Page 21 - Indian Politics

Why Rahul Gandhi remains in the BJP's cross hairs

It is not in the BJP's interest to have the national attention once again focused on Rahul Gandhi

Number wise: Which state in India has the most educated politicians?

A higher percentage of candidates and winners in elections are now graduates. Read more to find out which state does the best

More than a clash of giants, the AAP-BJP face-off is a fight for survival

But this much is clear: that clashes between the two groupings are more than a David-Goliath war - it is a struggle for the survival of the fittest

Ahead of Cong's plenary session, election for Priyanka, fee hike on charts

The major shift for increasing membership fees and conducting elections is a direct outcome of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Rahul Gandhi has been keen that leaders must reconnect with workers

LIVE: Appetite of states for capex has gone up, says FM Sitharaman

Catch all the latest updates from across the globe here

Time for us in politics to leverage these tools: BJP VP on ChatGPT

Amid buzz about the likely impact of artificial intelligence-powered ChatGPT in various fields, BJP vice president Baijayant Jay Panda said on Monday that it can be leveraged by those in politics in an era of rapidly unfolding technologies. He shared a video of the ChatGPT's response to a query seeking a list of BJP policies, with the chatbot outlining the party's focus on the planks of "nationalism, social justice and good governance". "Interesting. I just requested ChatGPT to list policies of BJP and see what it brings out. In an era of rapidly unfolding technologies, time for us in politics to leverage these," he tweeted. Since its advent, ChatGPT has sparked a debate about the disruption it may cause in various fields.

Newsmaker: Meet Pratima Bhoumik, BJP's candidate from Dhanpur seat

The BJP is banking on Tripura's first Union minister and its very own 'Didi' to breach the 'red fort' that has been impregnable since 1972

Cong manifesto in Meghalaya pledges Rs 3,000 monthly to single BPL mothers

The Congress in Meghalaya on Thursday promised monthly assistance of Rs 3000 to single BPL mothers and a job each to every household if the party comes to power in the northeastern state in the February 27 election. In the Congress' manifesto, which was released here, the party also promised to provide an uninterrupted electricity supply to commercial and domestic users, and bring in a law which will make it mandatory for the government to upload all files related to development and infrastructure on portals. If the Congress forms the government, it will transfer Rs 3,000 per month to single BPL mothers raising their children alone. This will empower women giving them financial independence and helping them run their houses in a better way. This translates to Rs 36,000 a year which is a substantial amount, state Congress president Vincent H Pala said. Single mothers face plenty of problems. As a large number of them have little or no education, it is difficult for them to get decent

Nagaland polls: Only 6 candidates file nominations, deadline tomorrow

A total of only six candidates have submitted their nominations so far for the February 27 Nagaland assembly polls, an official said. The deadline for nomination submission is Tuesday. Of the six, two are from the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and one from its ally, the BJP. There are also two Independents, while one contestant belongs to the Rising People's Party, a new entrant in Nagaland politics, the official said. The NDPP and the BJP are contesting on a 40:20 seat-sharing arrangement in their bid to return to power for the second time in a row in the northeastern state. The Naga Peoples' Front (NPF) has announced 22 candidates, and the Congress released the names of 25 nominees so far. Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), National Peoples' Party and the Nationalist Congress Party have also named their candidates. Elections to the 60-member assembly will be held on February 27.

Congress' 85th plenary session to be game changer for politics: Venugopal

All India Congress Committee general secretary K C Venugopal on Sunday claimed the three-day 85th plenary session of the party to be held in Raipur from February 24 will be a "game changer" for Indian politics. Venugopal along with senior party leaders Pawan Bansal and Tariq Anwar reached Chhattisgarh's capital to take stock of preparations for the plenary session to be held at the Rajyotsava Sthal in Nava Raipur. Talking to media persons at the airport here, Venugopal said, We have come here to take stock of the preparations for the plenary session scheduled to be held from February 24 to 26. This plenary is going to be a game changer of Indian politics." To a query, he targeted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre said, ''The BJP is only spreading lies in the country. They talked about Bharat Jodo Yatra too. The yatra became one of the biggest political movements in the country. The entire BJP was against it. The BJP can do politics." The Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Congr

Elderly woman refuses freebies from Meghalaya poll candidates, returns them

An elderly woman in Meghalaya, where Assembly poll will be held later this month, has allegedly refused to accept freebies from contestants in East Khasi Hills district and has returned the 'gifts' given to her family. Purity Phawa, president of the women's organisation in her locality, reportedly even told candidates' agents in person that she wants to elect legislators and not distributors. Election to all the 60 seats in the state Assembly will be held on February 27 and counting will be held on March 2. Phawa's family, which resides at Lumdiengjri in West Shillong constituency, had reportedly received freebies from the agents of ruling National People's Party candidate Mohindro Rapsang and United Democratic Party (UDP) contest Paul Lyngdoh on January 28 and 30 respectively. I was not at home when the freebies arrived. When I returned, my daughter told me that the candidates had sent us a pressure cooker and two sets of imported bowls on January 28 and 30, Phawa told PTI o

Raut sends notice to Narayan Rane for 'baseless allegations' against him

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday said he has sent a legal notice to Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narayan Rane for making "baseless allegations" against him on public platforms. Raut said Rane should prove his allegations or else apologise to him. "Narayan Rane has been making baseless allegations against me and Shiv Sena. He should prove his charge or else apologise. I have sent a legal notice to him through my lawyer Sarthak Shetty. Jai Maharashtra," Raut said in a tweet. Rane, one of the bitter critics of former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and his faction of the Shiv Sena, has been engaged in a war of words with Raut. Of late, the verbal duel between the two leaders became uglier and more personal. Rane, a former chief minister, had quit the Sena over his differences with Thackeray.

Amit Shah to visit K'taka on Feb 11 to take part in co-operative convention

Union Minister for Home and Co-operation Amit Shah will be visiting Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district to participate in a co-operative convention on February 11. The convention is being held at Puttur in connection with the golden jubilee celebrations of the central arecanut and cocoa marketing and processing co-operative limited (CAMPCO). The event will be held at the Vivekananda educational institution at Tenkila at 3 PM, CAMPCO sources said. He will also be visiting CAMPCO's chocolate factory in Puttur. This is the first visit of Shah to Dakshina Kannada ahead of the Assembly elections in the state. BJP Sankalpa Abhiyan campaign is presently going on in Puttur taluk. The BJP leader is also expected to take part in the convention at Puttur as part of the campaign, party sources said. BJP had won seven of the eight Assembly seats in Dakshina Kannada district in the 2018 elections.

T'gana Assembly session to begin from Feb 3 with Governor's address

The Telangana Assembly Session is all set to start from Friday with Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan's address in the joint session (Assembly and Council) on the first day. Sources said Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao government has already provided a speech copy to the Governor. "Letters have been set to all MLAs and MLCs regarding the joint session and Governor's speech. The duration of the session will be decided in the Business Advisory Committee meeting after the Governor's speech," sources told PTI. The government likely to table the State Budget next week. The Governor has already issued a notification summoning the Assembly session beginning from February 3, ending speculation on whether there would be her speech or not in the session. After the patch-up with the Raj Bhavan, the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao-led government on January 30 evening approached Soundararajan requesting her to give assent to the Budget document and address the session for which she agreed

Development, tribal welfare to be BJP's poll planks for polls: Tripura CM

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha Thursday said development with a special focus on the overall upliftment of indigenous people will the main poll plank of the BJP-IPFT combine in the ensuing election to the north-eastern state's assembly. In an interview to PTI, he also decried the 'Greater Tipraland' demand espoused by rival Tipra Motha party floated by the scion of the former royal family of the tribal state Pradyot Manikya DebBarma. Saha who became the chief minister of the state replacing Biplab Kumar Deb just nine months before the crucial elections, claimed that the party will get a comfortable majority in the election and will form the next government on its own strength. The BJP is contesting in 55 seats in the 60-member Assembly and has left five seats for its ally IPFT, which has been hamstrung by defections to another trib; party- Tipra Motha. "During the electioneering, the party leaders right from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to party

Centre confusing people in name of implementing CAA: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday alleged that the BJP-led central government is confusing people in the name of implementing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Banerjee also claimed that she and her party Trinamool Congress have been taking care of the Matua community people, whose roots are in Bangladesh, and blamed the BJP for trying to approach them as a friend in the name of the CAA. "In the name of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, they (Centre) are confusing people. We have been taking care of the Matuas for a long time, but when polls approach, the BJP goes to them, claiming to be their friends... screaming CAA," Banerjee said at a government programme here. The Matuas, originally hailing from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), started migrating to West Bengal in the 1950s, mostly due to religious persecution there. The CAA facilitates the grant of citizenship to migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities from Afghanista

Political parties seek early end to first half of Budget session: Joshi

Leaders of different political parties on Tuesday urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to adjourn the first half of the Budget session on February 10 instead of February 13, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said. The demand was made during a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee of the Lok Sabha. The Speaker has said he will consider the demand, the minister said. The Budget session of Parliament started on Tuesday and is scheduled to go on a break on February 13. However, with February 11-12 being a weekend, a demand was made to conclude the first half of the session on February 10. The session as per schedule will resume on March 13 and conclude on April 6.

Sisodia seeks approval from LG for sending teachers to Finland for training

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday wrote to Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena asking him to approve the government's proposal to send teachers of state-run schools to Finland for a training programme. The Delhi government had on January 20 sent the proposal to the Lt Governor''s Office to allow the teachers to visit Finland, days after Saxena asked the government to first conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the programme. In the letter, Sisodia said "politics" should not be played on "such sensitive issues'' and urged Saxena to clear the file. "The file has been doing the rounds in your office since October last year. The file was again sent to you on January 20 but there has been no decision yet," Sisodia wrote in the letter. "If the file is not cleared, the teachers' proposed training in March will also not happen," he said. Sharing the letter on Twitter, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also urged the LG to allow the teachers to attend the training programme. "I u

Assembly polls 2023: Economic snapshots of 3 poll-bound northeastern states

Let us analyse the economic issues and present a brief political scene of the poll-bound states of Tripura, Nagaland, and Meghalaya

Ramcharitmanas row: VHP attacks SP on Swami Prasad Maurya's elevation

Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has hit out at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav after he appointed Swami Prasad Maurya as party's general secretary despite his controversial remark on Ramcharitmanas