rahul Gandhi dares PM Modi to an open debate: 'You became PM with foreign help'
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Monday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to an open debate, alleging that Modi became and remains Prime Minister with "foreign help". The exchange follows Modi's Rashtriya Ekta Diwas speech in Gujarat, where he called the Opposition an "obstructionist bloc" rather than an opposing one.
NCP rift out in the open as Sunetra Pawar calls her MLAs to Mumbai tonight
A day after six senior NCP leaders met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi without her, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar has called a meeting of party MLAs at her Mumbai residence on Tuesday evening. The trigger is a lost MLC seat, unhappiness with Parth Pawar's working style and the unreturned finance portfolio.
109 MLAs, 118 needed, five seats left: the arithmetic behind Vijay's district tours
Chief Minister Vijay inaugurated projects in Pudukkottai on Monday and was in Erode's Perundurai on Tuesday, both districts with by-elections pending. His TVK has 109 MLAs against the 118 needed for a majority, and winning all five vacant seats would take it to 114.
'Where will the farmers go?': Supreme Court pushes back on indefinite protest at Ramlila Maidan
Hearing petitions from the October protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the Supreme Court said no group can hold a protest site indefinitely. Traders told the court that business had collapsed around Ramlila Maidan and sought a two-month ban. The court told them to implead the protest organisers, and listed the matters for November 23.
24 years, one speech: Aga Ruhullah quits NC and gives up his Lok Sabha seat
Srinagar MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi resigned from the Lok Sabha and quit the National Conference at a rally in Budgam on Tuesday, ending a 24-year association. He accused Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and party president Farooq Abdullah of abandoning the 2024 election promises on Article 370, jobs and reservation. His exit lands a day after 25 NC lawmakers gave the leadership a 14-day ultimatum.
Three AAP MLAs cross to BJP, and one of them is still holding his seat
Chetan Singh Jouramajra, Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra and Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh joined the BJP in Delhi on Monday, days after the AAP released its first list of 40 candidates for the 2027 Punjab polls. The Speaker accepted two resignations and declared the Amritsar North and Sanaur seats vacant. Jouramajra has not resigned and faces a disqualification hearing on November 5.
TDP-led alliance sweeps Andhra civic polls, and YSRCP's 2021 fortress starts to fall
Counting began on Tuesday for 92 urban local bodies in Andhra Pradesh, and the TDP-Jana Sena-BJP alliance took the lead in 10 of 13 municipal corporations and 62 of 83 municipalities by the afternoon. The YSRCP, which won all 13 corporations in 2021, was not ahead in even one corporation. Cyclone Murasu delayed counting in two districts.
Paul Lyngdoh sworn into Meghalaya cabinet; portfolios by Wednesday, three TMC MDCs to join NPP
Governor C.H. Vijayashankar administered the oath to Bah Paul Lyngdoh as a cabinet minister on Monday, filling the vacancy left by UDP president Metbah Lyngdoh's resignation. Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said portfolios will be decided within a day and confirmed that three sitting TMC MDCs will join the NPP on November 4.