BJP Preps For State Elections, 2 Ministers To Be In Charge Of Maharashtra

It hasn't even been two weeks since the Lok Sabha polls concluded, after which PM Narendra Modi took the oath of office for a third consecutive term, but the BJP has already begun preparing for Assembly polls later this year.

In Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Manipur, and Rajasthan, where the BJP registered most of its seat losses, its drop in votes was at least five percentage points.

If the Congress is to return to power in 2029, aiming to cross at least 200 seats and form a coalition, momentum is key. A year from now, the 99 seats should not look like a flash in the pan.

The Election Commission today admitted a mobile phone of an "authorised person" was used by the aide of a candidate "unauthorisedly" while votes were being counted in Mumbai North West Lok Sabha seat.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath - a senior leader and prominent face of the BJP - and Mohan Bhagwat, boss of ruling party's ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh are expected to meet this afternoon in Gorakhpur.

There are 15 instances of sitting Prime Ministers contesting elections: they won on 14 occasions and only one sitting Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, lost her seat, Raebareli, in 1977.