The state will go to the polls on April 9 in a single phase; counting will take place on May 4
The BJP on Thursday released its first list of 88 candidates for the Assam assembly polls, including Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma from Jalukbari seat. The party named former Congress leader Pradyut Bordoloi as its candidate from Dispur assembly seat. Bordoloi joined the BJP in the presence of Sarma and other party leaders here on Wednesday. According to the list, Bhupen Kumar Borah, who also joined the BJP recently after leaving the Congress, will contest from Bihpura seat. Madhavi Das will enter the fray from Birsing-Jarua, Jyotsana Kalita from Chamaria and Nilima Devi from Mangaldai. The first list of candidates was finalised by the BJP's Central Election Committee at its meeting presided over by party president Nitin Nabin here on Wednesday evening. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other members of the BJP poll body. BJP Assam unit chief Dilip Saikia was also present at the meeting.
After Assam MP Pradyut Bordoloi joined the BJP, his son Prateek announced that he won't contest on a Congress ticket from Margherita in the upcoming assembly polls. In a letter to Congress president and chairman of the Central Election Committee Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday, Prateek said he would continue to remain a party member. Following his father's decision to join another party, it would not be appropriate for him to continue as a Congress candidate from Margherita, Prateek said in the letter, which was shared with reporters on Thursday. "With utmost respect and a deep sense of responsibility towards the party, I wish to convey my decision to withdraw my candidacy from the Margherita Assembly Constituency," he said. Prateek asserted that he will continue to work for the party in whatever capacity the leadership deems appropriate. His father, a Congressman for over five decades, had resigned from the grand old party on Tuesday and joined the BJP the next day.
The BJP on Thursday released the second list of 39 candidates for the Kerala Assembly polls, fielding former state BJP president and former Mizoram governor Kummanam Rajasekharan from Aranmula seat. The party named CC Mukandan as it's candidate from Nattila seat. Deepak Puzhakkal will contest from Tanur seat and Aswinini ML from Kasaragod, according to the list released by the BJP. Pathmasree M will contest from Manjeri constituency and Renu Suresh from Kongad seat. BJP had earlier released the names of 47 candidates in its first list.
Describing the BJP as a marginal player in Kerala polls, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said that the party is not even likely to have a significant enough influence to be a kingmaker in the state and at best can only "break their duck" in the assembly. In an exclusive interview with PTI before embarking on the campaign trail for the Kerala polls, Tharoor emphasised that the contest will primarily be between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF). "It is not a triangular contest, for the BJP is a zero-seat party in the assembly. From zero, if they go to one or two or three, they will be extremely proud and happy, and they will congratulate themselves on a great win. That is the situation the BJP is in," Tharoor said. "They (BJP) are not even likely to have a big enough footprint to be a kingmaker in the state. It is going to be between the LDF and the UDF, there are no doubts about that," the Thiruvanathapuram MP said. However, he .
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the EC, alleging that senior administrative and police officers were being transferred ahead of the assembly polls at the behest of the BJP. She warned that the poll body and the saffron party would be responsible if any untoward incident happens in the state. Addressing reporters while announcing the Trinamool Congress candidate list for the 2026 assembly elections, Banerjee questioned the timing of the changes in key administrative posts, particularly ahead of Eid. "Why are senior officers being transferred just before Eid? Are there plans to trigger riots before elections?" she said. The chief minister alleged that the list of officers who were transferred was prepared at the BJP's office and the decision was merely implemented by the Election Commission. She further alleged that some officials from outside West Bengal had been brought in to assist the BJP in the electoral ...
BJP's Sanjay Bhatia and Congress party's Karamvir Singh Boudh have been declared elected to two Rajya Sabha seats in keenly watched elections as developments unfolded over allegations of violation of vote secrecy. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, in a late-night press conference, congratulated both the leaders on their win. Calling the elections interesting, Saini slammed the Congress, accusing it of holding its MLAs captive and transferring them to different places, referring to the shifting of Congress legislators from Himachal Pradesh. "I have seen for the first time that Congress did not trust its MLAs", he claimed. The Congress is "finished", and it has "no future", Saini said. The chief minister also lashed out at the INLD for abstaining from voting and said it acted as a "B team" of the Congress. The INLD indirectly supported the Congress, he claimed. Replying to a question on the Independent candidate, Saini said, "How could they stop anyone from contesting th
Two BJP candidates, one BJD nominee and an Independent backed by BJP win seats as contest for fourth berth ends in a tie and is decided by second-preference votes
BJP fields Suvendu Adhikari from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur as part of strategy to challenge Mamata Banerjee in upcoming West Bengal Assembly polls
Union Minister George Kurian and former Union ministers Rajeev Chandrasekhar and V Muraleedharan are among the 47 candidates announced by the BJP in its first list for the Kerala Assembly elections. Fielding a mix of senior leaders and new faces as it prepares for the April 9 polls, the party is hoping to end its electoral drought in the state, where politics has traditionally been dominated by the CPI(M)-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF. Among the prominent names in the list are Kurian, Chandrasekhar and Muraleedharan, along with senior leaders K Surendran, Sobha Surendran, P C George, Padmaja Venugopal, P K Krishnadas, former director general of police R Sreelekha and filmmaker Major Ravi. Chandrasekhar will contest from the Nemom Assembly constituency, while Muraleedharan has been fielded from Kazhakkoottam, both key constituencies in Thiruvananthapuram district. Nemom is the only constituency in Kerala that has so far been won by the BJP, when O Rajagopal won the seat in the 20
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said he is confident that the BJP will return to power in Assam under the leadership of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma with the "largest ever mandate". Addressing the youth convention of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) here, Shah urged the people to give another mandate to the BJP and assured them that "every infiltrator will be sent out of India". His comment comes on a day when the Election Commission (EC) announced that the Assam assembly elections would be held on April 9 and the counting on May 4. "I am confident that the BJP will again form a government in Assam with the largest ever mandate and power of the youths," he said. In the current 126-member assembly, the ruling BJP's strength is 64, while its allies AGP has nine MLAs, UPPL has seven, and the BPF has three members. ''The Congress gave shelter to infiltrators, but the BJP government is determined to identify each one of them and drive them out of the country," Shah
As the BJP prepares for the West Bengal assembly elections in its bid to challenge the ruling TMC, several leaders, such as Suvendu Adhikari, are expected to play key roles in shaping its high-stakes campaign. From securing just about 4 per cent vote share in the 2011 assembly elections to emerging as the principal opposition with over 38 per cent vote share in 2021, the BJP has significantly expanded its political footprint in West Bengal. The party at present has 12 Lok Sabha MPs and more than 65 MLAs in the state. Some of the prominent faces of the party who are likely to fight the elections are as follows, Suvendu Adhikari: Leader of the Opposition in the assembly, Suvendu Adhikari remains one of the BJP's most prominent leaders in the state and is expected to play a central role in the upcoming elections. A former TMC leader who joined the BJP ahead of the 2021 polls, Adhikari gained national attention after defeating Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram, one of the mos
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for health projects worth Rs 2,092 crore in Assam. Shah inaugurated the Rs 675-crore Pragjyotishpur Medical College and Hospital in Guwahati, at a programme held on its premises. He also virtually inaugurated two cancer centres at Golaghat and Tinsukia, both under Assam Cancer Care Foundation (ACCF), constructed at a cost of Rs 135 crore each. Shah virtually laid the foundation stone for super-speciality hospitals at Diphu Medical College and Hospital (Rs 220 crore), Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (Rs 310 crore), and Barpeta Medical College and Hospital (Rs 284 crore). The foundation stone for a Rs 218-crore Swasthya Bhawan in Guwahati, and the Abhayapuri District Hospital (Rs 115 crore) were also laid by the Union home minister. Shah arrived here on Saturday evening on a two-day visit to Assam, his fourth visit to the northeastern state in four months.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for health projects worth Rs 2,092 crore in Assam on Sunday. He will also address a convention of the BJP's youth wing, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), in the afternoon. Shah arrived here on Saturday evening on a two-day visit to Assam. This is his fourth visit to the northeastern state in four months. On Saturday evening, he held closed-door meetings with senior BJP functionaries, including Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on poll-related issues, a BJP spokesperson said. Shah will inaugurate the Rs 675-crore Pragjyotishpur Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) here, and virtually launch cancer centres at Golaghat and Tinsukia, both under Assam Cancer Care Foundation (ACCF), constructed at a cost of Rs 135 crore each. He will also virtually lay the foundation stone for super-speciality hospitals at Diphu Medical College and Hospital (Rs 220 crore), Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (Rs 310 crore), a
Clashes broke out between TMC and BJP supporters in central Kolkata on Saturday, barely half an hour before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally at the Brigade Parade Ground, leaving a police officer and a leader of the saffron party injured, officials said. Amid the violence, allegations also surfaced that stones were thrown towards the residence of West Bengal minister Shashi Panja in Girish Park area. The violence took place around 5 km from the rally venue as BJP supporters were marching towards the Brigade Parade Ground to attend the prime minister's meeting, which marks the culmination of the party's statewide 'Parivartan Yatra' ahead of the Assembly elections. According to eyewitnesses, supporters of both parties allegedly hurled stones at each other and raised slogans, triggering tension in the area. BJP leaders alleged that their supporters were attacked without provocation while heading towards the rally venue. "Stones were thrown at us without any provocation. Abuses we
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit West Bengal on Saturday to address a rally at the iconic Brigade Parade Ground here and unveil development projects worth around Rs 18,680 crore, in his first trip to the state after the publication of the post-SIR electoral rolls last month. The rally, organised by the BJP, will mark the culmination of the party's statewide 'Parivartan Yatra' ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. After the surge in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the setback in the 2021 assembly polls, the BJP's yatra is being seen as its most expansive statewide mobilisation in recent years. The yatra, which began on March 1, a day after the publication of the revised electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision exercise, criss-crossed nearly 5,000 km across the state, covering 237 assembly constituencies. According to official data released on February 28, following the SIR exercise, 63.66 lakh names, around 8.3 per cent of the electorate, have been deleted since
In his absence, will the BJP become more like the JD(U)? Or will the JD(U) become more like the BJP?
Asserting that sounds of bombs and gunfire are a thing of the past in the Northeast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the BJP ensured long-lasting peace in the region, while the Congress signed various accords for "selfish interests". Addressing a public meeting in Assam's Kokrajhar district virtually from Guwahati after rain disrupted his travel schedule, Modi said the state was writing a new chapter of peace and development under the "double-engine" government. Modi alleged Congress endangered national security by handing over the land of indigenous people to infiltrators. "Punish Congress in the upcoming elections and give a clear message that there is no place for infiltrators in this country," he added.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid concerns over reported LPG shortage, saying the PM is asking the people not to panic but is himself panicked for "completely different reasons". Gandhi alleged that the prime minister is panicked because of the Epstein files issue and the Adani Case in the US. He made the remarks after several opposition MPs, including himself and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, staged a protest in the Parliament House complex over the shortage of commercial LPG cylinders to demand answers from the government over it. Speaking with reporters after the protest, Gandhi said, "The PM is saying there is no need to panic, but the PM himself has panicked for completely different reasons... he is panicked because of Epstein, he is panicked because of the Adani case, he is not able to come inside the House." "You saw yesterday that the prime minister's chair was empty. So, he is telling the country not to panic but has panicked ...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate, dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stone for multiple development projects worth about Rs 5,650 crore here on Wednesday. He would later address the NDA rally at around 6.30 pm during his brief visit to the state. AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss, AMMK general secretary T T V Dhinakaran, TMC leader G K Vasan and other leaders will share the dais with the prime minister at the rally. BJP Tamil Nadu in-charge Piyush Goyal, who arrived here ahead of the prime minister's visit, said the NDA will collectively dethrone the DMK government in the upcoming election and bring in good governance that was once seen during the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's reign. "The NDA will form the government under the leadership of Edappadi K Palaniswami, and it is a strong alliance," he said, speaking to reporters here on Tuesday night. On the speculation of Vijay-led TVK joining the NDA, Goyal ...