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Ayodhya getting ready for the Ram temple consecration ceremony. Almost four months later, the excitement has settled down and some voters are crediting the BJP for fulfilling its promise while others feel that development should reach every corner of the district. Prajjwal Singh, a resident of Arhgarha Chauraha, told PTI that Ayodhya's transformation began on January 22, when the Ram temple consecration ceremony was held. «On January 22, 2024, the promise that was made to us by various BJP leaders was fulfilled in a grand manner. From that day, Ayodhya set out on the path of development,» he said. «The hospitality sector has seen visible growth. A number of eateries and food joints have come up. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath deserve a round of applause for such a positive transformation of Ayodhya,» Prajjwal Singh told PTI.

Kolkata: The CBI on Friday conducted raids at the residences of two Trinamool Congress leaders at Kathi in Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal in connection with its ongoing investigation into the killing of a BJP worker in post-poll violence in 2021, an officer said. A team of CBI officers raided the houses of Kathi Block no 3 TMC leader Debabrata Panda and another block president Nandadulal Maiti in the early hours of Friday in connection with its ongoing investigation, he said. «Panda, Nandadulal's son and 52 others have been named in the FIR lodged in connection with the murder of Janmejay Dolui,» the CBI officer told PTI. Dolui, a BJP worker, was killed in post-poll violence following the 2021 assembly election.

voters and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) cast their votes using the home voting facility in all seven parliamentary constituencies of Delhi on the first day of the exercise on Thursday, according to official data. The home voting facility is available to voters above 85 years of age and PwDs, offering them the option to cast their votes from their homes. The facility, which started on May 16, will be available till May 24, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi said. Delhi goes to polls on May 25.

BJP Mahila Morcha members staged a protest near Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence on Friday morning over the alleged assault on AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal by his aide Bibhav Kumar. Led by Mahila Morcha president Richa Pandey Mishra, the protesters, who were carrying bangles, demanded Kejriwal's resignation. Mishra said the Mahila Morcha wanted to hand over the bangles to Kejriwal for keeping mum over the incident with Maliwal that occurred at his official residence. The Delhi Police on Thursday registered an FIR in connection with Maliwal's alleged assault, naming Kumar, the personal assistant of Kejriwal, as an accused.

Mumbai. The post provoked an outrage as one of the requirements listed was "Marathi people are not welcome here". The firm in question claimed that their Linkedin profile was used by a freelance recruiter and they apologised for the advertisement, so did the HR recruiter. However, the post has sparked off a Marathi versus Gujarati row in Mumbai which is now seeing it being reflected in some constituencies in Mumbai, especially in Mumbai North East as BJP's Mihir Kotecha takes on Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Sena's Sanjay Dina Patil here. Kotecha is the BJP MLA from Mulund, who has replaced sitting MP Manoj Kotak. In 2014, BJP candidate Kirit Somaiya won the elections against NCP candidate Sanjay Dina Patil by 3.17 lakh votes. Five years later, the BJP fielded Manoj Kotak who defeated Patil by a margin of 2.36 lakh votes. Sanjay Dina Patil has quit the NCP and is now contesting on the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Sena faction ticket.

Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) announced that it would also abstain from the Urban Local Body (ULB) elections scheduled on June 26. The body has earlier abstained from participating in recently held Lok Sabha polls resulting in not a single vote cast in six districts of Nagaland. ENPO which has been demanding a separate 'Frontier Nagaland Territory' or a separate state comprising the six eastern Nagaland districts, boycotted the election to the lone Nagaland Lok Sabha seat on April 19 in support of its demand, is the apex body of seven tribes from the six eastern districts of Kiphire, Longleng, Mon, Noklak, Shamator, and Tuensang. ENPO Secretary W. Manwang Konyak on Thursday said that they have already informed the State Election Commission (SEC) that the people of the six districts would abstain from voting in the ULB polls, covering three Municipal Councils and 36 Town Councils.

India Today said that the world leaders are confident that his party's government will be formed in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections 2024. «I got a call from (Russian) President Putin for an invitation to a September meeting. I got a call from G-7 as well. The world is fully confident that our government will be formed,» the Prime Minister said in the interview. Although the PM said, «We should never go into the comfort zone. If this becomes comfortable, I will start challenging myself. You must have noticed that there are more accidents on straight highways and where there are curves, there are fewer accidents. I want to keep my team alert and awake. I want to keep them running,» during the interview.

Yogi Adityanath on Thursday attacked AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, asserting that the Delhi CM has lost his mind after going to jail. Adityanath made the remarks in a response to the claims by Kejriwal that the UP chief minister will be removed from the post if the BJP retains power. At a joint press conference along with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav here this morning, Kejriwal reiterated his claim that Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be made the next prime minister and Yogi Adiyanath will be removed as UP chief minister if the BJP comes to power again. Adityanath said, «Kejriwal has lost his mind after going to jail. The Delhi CM, who shattered Anna Hazare's aspirations and sided with the corrupt, is now targeting me. He has embraced the Congress, against whom Anna protested, like a necklace.»

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi has voiced her support for AAP MP Swati Maliwal, who was allegedly assaulted by a former aide of Arvind Kejriwal. Gandhi refrained from directly commenting on the case, stating that it is an internal matter of the AAP. «If any atrocity happens to any woman anywhere, we stand with the woman. I always stand with women — irrespective of which party they belong to. Secondly, AAP will discuss amid themselves and make a decision. It is up to them,» Priyanka said when asked about the alleged assault which has put not just the AAP but also other parties of opposition's INDIA bloc on the backfoot. Opposition parties, including the BJP, have avoided directly addressing the assault case. The BJP has demanded action against Bibhav Kumar, the former PA to Arvind Kejriwal, who is accused of misbehaving with Swati Maliwal. Maliwal, known for her activism against injustice towards women, has chosen to remain silent on the issue.

Amit Shah on Thursday asserted that Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) belongs to India and the country will take it back «at any cost». Addressing an election rally in Sitamarhi Lok Sabha seat in Bihar, the former BJP president slammed the Congress-led opposition for «raising fear about Pakistan's atomic power». «When Article 370 was scrapped, Rahul Gandhi had said that it would lead to bloodshed. Five years have elapsed and not a pebble has been hurled. But Congress's ally Farooq Abdullah tries scaremongering by saying that we cannot take back PoK as Pakistan has atom bombs,» Shah asserted. «I wish to declare from the birthplace of Goddess Sita that Bharat and its 140 crore people fear no one. Pakistan occupied Kashmir is ours and it will remain so. We will take it back,» he said.

cash seized from the Ranchi-based premise of the domestic help of a secretary of Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam «pertains» to the lawmaker and he enjoyed a fixed commission of 1.5 per cent from every tender executed in his department, the ED alleged on Thursday. The federal agency made this claim as it produced the 74-year-old Alam, a Congress leader from Pakur, before the court of special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Prabhat Kumar Sharma. He was arrested on Wednesday by the agency here. The court sent him to six days of ED custody. The ED had raided Alam's personal secretary Sanjeev Kumar Lal and his domestic help Jahangir Alam on May 6 and recovered a total Rs 32.2 crore from a flat in the name of the latter person. The total cash seizure in this case is Rs 37.5 crore.

National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) has reportedly asked the West Bengal and Punjab govts to raise the share of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in reservations as the two states are still not fully using the 50% reservation limit. In West Bengal, the total reservation for SCs/STs and OBCs for govt employment and education is 45% while in Punjab the same is at 37% and 35% respectively, NCBC noted. The commission, as per the report in the Times of India, thus recommended that the two opposition ruled states to enhance without delay the quota for OBCs to make full use of the limit permitted under the Supreme Court-mandated 50% cap. NCBC has recommended the West Bengal govt to increase the quota for OBCs by 5% in government employment and educational institutions. For Punjab, the commission suggested an increase of 13% in government employment and 15% in education.

JAUNPUR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asserted that in the coming five years, Modi and Yogi are going to change the «picture» and «fate» of Purvanchal, adding that he aims to make India a 'Viksit Bharat'. Addressing a rally in Jaunpur, PM Modi asserted that winning even a single seat in UP is difficult for the INDIA bloc. «I pledge to build a developed India and the growth engine of developed India will be Purvanchal, Eastern India. This entire region is becoming a strong hub of health and education. In the coming five years, Modi-Yogi is going to change both the image and the fate of Purvanchal,» PM Modi said.

North East Delhi Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Kanhaiya Kumar, the Congress candidate for the North East Delhi Lok Sabha seat, isn't fazed by the BJP's "tukde-tukde" label, often used against him. In an interview with TOI, he shrugged off the label, stating that it doesn't affect him. Describing it as a distraction, Kumar stated that such labels won't deter him. He noted that the «tukde-tukde» tag has lost its impact, even among BJP supporters, since his nomination. He asserted that if he were truly anti-national, he would be in jail. «When they label me that, they target my Poorvanchali background. The Poorvanchalis here will not take these things kindly. I have been acquitted in all cases. A Delhi govt commission found the video accusing me was fake,» the former president of JNU Students' Union added.

BJP's high-profile Smriti Irani and the relatively unknown Kishori Lal Sharma of the Congress locked in a fierce contest heading towards a difficult to predict climax. What should be a conventional ending has turned out to be a nail biter with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's spirited campaign for the Congress scripting possible twists and turns in the absorbing electoral battle. Irani was the quintessential 'outsider', albeit from the BJP powerhouse, in 2019 when she beat former Congress president Rahul Gandhi in the constituency long considered the party's very own. Five years later, Rahul Gandhi has moved to nearby Rae Bareli and Gandhi family aide Sharma is up against the incumbent BJP MP's star power. It should be an easy contest but it isn't. As people discuss the Ram temple, Modi factor, the Priyanka Gandhi connect and everyday struggles, that's the word on the street in this constituency where no Gandhi family member is contesting for the first time in 25 years.

Nehru and the Congress, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said India lost its hold on Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) due to «someone's weakness or mistake». Jaishankar made the remarks while addressing a programme event titled 'Vishwabandhu Bharat' To a question on what would China's response be if India crossed the 'Lakshman Rekha' and integrated PoJK to the Union of India, given that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor passes through Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistan, the External Affairs Minister said, «I don't believe there's any such thing as a 'Lakshman Rekha'. I think PoJK is a part of India, and due to someone's weakness or mistake, it's temporarily slipped away from us.»

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar questioned why the Prime Minister has not suspended the Lok Sabha MP who claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party will change the Constitution if it wins more than 400 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. «We have a Constitution. Honourable MP Anantkumar Hegde said that they (BJP) will change the Constitution if they win 400 seats. I do not understand. PM Modi has said that, at any cost, he will not change the Constitution. I welcome it. But why has he (PM Modi) not expelled that Parliament member or whoever the party functionary is who announced that they are going to change the Constitution?» Shivakumar said speaking at a press conference on Thursday in Bengaluru. Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim of Congress snatching away 'mangalsutra', Shivakumar said that gold prices increased from Rs 26000 to Rs 75000 during the BJP government.

Aam Aadmi Party's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal continued to maintain his silence on Thursday on the issue around the assault on Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal by his aide. Addressing a press conference with Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav, Kejriwal seemingly evaded journalists' questions on the Maliwal incident. «There are other important topics as well,» Yadav said, sitting next to Kejriwal. However, AAP's Sanjay Singh said that politics should not be done over the Maliwal incident.

Kolkata street last month, commuters sought refuge inside a glass-walled bus shelter where two air conditioners churned around stifling air. Those inside were visibly sweating, dabbing at their foreheads in sauna-like temperatures that were scarcely cooler than out in the open. Local authorities initially had plans to install as many as 300 of the cooled cabins under efforts to improve protections from a heat season that typically runs from April until the monsoon hits the subcontinent in June. There are currently only a handful in operation, and some have been stripped of their AC units, leaving any users sweltering. “It doesn’t work,” Firhad Hakim, mayor of the city of 15 million in India’s eastern state of West Bengal, said on a searing afternoon when temperatures topped 40C. “You feel suffocated.”

Lok Sabha constituency in north Kashmir, which is going to polls in the fifth phase of elections on May 20, will decide the fate of 23 candidates. However, the main contest is between Sajad Lone of People's Conference and Omar Abdullah of National Conference. The contest has become interesting with the entry of Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) of Sheikh Abdul Rashid, alias Engineer Rashid. The two-time legislator is contesting from Tihar jail. AIP's campaign rallies are receiving huge response across north Kashmir. It appears that People's Democratic Party candidate Fayaz Mir, who is a former Rajya Sabha member, may have already lost the third spot in the contest. BJP has not fielded any candidate in the three Lok Sabha seats of Kashmir, but is actively canvassing for some parties without directly naming them. J&K Apni Party, led by Altaf Bukhari, has also not fielded any candidate here and is supporting Lone, while Abdullah is the official candidate of the INDIA bloc.

Narendra Modi on Wednesday alleged that Congress was planning to allocate 15% of the country's budget to Muslims, adding while he was accused of doing Hindu-Muslim politics, it was the Opposition party that was guilty of doing it. «Congress is doing the Hindu-Muslim politics… Their ecosystem is claiming that Modi is doing Hindu-Muslim talk but Modi is exposing those (Congress) who are doing Hindu-Muslim to break the country,» he said in an election rally in Kalyan. Earlier, he also addressed a rally in Nashik. «Congress wants to do a budget for Hindus and a budget for Muslims,» he alleged. «Congress was doing this sin that I opposed and if Congress and the Indi Alliance come to power, they will do the same. Do we want to keep the country together or not, is it good to divide Indians like this?» he said.