NEW DELHI: Congress’s fortunes post-2014 have followed a familiar pattern: rout in the national elections and then a long wait for assembly wins. It was an extended barren patch of three and a half years before Congress won a state poll (Himachal) after being routed in the Pulwama-dictated 2019 Lok Sabha contest. This time, Congress…
NEW DELHI: For the Left, its most crucial battle is in Kerala, as the CPM-led LDF fights for a return to power in the last Communist-governed state, which goes to polls with West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry. In Bengal – where it was once the dominant force and now lacks any presence in…
T’puram/ Kochi: CPM on Sunday announced it will contest 86 assembly seats in Kerala and named 81 candidates, including six CPM-backed Independents and 10 women. Soon after, many CPM candidates took to the streets, organised rallies, and began campaigning on Sunday itself. CPM state secretary, M V Govindan, said that of the 86 candidates, 75…
NEW DELHI: Bypolls for eight assembly seats – two each in Maharashtra and Karnataka, and one each in Goa, Gujarat, Nagaland and Tripura – will be held on April 9 and April 23, EC said on Sunday. CEC Gyanesh Kumar said bypolls for Goa, Karnataka, Nagaland and Tripura will be held on April 9; and…
Airlines like Air India, IndiGo, and Akasa Air announced fuel surcharge on both domestic and international flights, spiking airfares on all circuits and forcing many into panic booking of tickets for their future travel plans, reports Joy Sengupta. A travel firm representative told TOI, that air fares should drop when oil prices also drop. Source…
NEW DELHI: Calcutta HC holds the key to whether nearly 45 lakh ‘doubtful electors’ will be able to participate in the Bengal assembly elections – their cases being adjudicated by judicial officers in line with SC’s Feb directives. Of the 60 lakh ‘doubtful elector’ cases, 15 lakh have been adjudicated so far, according to reports….
NEW DELHI: It took a trial court 16 years, Uttarakhand High Court six years and Supreme Court 14 years to decide a bribery case of Rs 500 involving an excise official. The case finally achieved closure with the SC upholding the man’s conviction and awarding one-year jail term. The matter started in June 1990 when…
HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh’s sitting TDP MP Putta Mahesh Kumar tested positive Sunday for the banned substance methamphetamine (meth) in a blood test ordered after what investigators allege was an attempt to dodge a drug screening at a farmhouse party raided by Hyderabad Police the previous night, reports Srinath Vudali. The Eluru MP’s test result took…
Thiruvananthapuram: Jewellery worth over Rs 2 crore has allegedly been stolen from Kowdiar Palace, the official residence of the Travancore royal family. Based on a complaint filed by senior family member Asw-athi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bai, Peroorkada police registered a case of theft. The ornaments, reportedly kept in an iron cupboard in the complainant’s bedroom,…
NEW DELHI: In a first-of-its-kind exercise that starts on Monday, the ministry of culture will launch a three-month-long nationwide survey to map India’s manuscript heritage. From the district level upwards, the extensive exercise aims to locate all manuscripts in different parts of the country and create a consolidated database and a national digital repository of…