The BJP-led NDA prefers to have a mem­ber of the Congress as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha to avoid the Narenda Modi government getting into a direct confrontation with three regional players who may form a bloc and stake a claim for the august post. BJP leaders argue they m

New Delhi: Polling for four Rajya Sabha seats in Karnataka and one each in Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram will be held next month as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) looks to shore up its strength in the upper house for smooth passage of bills. Four Rajya Sabha members from Karnataka and one each

PUNE: The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM)'s first experimental real-time monsoon forecast for this year predicts delayed monsoon advancement over the country. Scientists said that consequently the first spell of rainfall will be inadequate and scantier than normal. They said a low pr

Ahmedabad: Gujarat revenue minister Anandiben Patel, 72, is the clear frontrunner in the race to replace Narendra Modi as the chief minister of Gujarat. Mr Modi, who will be sworn in as India's Prime Minister on Monday, is expected to resign as chief minister around 3pm today after attending a speci

JAMMU: Seventeen people were killed and 27 injured when a bus going to the Kashmir valley fell into a deep gorge in the Jammu region Tuesday, an official said. The accident occurred when the bus driver lost control at Digdol on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Ramban district, 170 km from Jammu, an

The fact that the BJP has won a majority on its own in the 16th Lok Sabha has, inevitably, drawn comparisons with previous elections in which parties have won a majority of seats on their own. What has not quite figured in most of these comparisons is the fact that no party has ever before won more

LONDON: Britain's foreign minister for India Hugo Swire has said India's new Prime Minister Narendra Modi's biggest challenge will be to prove "that he is the prime minister of the whole of India and of people of all faiths". Swire told TOI that Modi's non-secular image since the Gujarat riots in

Despite a concerted effort by "secular" parties to get Muslims to vote en bloc against BJP, the saffron challenger prevailed largely because of what is being called "reverse polarization". In both UP and Bihar, which have a significant population of Muslims, the BJP pulled off big wins. Talking t

NDA Leading Won Total BJP 0 283 283 TDP 0 16 16 SHS 0 19 19 SAD 0 4 4 MNS 0 0 0 AINRC 0 1 1 Apna Dal 0 2 2 DMDK 0 0 0 HJC (BL) 0 0 0 LJP 0 6 6 MDMK 0 0 0 NPF 0 1

NEW DELHI: The 2014 Lok Sabha election results have taken a lot of parties and contestants by surprise on Friday. When many did not expect the Modi-led BJP to touch the magic figure of 272 seats, the failure of many prominent regional parties to even open their accounts came as a huge shock. DMK:

BANGALORE: In the results declared till pre-noon, the BJP had won four seats in Karnataka, was leading in 15 Lok Sabha constituencies followed by the Congress in 7 and the JD(S) in two. The four results declared were from Shimoga, Udupi-Chikmagalur, Uttara Kannada and Dakshina Kannada. Former chi

NEW DELHI: The BJP declared "the start of a new era" in the world's biggest democracy on Friday as the ruling Congress conceded defeat in elections that exposed anger about sickly economic growth and rampant corruption. Preliminary results and media projections at the climax of the marathon six-w

India's main opposition BJP is making hefty gains over the ruling Congress party as hundreds of millions of votes cast during its mammoth nine-phase general election are being counted. The BJP is leading in 250 of 485 seats for which initial indications are available, while the ruling Congress part

New Delhi: The Election Commission is all set to count on Friday some 550 million votes cast in the Lok Sabha polls that are widely expected to return the BJP to power, a top official said on Thursday. “We are fully prepared and geared up for the counting day tomorrow ... There is absolutely no

New Delhi: On the eve of the Lok Sabha election results, Congress leader Rashid Alvi today suggested that all regional secular parties should come together and elect West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the leader to keep BJP out of power. Admitting that it may be difficult for Congress

Renowned activist will always be remembered for his tireless struggle to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Gujarat pogroms and fake encounter killings. Press Release | Bhatkallys.com Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC - www.iamc.com), an advocacy group dedicated to safeguarding India's

HYDERABAD: Two persons were killed today in Kishanbagh area of Old City after communal clashes broke out over alleged burning of a religious flag leading police to open fire to quell the mob. At least seven people, besides a few police personnel, were injured in the incidents but it was not immed

NEW DELHI: With counting for general elections 2014 due to start at 8am on May 16 across 989 counting centres, Election Commission officials said nearly all trends would be in by 11am and the final results known by 3-4pm. The first trends are expected to trickle in as early as 8.30am and by 11am, a