Dehra:

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife, Kamlesh Thakur, won the key bypoll for the Dehra assembly seat. Making her electoral debut, Ms Thakur won by a margin of 9,399 votes over her nearest rival, BJP’s Hoshiyar Singh.

The bypoll, held on Saturday, witnessed a high turnout with 65.42% of the electorate exercising their franchise. Ms Thakur garnered 32,737 votes, while Mr Singh managed 23,338 votes.

The polling was conducted to fill vacancies created by the resignation of incumbent members, all Independents, who are now in the fray as BJP nominees.

The Dehra Assembly constituency, established after the 2012 delimitation exercise, had been a bastion of the BJP. Former minister Ravi Inder Singh and later Hoshiyar Singh, as an Independent, had secured victories in previous elections. However, the latest results signify a shifting political landscape in the Kangra district.

Chief Minister Sukhu’s vigorous campaign in Dehra played a key role in securing Ms Thakur’s debut victory.

Chief Minister Sukhu expressed his joy over the outcome, highlighting the Congress’ resurgence following a setback in the state during the Lok Sabha polls. “Just a month ago, BJP candidates claimed three Lok Sabha seats with a significant margin. Now, our confidence is bolstered with assured victories in two seats and a tough contest in Hamirpur,” he remarked, attributing the win to the government’s dedicated public service over the past 16 months.

He also said that the conspiracy to topple the government had failed.

Earlier this year, the Congress government in Himachal faced a crisis after it lost the lone Rajya Sabha seat despite having the numbers due to cross-voting by some of its MLAs. The six MLAs who voted for the BJP were disqualified by the Speaker.

The cross-voting paved the way for the victory of BJP’s Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha election after a tie, and then a draw of lots sealed the fate of Congress pick and senior lawyer Abhishek Singhvi.

New Delhi:

BJP President JP Nadda today said that he cast his vote to make India even stronger and self-reliant. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Mr Nadda said that the people of India are hopeful about the country’s future under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“I voted to make the country stronger, and self-reliant. The way India has progressed under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. So not just us, but crores of people now see an India different from how it was 10 years ago and are hopeful about the future,” Mr Nadda said.

“10 years ago, people had given up on politics and politicians. Now those people have placed their hopes on BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and are moving ahead,” he added.

The 63-year-old also dismissed the Opposition’s claims that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would change the Constitution if voted to power. He said that the Congress when Indira Gandhi was the PM, changed the Preamble of the Constitution themselves in 1976 and were now trying to raise the issue to divide the voters.

“Congress never works on a positive note. They never the country any positive message. They work with obstacle-creating powers, and always try to find issues that will divide the society,” Mr Nadda said.  

“Congress does not like when they see something that will unite the country and take it forward. Congress only wants to divide the society and keep playing vote bank politics,” the BJP chief added.

The BJP is hoping to win a third consecutive term and is up against a united Opposition, who are contesting under the banner of the INDIA bloc.

The BJP and its allies won 352 of the 543 seats in India’s lower house of parliament, Lok Sabha, in the last election in 2019 with the BJP alone winning 303 seats. The BJP is expecting to sweep the election this time, eyeing a third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He headlines the contest, followed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is largely considered the face of the opposition.

Indore:

The Congress accused the ruling BJP government in Madhya Pradesh of stopping it from publicising the None Of The Above (NOTA) option in Indore, where polling was held on Monday in the fourth and final phase of the general elections in the state.

Dismissing the allegation, the BJP said the Congress was talking “nonsense” to hide its failure after its candidate withdrew from the fray.

The Congress campaign focussed on asking voters to press the NOTA option in the EVMs after its nominee, Akshay Kanti Bam, withdrew from the fray and joined the BJP.

Talking to reporters, Congress leader Surjit Singh Chadha said, “When we sought permission from the local authorities to campaign for NOTA via hoardings and FM radio, we were asked to approach the Bhopal-based State Election Commission for the nod.” He alleged that a BJP woman corporator recently tore a poster calling the electorate to press the NOTA option, and the development was reported on social media.

The Congress had put up tables near three polling booths, which were removed at the behest of the BJP, Surjit Chadha claimed.

NOTA was incorporated as an option in the EVMs in September 2013 to empower voters in the expression of their choice.

State BJP spokesperson Narendra Saluja said Congress leaders don’t understand that the EC grants permission for campaigns, as the model code of conduct is in force, and the BJP has nothing to do with it.

The Congress was talking nonsense to hide its failure after its candidate pulled out of the race, he said.

Meanwhile, local BJP MLA Malini Laxman Singh reached a polling booth at Ramakrishna Bagh in the Gaur Dhar Road area and accused a woman officer of asking voters to press the “NOTA” button.

In another incident, the police had to pacify workers of the Congress and BJP after they allegedly clashed over the NOTA option outside a polling booth in Nanda Nagar. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A political slugfest has broken out after India abstained from a vote at the UN General Assembly calling for an immediate humanitarian truce in the war between Israel and Hamas. While the Congress has expressed shock over India not lending support to the resolution, the government has reiterated that the draft resolution had no mention of Hamas and the country will always condemn terrorism.

At an emergency UNGA session today, 193 member nations voted on a draft resolution calling for an end of hostilities in the Gaza Strip which began on October 7 when Hamas killed 1,400 Israelis in a surprise attack. Israel launched a massive counter-offensive and has been relentlessly bombing the Gaza Strip and has also cut off their access to basic supplies like food, internet and fuel.  

The UNGA resolution, submitted by Jordan, was overwhelmingly adopted with 120 nations voting in its favour, 14 against it, and 45 abstaining.

Besides India, countries that abstained included Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Ukraine and the UK. India at the assembly said that the Hamas attack on Israel should be condemned and there should be a clear message against terrorism.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra expressed “shock”, saying that watching in silence thousands of men, women, and children in Palestine being annihilated goes against everything India has stood for.

Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi said “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, and added that refusing to take a stand goes against everything the country has stood for as a nation.”

Senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi hit back saying that India will never be on the side of terrorism.

“For those who are “ashamed and shocked”, must realise that India will NEVER be on the side of terrorism,” he said on X.

“Priyanka Ji, you should first educate yourself on things that are put out from your X account. Looks like people, who have no idea of Congress’s past positions on the situation, are advising you. What is worse is that in an attempt to make you look ‘better’ than Rahul, they are making you look silly,” the former union minister added.

The adoption of the Jordanian resolution is the first formal response of the United Nations to the escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine since the Hamas terror attacks of October 7.

The voting at UNGA comes at a time when Israel has announced expanding ground operations in Gaza.

Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar also slammed India’s stand saying that this was a “shift in India’s policy” as the country has “never supported the Israeli cause”. This is not the first time Sharad Pawar has criticised the Centre since the Israel-Hamas conflict escalated.

His remarks have been sharply criticised by several BJP leaders, including Union Minister Piyush Goyal and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Armoor, Nizamabad:

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who is undertaking ‘Vijayabheri Yatra’ on Friday asserted that their struggle is not a mere political contest but is centered around ideology and a “fight of DNA” that is rooted in fundamental principles.

He directed his comments towards the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and expressed his determination to triumph over the BRS in Telangana.

“Our fight is of ideology. This is not a political fight for me but a fight of DNA… We will defeat them (BJP) in every state. We will defeat BRS here in Telangana and we will defeat BJP in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh,” he added

He further asserted that the election is between BRS and Congress, if you will vote for BJP and AIMIM your vote will be wasted.

The Congress leader further lashed out at BJP and BRS and said, “BJP, BRS and AIMIM are all united and work together. In Delhi, BRS helps the BJP, and in Lok Sabha as well BRS, extends complete support to the BJP, while in Telangana BJP and AIMIA help out BRS.”

Rahul Gandhi pointed out the numerous legal cases against him, his suspension from Lok Sabha membership, and the relinquishing of his residence.

“I fight against the BJP and there are 25-30 cases against me. My Lok Sabha membership was also suspended. They also took my house which I gave happily. I don’t need a house, the whole of India is my home,” said Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi is campaigning in Telangana for a third day. Voting in Telangana for the 119 seats is scheduled to be held on November 30.

Telangana is set to witness an intriguing multi-polar contest between the BRS, Congress and the BJP.

In the previous Assembly elections in 2018, the BRS won 88 of the 119 seats, hogging 47.4 per cent of the total vote share. The Congress finished a distant second with 19 seats and a vote share of 28.7 per cent.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:
The Congress has come under attack for allegedly supporting the Hamas and the Palestine cause without referring to the attack on Israel. Over 3,000 people have been killed in the latest war between Israel and the Hamas group.

Here are 10 facts about the Congress row over the Israel-Palestine war:

New Delhi:

The video of a tribal woman being stripped in public and paraded naked through a village in Rajasthan’s Pratapgarh has triggered a political whirlpool in the state that is prepping for assembly polls in the coming months.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot condemned the incident in a late-night tweet on Friday and said: “In Pratapgarh district, a video of a woman being stripped naked by her in-laws due to a family dispute with her in-laws has surfaced. The Director General of Police has been instructed to send the ADG Crime to the spot and take the strictest action in this matter. There is no place for such criminals in a civilized society. These criminals will be put behind bars as soon as possible and will be tried and punished in the fast track court.”

As the Opposition in the state amped its attack on the ruling Congress, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced he would visit Pratapgarh this evening to meet the victim’s family.

Mr Gehlot’s MLA from the Dhariyawad Assembly, Nagraj Meena, said, “I came to know about this incident around 9 pm on Friday. I held a discussion with the District Collector and the District Superintendent of Police… The incident cannot be condemned enough. Such incidents should not happen. The police will take immediate action on this.”

The BJP has launched an all-out attack on the ruling Congress over the horrific crime against the 21-year-old tribal woman perpetrated allegedly by her husband and in-laws over the suspicion of an affair.

The ruling party is “busy settling factional squabbles”, BJP chief JP Nadda said in an apparent reference to the power tussle between Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot.

“The remaining time is spent appeasing one dynasty in Delhi,” he added, fuelling the party’s long-standing fight against dynastic politics of the Congress.

“The people of Rajasthan will teach the state Government a lesson,” Mr Nadda prophesied, pointing to the upcoming state elections.

Earlier, Union Minister and a BJP leader from Rajasthan – Gajendra Singh Sekhawat – tweeted the alleged video of the shocker and said that the incident has laid bare the hypocrisy of the Congress. He asked if Rahul Gandhi would seek Ashok Gehlot’s resignation and demand President’s rule in the state, as he drew parallels to the Opposition’s demand when a horrific video from Manipur showed women being paraded naked through the streets before being allegedly gang-raped in the adjacent fields. Manipur has been witnessing a long-drawn ethnic strife between the Meitei and the Kuki communities.

“In Rajasthan, all the limits of inhumanity on women have been crossed. In Dhariyavad, a woman has been stripped and beaten, the video of which is viral, but Gehlot ji, who makes tall claims on women’s safety, is the Chief Minister and Home Minister of which state? Two days have passed, and the police have not even prepared the report! The hypocrisy of the Congress has been exposed now. Where is Rahul Gandhi? When will he come to Dhariyavad? When will he seek Ashok Gehlot’s resignation and demand President’s rule in Rajasthan?” Mr Shekhawat tweeted.

A woman was beaten, stripped naked, and paraded through her village in Rajasthan’s Pratapgarh district allegedly by her husband on Thursday, the police said. In a shocking video of the assault, a man is seen stripping the 21-year-old woman in front of people and parading her naked through the village.

According to the police, the woman was allegedly in a relationship with another man, which triggered the attack on her.

She was allegedly kidnapped by her in-laws, who were unhappy since the woman was living with another man, and taken to their village where she was beaten and paraded naked, Rajasthan’s Director General of Police (DGP) Umesh Mishra said.

Seven people have been arrested so far in the case, including the woman’s husband, the police said, adding that four people have been detained.