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We are getting ready for it (2019 general elections) and it's true that we are ready already, Haasan said   Actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief  Kamal Haasan  on Wednesday said that his party is ready for the 2019 general elections, but are not in a mindset to contest the forthcoming bye-election in Tamil Nadu. "We are getting ready for it (2019 general elections) and it's true that we are ready already," Haasan said at an event here. However, when asked whether his party will contest in the forthcoming bye-election in the state, Kamal replied, "We will teach a lesson to the government to tell them about their duties, but we are not in the mindset to contest it." Two Assembly seats - Thiruvarur and Thiruparankundram constituencies - have fallen vacant after the demise of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief M Karunanidhi and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader A K Bose. A date for the bye-election is yet ...

An angry Ghosh claimed that 'goons were deployed' to disturb the meeting A day after the  Jana Andolan Party   activists protested against his visit in Kalimpong, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh was on Thursday heckled, his party workers were roughed up and his meeting had to be aborted midway in hill town Darjeeling. An angry Ghosh claimed that "goons were deployed" to disturb the meeting, and blamed the Binoy Tamang faction of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha for "roughing up" BJP activists. He also hinted that the instigation for the "attacks" could have come from "Kolkata" in an indication to the Mamata Banerjee government. There were two incidents of protest against the BJP leader, who was first shown black flags and 'go back' posters by another hill-based outfit Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) on his way to Darjeeling. Later, there were protests and demonstrations at the Bijoya Sammilani which he at...

The BSP supremo was speaking about the Saharanpur anti-Dalit violence in the Upper House Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader  Mayawati News  on Tuesday said she will resign from the Rajya Sabha after being asked to wrap up her impromptu speech on the Saharanpur anti-Dalit violence in the Upper House of the Parliament. "I will resign right away. I will come back and give my resignation," she said and walked out of the House. Politics News  : The Congress walked out of the Rajya Sabha after Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had got a mandate to rule, as BSP supremo Mayawati vociferously spoke against atrocities on Dalits and minorities in Uttar Pradesh and demanded a discussion on the issue. Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad took objection to Naqvi's remarks, saying the BJP had got a mandate to protect the poor, farmers, minorities, and Dalits. "When Mayawati tried to talk, she was told that we have got the m...

She is slated to launch a campaign from the Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat on June 30 Opposition presidential candidate   Ram Nath Kovind VS Meira Kumar   on Wednesday filed her nomination in the presence of top Congress and opposition leaders. Kumar, who filed her papers with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on one side and former prime minister Manmohan Singh on the other, will launch her campaign from Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat on June 30. Politics News :   Accompanying the former Lok Sabha Speaker as she filed her nomination in Parliament House were a host of opposition leaders, including NCP's Sharad Pawar and CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury. Also Read :   Sonia leads Oppn support to Meira, says Prez polls an ideological battle Sonia Gandhi and other top Congress and opposition leaders were amongst those who proposed and seconded her nomination. The nomination papers will be scrutinised on Thursday. Kumar, who will contest agai...

Kovind's name was a surprise to those who wanted somebody with a Hindutva image to be the candidate Politics News   : Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind, a Dalit leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), will be the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and in all likelihood the next President of India. The BJP Parliamentary Board decided Kovind's candidature at its meeting on Monday. Kovind is widely respected among political circles for his integrity and people remember his family to have led an abstemious lifestyle during his political career, including when he was a Rajya Sabha member from 1994 to 2006. The BJP-led NDA has 48.6 per cent votes in the electoral college and has been promised support from regional parties like the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, YSR Congress Party, and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Also Read :   Why NDA chose Bihar Governor Kovind, a Dalit leader, as President nominee BJP chief Amit Sha...

Rajinikanth’s comments to his fans were as cryptic as Kamalahaasan’s comments on state politics Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Sharath Kumar, Vijayakanth…take your pick. In movie-mad Tamil Nadu, the transition from a film actor/director to politics is effortless. And, the latest chatter is about   Rajinikanth   joining politics. This is not the first time. Before the 2009 general election, a gathering of diehard Rajini fans converged at a small temple in Rajapalayam to pray that their icon get a divine message and join politics. With the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in a shambles after Jayalalithaa’s death and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam seemingly powerless in wresting power, the state is sensing a leadership vacuum. Rajinikanth, once a bus conductor in Karnataka, who then made good in Tamil Nadu’s film industry, was supposed to meet fans from April 12 to 16. This meeting, for fans to get themselves photographed with the legendary actor, would have been the f...

Adityanath has in the past accused Muslim men of waging 'love jihad' A saffron-robed Hindu holy man was sworn in on Sunday to lead Uttar Pradesh, sealing what appears to be a shift in course by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that could redefine the world's largest democracy as a Hindu nation. The choice as Uttar Pradesh chief minister of   Yogi Adityanath , a firebrand Hindu ascetic with a history of agitation against minority Muslims, stunned observers who said it marked a departure from the platform of development for all on which Modi rose to national power in 2014. "Modi is saying India is a Hindu country and shall remain so," veteran journalist and commentator Shekhar Gupta told Reuters. "Hindus will rule, so you had better behave." A spokesman for Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) however said the government did not make any distinction between citizens on the basis of religion. Adityanath, 44, was elected by state lawmakers on ...

Shiv Sena is leading in 84 seats, BJP 80, while Congress 31 in BMC The ruling   Shiv Sena   appeared all set to retain control over the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), India's biggest and richest civic body, election officials said on Thursday. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was pushed to a distant second slot in Mumbai in the civic body elections held across Maharashtra. Of the 227 BMC seats, the Sena led in 84, still short of the 114 needed for a simple majority. The BJP had won 80 seats while the Congress was at a distant third with 31 seats to its credit. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) was poised to win 10 seats, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) eight and the All Indian Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen four. Stunned by the outcome, Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam offered to resign from the post. Buoyed by its imminent victory in Mumbai, Shiv Sena supporters celebrated across Mumbai. The BMC had an annual budget of Rs 37,000 cr...

He said the future of the state cannot be ensured without ridding it of SP, BSP, Congress Calling himself the “adopted son” of UP, Prime Minister   Narendra Modi   on Thursday said the future of the state could not be ensured without ridding it of the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress. Invoking Lord Krishna at an election meeting here to suggest a strong connect between Gujarat and UP, Modi, who represents Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, said the state was his “mai-baap” (parents) and he will not desert it. “Vote for a full majority to the Bharatiya Janata Party. I promise to show you the ways of all the problems you are facing within five years,” he said, telling the crowd that all pollsters had predicted BJP getting massive support in the first two phases of polling. Highlighting the problems faced by the state and its national importance, Modi said poverty will be removed from the country only when it is eradicated from UP. “This is the land of ...

She visited Jayalalithaa's memorial before leaving for Bengaluru Over 500 police officials can be seen a t the Golden Bay resort, wheer the MLAs are staying. The police battalion has reached with Kuvathur village. Sasikala   visits MGR Memorial House before heading to Bengaluru. AIADMK MLA Saravanan files complaint against Sasikala and Edappadi Palaniswami for allegations including kidnapping, says report Sasikala and two others have started their journey to Bengaluru to surrender before the court. She will visit Jayalalithaa's memorial at Marina Beach before going to Bengaluru. Sasikala asked for two weeks time to surrender from the Supreme Court, but apex court turns down. She has now filed a plea before Bengaluru Special Court seeking two weeks time to surrender citing ill health. Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Thambidurai says soon review petition will be filed against the SC order. He said, "I am sure Chinna Amma (Sasikala) will come back soon and will r...

Maurya, BJP UP President, said his party is moving towards cleaner and transparent politics Elections 2017   : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to clean up politics. The man running the ruling party's campaign in a crucial state election, who is facing 11 criminal cases, says it will take a while. "At a time of elections, one has to forget every other aspect and just focus on victory," said Keshav Prasad Maurya, as his three-vehicle convoy carrying police with automatic rifles sped through the countryside. Polls open on Saturday in Uttar Pradesh, with a population of some 220 million, and on the ground Modi's loftier aims for a new India seem far away. Maurya, the state's president for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), says the charges against him are false and politically motivated; unless he is convicted, they do not prevent him from holding office. His bosses are not concerned. An official at the prime minister's office refer...