BJP to rope in Dave for poll strategy in MP Bhopal: With an aim to score a hat-trick in Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections slated later this year, the ruling BJP has reposed faith in senior party leader Anil Madhav Dave, who played a pivotal role in the 2003 elections, party sources said on Friday. Dave is a "key member" of the BJP's poll management committee in Madhya Pradesh, they said.

A Rajya Sabha member, Dave along with his team had drawn elaborate strategies in 2003 to ensure the defeat of Congress Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh. He had then launched a systematic campaign to turn the prevailing anger against the ruling party on the issues of 'bijli, sadak and pani' (electricity, water and roads) in favour of the BJP, whose campaign was then headed by former Chief Minister Uma Bharti.

"It is an uphill-task, but I take it as a challenge and always believe in taking every polls very seriously by drawing proper strategies and plans," Dave said, confirming his new assignment. "I do everything in life meticulously and this time also we will work out strategies to ensure that the party emerges victorious for a third consecutive term, which is very important for it in view of not just the 2013 Assembly polls but also the Lok Sabha polls," Dave, who also heads the NGO Narmada Samagra, said.

However, BJP sources said that in terms of vote percentage, there is not much of a difference between the share of major political parties (BJP and Congress) in the 
01:08 PM, May 24, 2013

Rahul says will not shy away from disciplining Cong party workers

At a meeting with party workers in Delhi ahead of state elections this year, Rahul Gandhi admonished them. Rahul said that he will not shy away from disciplining them, unlike Congress President Sonia Gandhi. ...
10:24 AM, May 24, 2013

Congress President is soft, I am not: Rahul Gandhi New Delhi: With Assembly election just months away, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday asked party leaders in Delhi to work unitedly to ensure a fourth successive victory for the party in the polls and sent out a clear message that indiscipline will not be tolerated by him. At around five-hour long interaction with separate groups of Congress workers at DPCC office in Central Delhi, Rahul underlined the need...  
08:38 AM, May 24, 2013

BJP has the problem of limited political footprint: Sumit Pande Opinion polls conducted across the country have shown that the UPA is losing ground but is the BJP gaining? CNN-IBN's deputy bureau chief Sumit Pande joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue. Q. Going by the recent assembly elections, it seems that people are preferring voting to elect a majority government. Do you think if this phenomena can also be replicated at the national level and if so...  
05:43 PM, May 23, 2013

I think the stage is set for a non-congress govt: Bhupendra Chaubey The UPA-II government has just completed four years in power. So, what have been its achievements and failures? CNN-IBN's national affairs editor Bhupendra Chaubey joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue. Q. In urban areas, it seems like UPA-2 will definitely suffer in the forthcoming elections, whats the scene in the rural India... how is the performance seen there. Different or same like how urban India sees it...  
06:37 PM, May 22, 2013

People won't be fooled by UPA's populist measures: Sidharth Nath Singh What are the key points on which the UPA-II dispensation failed to deliver? BJP's spokesperson Sidharth Nath Singh joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue. Q. Hi Sidharth, Do you think that the BJP has oversold the corruption issue and leadership issue of the UPA..At one time it probably had a impact on people but now all your leaders and spokespersons sound very repetitive, at times arrogant and...  
05:56 PM, May 22, 2013

Delhi polls: No end to Shahdara's water, sewer woes
by IBN7
New Delhi: Delhi Assembly Elections are very close and the voters of the city want to know how many poll promises have their leaders fulfilled. IBN7 has started a campaign New Delhi Banao (Develop New Delhi) and is trying to raise awareness among the voters. IBN7 went to Shahdara constituency to know what changes have been taken place in past five years. Shahdara has a population of 2 lakh with...  
01:32 PM, May 22, 2013

WB: Mamata announces separate tribal affairs department Kolkata: To ensure added importance to tribals in the state, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced a separate department of tribal affairs, which would be under her. "Tribal people have many grievances, but they don't know where to lodge complaints to draw attention immediately. Therefore, a separate tribal affairs department will be created just like the minority affairs department and it will remain under me," Banerjee told...  
02:49 AM, May 22, 2013

Modi meets Vajpayee, Advani with an eye on LS polls New Delhi: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who is being projected by a section within the BJP as the party's prime ministerial candidate for the next Lok Sabha polls, on Tuesday met a host of top leaders including Atal Behari Vajpayee and LK Advani. In Delhi to attend the BJP Parliamentary Board meeting, Modi utilised the opportunity to spend the entire day with the top leaders whose support he would...  
02:25 AM, May 22, 2013

Congress to organise meet to gear up for local body polls Hyderabad: The ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh plans to organise a convention of party leaders from the block level to gear up the party machinery for local body polls. The meeting would also discuss ways to spead numerous welfare schemes being implemented by the Centre and state governments, state Congress president Botsa Satyanarayana told reporters in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, several state ministers, AICC leader...  
01:24 AM, May 22, 2013

PM files affidavit correcting age to 80 in RS poll papers Guwahati: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Congress Rajya Sabha candidate from Assam, has filed a fresh affidavit correcting his age to 80 prior to scrutiny of the nominations on Tuesday. The Prime Minister submitted the fresh affidavit two days ago correcting his age to 80 from 82 as given earlier in his nomination papers for the May 30 election, Assembly sources said today. According to the rules, contestants had time...  
02:45 PM, May 21, 2013

Pakistan: PTI secures victory in Karachi's repolling Karachi: Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf on Monday secured an overwhelming victory in repolling held in one constituency of Pakistan's violence-plagued city of Karachi, election officials said. PTI's Arif Alvi bagged 17,489 votes, while his opponent Naimatullah Khan of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) managed to secure only 446 votes for the NA-250 seat though his party boycotted the poll, according to unofficial results published in the Pakistani media. The repoll was ordered...  
05:57 PM, May 20, 2013

I should have quit presidency to lead PPP in polls: Zardari Islamabad: President Asif Zardari has said that he should have quit his position and led the Pakistan People's Party's campaign in order to ensure a better performance in the just concluded general election. Zardari made the remarks while interacting with a delegation of the South Asian Free Media Association at his private residence in Lahore last night. The PPP, which led the government at the centre for the past five...  
11:29 AM, May 20, 2013

Is Amit Shah's appointment as UP BJP in-charge a boost for Modi? New Delhi: In a move that is being seen as Narendra Modi's clout growing within the BJP, the party president Rajnath Singh appointed the Gujarat Chief Minister's aide Amit Shah as general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh for 2014 elections. The indications are loud and clear as Uttar Pradesh with 80 Lok Sabha seats will be critical to the BJP's preparations for 2014 elections. The BJP in its prime has...  
09:12 AM, May 20, 2013

Did Mamata squander the overwhelming mandate that voters gave her? Kolkata: After two years of rule, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appears to have squandered the overwhelming mandate voters gave her, but as West Bengal gears up for panchayat polls, it seems that the TMC has the advantage as the Left is yet to regroup. Rattled by the Saradha meltdown and a spate of suicides, Trinamool faces the uphill task of addressing cries of lakhs of anguished investors and agents. With...  
07:59 AM, May 20, 2013

Karunanidhi pained by internal bickering in DMK Chennai: Pained by continuing internal bickering in his party, DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Sunday made a fervent appeal for unity, saying he was grieved over the fact that there was enough squabbling in the ranks that would harm the party more than any external factor. With less than a year left for the next Lok Sabha polls, considered crucial for the DMK after being drubbed by arch-rival AIADMK in...  
02:15 AM, May 20, 2013

Punjab Panchayat polls: 70 per cent turnout Chandigarh: Amid sporadic violence, nearly 70 per cent of 1.1 crore rural voters on Sunday exercised their franchise for Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad elections in Punjab. An estimated 70 per cent polling was reported as per initial reports, State Election Commissioner SS Brar said. The elections were by and large peaceful and no major incident of violence was reported from any part of the state, he said. However, skirmishes...  
08:50 PM, May 19, 2013

Sharif's party gets majority in Pak Parliament Lahore: Nawaz Sharif's PML-N has attained a majority in Pakistan's National Assembly after 18 independent candidates joined the party, placing it in a position to form government at the centre without striking an alliance with any other party. Several independent candidates belonging to influential political families of Punjab and Sindh provinces are among those who have joined the PML-N, which emerged the single largest party in the May 11 general...  
07:31 PM, May 19, 2013

Punjab panchayat polls: Voting to take place tomorrow Chandigarh: Amid tight security, the stage is set for Sunday's elections to Panchayat Samitis and Zila Parishads in Punjab, the campaigning for which was marred by violence in which four persons were killed. Security force personnel had been deployed in strength to ensure smooth, free and fair elections, said state Election Commissioner SS Brar. As many as 760 candidates were in fray for elections to 331 zones of 22 Zila...  
07:40 PM, May 18, 2013

News 360: 2 more RR players under the radar over spot-fixing

Sources said that one of the two players is an Indian while the other is an international player. ...
10:38 PM, May 17, 2013