Page 5 - Bjp

BJP surges ahead of rivals in Gujarat local body polls as per early trends

The ruling BJP has taken a lead in the local body elections in Gujarat, winning 2,531 seats so far out of more than 9,200 as per the initial rounds of counting that began on Tuesday morning, officials said. According to the latest data shared by the State Election Commission (SEC), the Congress has won 385 seats, while the Independents and other parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), have bagged 169 seats. The BJP has emerged far ahead of its rivals, clinching 1,165 seats in taluka panchayats, 251 in district panchayats, 825 in municipalities and 290 in municipal corporations, according to early trends. The Congress, the main rival party, has secured 235 seats in taluka panchayats, 23 in district panchayats, 118 in municipalities, and 8 in municipal corporations. Officials said counting of votes commenced at 9 am amid tight security arrangements across the state. Polling was held on Sunday for elections to 15 municipal ...

Watch: Raghav Chadha joins BJP, says 2/3rd of AAP Rajya Sabha MPs also merging

Raghav Chadha, a Rajya Sabha member from Punjab, resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday after months of tension with the party leadership.

West Bengal polls: Unemployment, safety, and healthcare shape voters' mood

Young voters cite gaps in employment opportunities, strained public services and governance challenges as key factors shaping their choices

AAP to move court after RS Chairman accepts merger of 7 MPs with BJP

AAP plans legal challenge after Rajya Sabha Chairman accepts merger of seven MPs with BJP, sparking debate over anti-defection law provisions

West Bengal Elections 2026: 18.76% turnout recorded in the first two hours of voting | TMC | BJP

West Bengal recorded a turnout of 18.76 per cent in the first two hours of voting in the first phase of the assembly polls on Thursday, according to the Election Commission.

Rajya Sabha Chairman accepts merger of 7 defected AAP MPs with BJP

Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan on Monday officially accepted the merger of seven Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MPs with the BJP, reducing the strength of Arvind Kejriwal's party in the Upper House to three. After this transition, the BJP's strength in the Upper House has increased to 113. Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Vikramjit Sahney, Swati Maliwal, and Rajinder Gupta are the seven MPs who have merged. The Rajya Sabha website now shows that the seven MPs are part of the BJP list of members. The seven MPs had on Friday petitioned the Rajya Sabha Chairman to be treated as BJP MPs after the merger and the same has been accepted, sources said. The AAP had on Sunday moved a petition before the RS Chairman seeking the termination of the membership of the seven MPs, who had switched sides. Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh said he has submitted a petition to Chairman Radhakrishnan seeking the disqualification of the seven party MPs in the Upper House, who

Bengal polls: Jute crisis, law and order key issues in North 24 Parganas

Industrial distress and precarious law and order situation in the jute hub of North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal dominate the poll agenda in the cosmopolitan Noapara, Bhatpara and Barrackpore assembly constituencies, where the feud between BJP leader Arjun Singh and his associate-turned-rival TMC MP Partha Bhowmick writs large. Singh, a former BJP MP of Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat, is contesting from Noapara, promising to resolve the jute crisis affecting the mills in the region. He is taking on TMC's Trinankur Bhattacharjee, who replaces veteran party leader and sitting MLA Manju Basu in Noapara. While the TMC won Barrackpore and Noapara in the previous polls, the BJP won Bhatpara in the 2019 bypoll and the 2021 elections. The BJP has renominated Arjun's son, Pawan Singh, from Bhatpara. A centre of Sanskrit learning in medieval and pre-modern Bengal, Bhatpara has now become infamous for turf wars and deadly clashes that keep the residents on tenterhooks. Bhowmick and Arjun .

BJP committed to women's security, fielded Patra, RG Kar victim's kin: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the TMC of "sheltering goons who torture women", and said the BJP giving poll tickets to Sandeshkhali's Rekha Patra and the mother of the R G Kar victim is proof of the party's commitment to ensuring women's security. Speaking at the Matua community citadel of Thakurnagar at Bongaon in North 24 Parganas district, Modi also said all refugees who took shelter in India following religious persecution in the neighbouring nation will be granted citizenship through procedures outlined under the Citizenship Amendment Act. Referring to the record turnout of over 93 per cent in the first phase of polls, Modi said, "The TMC's arrogance was shattered in the first round, the second phase will cement BJP's victory in the state." The PM alluded to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's pre-Independence slogan of 'Give me blood and I will give you freedom', to urge the people to vote for the BJP, "and I will give you freedom from TMC's 'maha jungleraj'". "The

Entire Union cabinet, 19 CMs won't help BJP win Bengal polls: Mamata

TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday claimed that the BJP has deployed its entire machinery to defeat the regional party in the West Bengal assembly elections as almost the entire Union cabinet and CMs of NDA-ruled states are camping in the poll-bound state. Addressing an election rally at Uttarpara in Hooghly district, Banerjee accused the BJP of giving false promises to migrant workers from West Bengal employed outside the state. "The BJP is desperate, with 50 helicopters flying into West Bengal as almost the entire Union cabinet, from the PM to home, railway and defence ministers, as well as CMs of 19 NDA-ruled states camping in a single state West Bengal," the chief minister said. Compare this with only three helicopters being used by the TMC to campaign across the state. But all this hype and sound and fury will end in a whimper on May 4, she said. "On top of this, we are seeing central forces wherever we are going. They are bringing in armoured vehicles which are not put to

BJP has swept Bengal Phase 1 polls, will implement CAA if it wins: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday asserted that the BJP virtually sealed its victory in phase 1 of the West Bengal assembly polls itself, claiming the party would win 110 seats in the first leg of polling and promising swift implementation of the CAA, a crackdown on infiltration, and a "fear-free" Bengal for women after coming to power. Addressing back-to-back rallies in Jamalpur of Purba Bardhaman district and Shyampur in Howrah, Shah sharpened the BJP's campaign around three of its core Bengal planks-the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) for the Matua community, women's safety, and alleged infiltration from Bangladesh-while projecting the election as a battle to end Mamata Banerjee's rule. "Voting for the first phase is over. In the very first phase itself, the BJP will win 110 seats, and Didi (Mamata Banerjee) will be thrown out of power. Instead of TMC, BJP will form the government here," he said. Polling was held in 152 of the 294 assembly constituencies on April 23 and ...

AAP no longer the same party, no one can work with Kejriwal: Swati Maliwal

Defected AAP MP Swati Maliwal on Saturday alleged that her former party had "strayed far" from its original principles, and its leader Arvind Kejriwal is no longer the same. Barely a year after losing power to the BJP in Delhi, AAP suffered its greatest jolt on Friday when seven of its Rajya Sabha MPs, including Raghav Chadha and Maliwal, quit the party. The other defectors were Sandeep Pathak, a key face of the party organisation, former cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Ashok Mittal, Rajinder Gupta and Vikram Sahney. Maliwal, who joined the BJP after defecting, praised the "decisive and strong leadership" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "I left my home, lived in slums for seven years, quit my job and supported every movement. But when I tried to file an FIR after being assaulted, I was beaten up at Kejriwal's residence by his aide," Maliwal told PTI Videos. She claimed that when she tried to pursue the complaint, she was "threatened and pressured" to withdraw it. "For two years, I wa

'They matter little alone': Mann mocks defected AAP MPs with spice analogy

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday attacked the seven Rajya Sabha members who quit the AAP through a culinary analogy to say that on their own, each defected leader amounts to little. In a sarcastic post on X, Mann wrote in Punjabi, "Ginger, garlic, cumin, fenugreek powder, red chilli, black pepper, and coriander - these seven things together make a dish taste great, but on their own, cannot become a dish." His comment came a day after he called the seven defectors traitors. In a surprise move on Friday, AAP Rajya Sabha members Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak announced that they were quitting the party and joining the BJP along with five other MPs. Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Swati Maliwal, and Vikramjit Sahney were the other AAP MPs they named. Chadha alleged that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party had strayed from its principles, values and core morals, which is why he was joining the BJP. He said the seven had merged with the BJP as a faction. In th

As the left fades from Bengal's landscape, BJP makes a fervent pitch

In West Bengal, the Left is in a dead heat with the Congress for the wooden spoon; Maoism in the tribal heartland has been entombed; and in Kerala, the Left fights double incumbency

Who is Ashok Mittal? Ex-AAP MP who switched to BJP 10 days after ED raid

Rajya Sabha MP and LPU founder rose from a family sweets business to build a major education enterprise, gaining prominence in AAP before joining the exodus led by Raghav Chadha

Best of BS Opinion: India must pursue delimitation, devolution of powers

Today's BS Opinion wrap examines delimitation and federal balance, the BJP's Andhra Pradesh dilemma, shifts in Bengal politics, and Infosys's bet on sport-led branding

Complaint filed against woman who confronted BJP minister, no FIR: Police

A complaint has been filed against a woman who berated Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan for a traffic jam caused by a BJP rally in Mumbai, police said on Friday, clarifying that no case has been registered against her. The complaint was submitted to the police on Wednesday by Zen Sadavarte, daughter of advocate Gunaratna Sadavarte, they said. The incident occurred in the upscale Worli area on Tuesday during a rally organised by the BJP to target opposition parties over the defeat of the Constitution Amendment Bill to fast-track the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. An agitated woman confronted minister Mahajan, who was speaking to reporters, shouting at him for blocking roads and causing inconvenience to commuters. "Get out of here. You are causing a traffic jam," she said, asking why the rally could not be held at the nearby open ground. In her complaint to the Worli police, Sadavarte said the woman created a ruckus, usin

Raghav Chadha joins BJP, says 2/3rd of AAP Rajya Sabha MPs also merging

He stated that his own party had tried to silence him

'Anga, Vanga, Kalinga' will have BJP govts next month, says Amit Shah

Asserting that people voted with enthusiasm for a change in the first phase of the assembly elections here, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said 'Anga, Banga and Kalinga', the ancient kingdoms that are present-day Assam, Bengal and Odisha, will have a BJP government next month. Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Shah said the BJP will secure an absolute majority in the assembly elections, and bag more than 110 of the 152 seats that went to the polls in the first phase on Thursday. "People of Bengal broke all records in the first phase and voted with enthusiasm for a change," he said, referring to the over 92 per cent turnout. "I thank the Election Commission and security forces for ensuring no deaths during the first phase polls," he said, noting that 1,278 people were injured in the 2016 assembly elections, and 1,681 in 2021. Claiming that the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC's exit is imminent, Shah, who is camping in the state, said the BJP will form a government with an .

BJP to provide 100k jobs to youths each yr in infiltrator-free Bengal: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday termed the West Bengal assembly polls a chance "to make the state free of infiltrators" and promised one lakh jobs for youths each year based on merit if the BJP won the election. Speaking at his second poll rally of the day in Kulti, on the outskirts of Paschim Bardhaman's industrial hubs of Asansol and Barakar, he said the BJP would restore the industrial glory of the country's iron ore production hub and secure jobs for local youth. "Kulti used to be the hub of iron ore production of the country, but the Mamata Banerjee government has brought it to its knees. We will take the iron city back to its glory, stop illegal mining, impose effective bans on the pollution-creating sponge iron production in the region and create job opportunities for local youths," Shah said. Accusing the TMC government of "stealing jobs from deserving candidates and selling them to the undeserving ones", the Union minister said, "The BJP promises merit-based ...

Amit Shah vows Gorkha issue resolution in 6 months if BJP wins Bengal

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the decades-old Gorkha issue will be resolved within six months if the BJP forms the government in West Bengal. He said no party other than the BJP could find a solution acceptable to the Gorkhas. Addressing an election rally at Kurseong in Darjeeling district, Shah said the BJP understands the concerns and aspirations of the Gorkhas and would work towards a settlement on their terms. "Within six months of the BJP forming the government in West Bengal, every Gorkha will have a smile on his face. We will find such a solution to the Gorkha issue that Gorkhas can live in peace," he said. The home minister said the problem had persisted for decades because successive governments had failed to sincerely address the aspirations of the people of the Darjeeling hills. "The Congress and the TMC have done injustice not only to Darjeeling but also to our patriotic Gorkha brothers," Shah alleged. Claiming that the BJP had repeatedly tried to reso