Vayalar Ravi, Congress leader and Union parliamentary affairs minister, says the top Congress leadership is determined to oust the CPI(M) from the Left strongholds of Kerala and West Bengal. He refuses to agree that the country&rsquo;s economy is safer because of the Left&rsquo;s intervention, yet he tells Saubhadro Chatterjee that the Left parties had cooperated with the UPA government except last year&rsquo;s trust vote in Parliament.

'Whatever the Left may dream, India is not Cuba or Venezuela'

Business Standard

At least one person was killed and 16 injured when a bomb planted by suspected Ulfa militants exploded near a hotel in the Lalganesh area in Guwahati, minutes before External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukerjee was scheduled to arrive there to address an election meeting.

Blast at Pranab rally venue, 1 killed

Press Trust of India

BJP candidate Varun Gandhi, who was lodged in the district jail here over his hate speeches, has been shifted to Etah jail due to security reasons, official sources said.

Varun shifted to Etah jail

In an attempt to paint the image of the opposition as anti-industry and pin down Trinamool Congress which spearheaded an agitation against land acquisition in Singur, CPI-M has prominently highlighted Nanon and industrialisation in its poll campaign.

Nano still alive in CPI-M poll campaign

After failing to strike a seat sharing pact with the SP, Congress efforts to forge an alliance with smaller political parties in Uttar Pradesh have started bearing fruits with the party entering into an alliance in six seats in the state.

Cong efforts to woo smaller parties in UP bearing fruits

As campaigning picks up for the Lok Sabha elections, the newly elected President of industry body CII, Venu Srinivasan, has said he will promote a transparent way of donations to political parties by business houses.

New CII chief to promote political donations by cheque

Congress is planning to add a glamour quotient in the capital's electoral scene by roping in Bollywood superstar and party 'sympathiser' Shahrukh Khan to campaign for its candidates.

SRK likely to campaign for Congress in Delhi

Claiming that her son's life is in danger, BJP leader Maneka Gandhi today said if anything happens to Varun Gandhi, who was shifted to a high-security jail here from Pilibhit, Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party &quot;will be answerable to the country&quot;.

Varun's life in danger, claims Maneka

The announcement of the candidature of former Mysore district in-charge minister H Viswanath and the overwhelming clout former deputy chief minister Siddaramaiah enjoys in the region is likely to pose a big challenge for the BJP in the Mysore parliamentary constituency.

It could be tough going for BJP in Mysore

Defining the CMP 'necessities' that any government must provide could clean up elections.

Shyam Ponappa: A &#39;Minimum Programme&#39; for all parties?

There is no liquidity crunch here. Betting may be illegal, but bookies are gearing up for a Rs 15,000 crore business as India goes to polls this summer.

UPA favourite among bookies

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar may have signed a pre-poll deal with the Congress in Maharashtra, but in Orissa he will jointly campaign with the CPI(M), CPI and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls. While the BJD&rsquo;s political stand is vehemently anti-Congress, the CPI(M) has vowed to install a non-Congress, non-BJP secular alternative government at the Centre after the general elections.

Pawar to join Left, BJD leaders in Orissa rally

Congress president Sonia Gandhi today ordered her party spokespersons to maintain &ldquo;political restraint&rdquo; while attacking the Opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Worried that targeting personalities like Varun Gandhi may be counter-productive, Sonia is learnt to have asked her colleagues to focus more on issues and not on specific people.

Use political restraint, Sonia tells Congress

BJP leader Varun Gandhi on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Uttar Pradesh government&rsquo;s decision to slap the National Security Act (NSA) against him for alleged hate speeches in Pilibhit. &ldquo;We have filed a petition in the apex court for quashing of the NSA order,&rdquo; Varun&rsquo;s counsel Sandeep Kapoor said.

Varun moves SC over NSA

Election Commissioner SY Qureshi today indicated that the Election Commission (EC) might go soft on the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Jaswant Singh, who was caught on camera while distributing cash during a poll campaign in Rajasthan.

EC may go soft on Jaswant&#39;s cash affair

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is receiving brickbats not just from the top Congress leadership in the run- up to the Lok Sabha polls but also from those in his own backyard.

Fernandes cries foul over 'current tyranny' in Bihar

Apart from being general secretary of the Shiv Sena, Sanjay Raut wears many other hats for the party &mdash; as the executive editor of its mouthpiece &lsquo;Samana&rsquo;, spokesman, a Rajya Sabha MP, but more importantly, a confidant of the party&rsquo;s executive president Uddhav Thackeray. The man who almost successfully rocked the boat of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance by advocating closer ties with the Nationalist Congress Party and its president Sharad Pawar, tells Makarand Gadgil that his party wholeheartedly supports senior BJP leader L K Advani&rsquo;s candidature for the prime ministership and there is no question of supporting anyone else for the post.

'Advanji will be the next prime minister'

The hate speech of BJP's Lok Sabha candidate Varun Gandhi did not threaten national security and a law other that the National Security Act could have been invoked to deal with it, says Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

No need for NSA against Varun: Omar Abdullah

Promising to eliminate the economic inequalities, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which released its manifesto today, promised to implement a slew of measures aimed at empowering every section of the society.

TDP manifesto: Food, health, economic security top agenda

The commodity market regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC) today expressed hope that the Government would lift the ban on futures trading in rice and wheat before the general elections.

Rice, wheat futures ban may go before elections, hopes FMC

In what could turn out to be an embarrassment for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the Supreme Court has issued a notice to the state government and to the Pilibhit Districty Magistrate or invoking National Security Act against BJP leader Varun Gandhi in connection with his alleged hate speeches.

UPDATE: SC questions use of NSA on Varun

Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Visit Business Standard for the latest updated information on the general election results 2024, including the candidate lists for the BJP and Congress, Lok Sabha Election Dates, Exit Polls, Opinion Polls, and Election Results.

Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Election Results News, PM Candidates, Narendra Modi | General Election

Visit Business Standard for the latest updated information on the general election results 2024, including the candidate lists for the BJP and Congress, Lok Sabha Election Dates, Exit Polls, Opinion Polls, and Election Results.

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