National Democratic Alliance

A raucous protest was held outside the Bihar assembly on Thursday by opposition members who demanded withdrawal of pre-paid electricity meters, citing that this arrangement causes inconvenience to common people. Leaders belonging to the RJD, the Congress and three Left parties stood in front of the portico, waving placards and raising slogans until the bell rang announcing that it was time for commencement of the day's proceedings. Some of the placards had the picture of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with colourful slogans like 'it is not a smart meter but a smart cheater'. Some other placards highlighted inflated billing and disconnection without warning, the two most common gripes against the new electricity meters. Before dispersing, the MLAs vowed to continue with their protest and claimed that smart meters have made the government in the state hugely "unpopular" and would cause its "defeat in assembly polls" due next year. The government, however, maintained that pre-paid meter

GRSE, Cochin Shipyard, BDL, BEML, MDL, MIDHANI, BEL and HAL are up in the range of 3% to 10% on the BSE in Tuesday's intra-day trade in otherwise subdued market.

Jharkhand Assembly Election Results 2024 Updates: Catch all the live action of Jharkhand Assembly results as the competition remains tight between the ruling JMM alliance and NDA

Maharashtra Assembly election results: Women-centric schemes to Maratha reservation, what helped the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secure victory in the state

At 9 am, counting trends showed the Mahayuti-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leading on more than 153 of the 288 seats. Meanwhile, the Opposition was ahead on 86 seats

At 1 pm, the trends showed that the NDA was leading on 224 seats out of the total 288 in Maharashtra, while the INDIA bloc was ahead on 51 of the 81 seat Jharkhand Assembly

Even before the first votes are counted in Maharashtra, fissures have emerged within the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on who will head the next government with constituents in both camps laying claim over the chief minister's post. After polling for the 288-member assembly ended on Wednesday evening, the ruling as well as opposition fronts have started claiming that mandate will be in their favour when votes are counted on November 23. Soon after polling, state Congress chief Nana Patole asserted an MVA government would be formed in Maharashtra under the leadership of his party. Voting trends suggest the Congress will get the maximum number of seats in the new assembly, he said. His remarks did not go down well with ally Shiv Sena (UBT), whose leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday insisted the chief ministerial face will be decided by all alliance partners jointly once the MVA secures majority. The Rajya Sabha MP said if the Congress high command has told ..

Almost all pollsters had failed to predict the results of the Haryana Assembly polls

The NCP led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday unveiled its manifesto for the state assembly polls, promising to raise the amount of Ladki Bahin scheme's monthly financial assistance to Rs 2,100 from the present Rs 1,500. For farmers, the party promised to raise the Shetkari Sanman Nidhi scheme amount from Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 per year. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is contesting the November 20 assembly elections as part of the ruling Mahayuti alliance, which also comprises the Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The NCP, which is fighting the elections from 52 constituencies, also unveiled constituency-specific manifestos for all the assembly seats it is contesting. The manifesto was unveiled separately by party president Ajit Pawar in Baramati, by its state unit president Sunil Tatkare in Mumbai, and working president Praful Patel in Gondia. NCP candidates and local leaders also released the poll manifestos in their respective ...

The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) members of the PAC challenged the postponement of the meeting

Jharkhand elections: The BJP is likely to contest 68 seats, but discussions are ongoing in the final stages, Assam CM Himanta Sarma said at a press conference in Ranchi

The Joint Committee of Parliament scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Friday sought suggestions from stakeholders, experts and other institutions on the proposed law. The bill seeks to reforming the registration process for Waqf properties through a centralised portal. According to a statement issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the committee led by BJP's Jagdambika Pal has asked for "views/suggestions from the public in general and NGOs, experts, stakeholders and institutions in particular" considering the "wider implications" of the bill People have been asked to share their suggestions in writing in the next 15 days. The memoranda and suggestions submitted to the committee would form part of the records of the Committee and would be treated as "confidential", it said. Those who wish to appear before the committee, besides submitting views in writing, have been asked to specifically indicate so in their correspondence. The Bill is the first major initiative from the BJP-

Opposition parties claimed govt cut short Budget session to avoid questions on the issue

Union Minister Ramnath Thakur said on Saturday that the Centre is focusing on limiting the use of chemical fertilisers in agriculture and promoting organic farming, especially in the northeastern states. He maintained that budgetary allocation for the agriculture sector has increased manifold under the BJP-led NDA government, with special attention on minimising problems faced by farmers. Addressing a press conference on the provisions of Union Budget 2024-25, Thakur said, You must have seen in media that two states have been given special attention in this Budget Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. But our Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ji has already clarified that not just two states, allocations have been made for all states across sectors, be it railways, health, agriculture or other." The Union budget had been prepared under the guidance of the prime minister, after taking into account the problems faced by different states, he said. In the agriculture sector, where the use of ..

Kangana Ranaut assault case: Web-based personal information system is maintained for each CISF personnel, Union minister Murlidhar Mohol told the Lok Sabha

The government spent Rs 34,579 crore on various schemes from December until now, said Telangana finance minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka

With the structural change in the ruling National Democratic Alliance, will the government be able to move on the bank privatisation front in this Budget?

The Congress on Monday sought to know what Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is doing about the demand for special category status for the state and asserted that "he should strike" as he is in a position to get this done now. The opposition party's remarks come after Bihar ministers claimed that the latest report of NITI Aayog's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index 2023-24 vindicated the state's long-standing demand for greater central financial assistance. On July 12, NITI Aayog released the SDG India Index 2023-24 -- an assessment of the country's sustainable development. Bihar has figured at the bottom of the index despite improvements on some parameters. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said senior ministers in Bihar are now arguing that NITI Aayog's latest analysis vindicates their demand for special category status in the matter of Central assistance to the state. "Basically this would mean that instead of 70 per cent of such ...

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Candidates of INDIA bloc parties -- Congress, AAP, TMC and DMK -- on Saturday were leading in 11 of the 13 assembly seats where bypolls were held earlier this week, according to the counting trends on the Election Commission (EC) website. While the BJP was in the lead in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur, its partner in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the JD(U), was leading in Rupauli in Bihar. Voting for the bypolls in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were held on Wednesday. In Punjab, Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Jalandhar West assembly bypoll candidate Mohinder Bhagat appears to be heading for a victory from the seat as he was leading by more than 23,000 votes against his nearest rival and Congress nominee Surinder Kaur, according to the EC. Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidates Krishna Kalyani, Mukut Nami Adhikari, Madhuparna Tahkur and Supti Pandey are in the lead in assembly bypolls in Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda and ...