In the run-up to Assembly polls in five states and Lok Sabha polls next year, the BJP parliamentary board on Thursday discussed the allocation of election-related responsibilities among its senior leaders. The party is expected to announce the names of committees focusing on various issues, including organising rallies, reaching out to the youth, manifesto and publicity literature, on Friday.

JMM leader and Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren passed his first major hurdle by winning the crucial vote of confidence in the Assembly on Thursday, five days after he was sworn in as head of a JMM-Congress-RJD combine.

Birbhum Trinamul Congress district president Anubrata Mondal’s direction to party workers to hurl bombs at the police and administration and burn down the houses of Independent candidates triggered a political storm.

As hectic parleys continue on the vexed Telangana issue, Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Thursday said a decision “this way or that way” on the statehood demand will be taken soon.

Rivalry between Chhattisgarh PCC chief Charan Das Mahant and former chief minister Ajit Jogi seems to have reached a flash point with the former asserting that the latter did not enjoy much support among party MLAs.

The BJP on Thursday demanded the arrest of BSP president Mayawati in connection with the NRHM scam in her regime.

Congress general secretary in-charge Madhya Pradesh Mohan Prakash said here on Thursday that in the coming Assembly election in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress would not be locked in an electoral battle with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the contest would be against the present Bharatiya Janata Party government, its misrule, corruption, licentiousness and morality in public life.

The much awaited expansion of the Akhilesh Yadav ministry on Thursday tuned out to be an OBC-dominated show.

Suspension of the five legislators, who were found guilty of beating up SI Sachin Suryavanshi in the Vidhan Bhavan premises, might be revoked in the coming week.

Victims of acid attacks will now be paid a minimum compensation of Rs 3 lakhs by the government, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, directing that acid attack be made a non-bailable offence and that the sale of acids be regulated by strict rules.