Police on Thursday said it has detained a local BJP leader for allegedly coming within 100 metres of a pooling booth here. Mohan Singh, Dakshin Mandal Sabhapati of the BJP, however, claimed that he was called there by saffron party candidate Bharati Ghosh.
India recorded its highest daily rise in Covid-19 cases this year with 72,330 new infections being reported in a span of 24 hours, taking the total tally of cases to 1,22,21,665, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Thursday.
The chief minister of any poll-bound state holds a crucial place in the elections. He or she plays a key role in the performance of the ruling party. In the ongoing elections, three such leaders are facing unique challenges this time.
Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said: "Second phase of the Assam polls takes place today. Requesting all eligible voters of this phase to strengthen the festival of democracy by exercising their franchise." "Urging the people of West Bengal in whose seats there is polling taking place today to vote in record numbers," he said in another tweet.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar has undergone an emergency endoscopy for the removal of a stone from his bile duct and his condition is improving, a doctor attending to him at a hospital here said on Wednesday. Pawar, 80, was admitted to the Breach Candy Hospital on Tuesday after he experienced abdominal pain. He underwent the endoscopy at around 10 pm, the doctor said.
As many as 53,480 fresh infections pushed India's Covid-19 tally to 1,21,49,335, while 354 new fatalities, the highest single-day spike so far this year, took the death toll to 1,62,468, according to Union health ministry data updated on Wednesday.
Daily cases of Covid-19 in the country fell on Tuesday in tandem with lower testing during the Holi festival but deaths from the virus surged to a 104-day high, with 356 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours. India recorded 53,099 fresh cases of Covid-19, a sharp drop from 68,316 new infections reported on Sunday, according to TOI data collated from state governments.
The Centre on Tuesday said door-to-door vaccination against Covid-19 may not be feasible, even as it asked states to ensure 100% saturation of vaccination of the priority age group of those above 45 years in the next fortnight, particularly in high burden districts seeing a surge of fresh cases.
States seem to have taken the surge in coronavirus infections seriously with tests for Covid-19 going up by more than 38% over the last two weeks compared to the first half of March. Countrywide, the total samples tested have gone up from 97.89 lakh between March 1-14 to 1.35 crore during March 14-27.
A battle of roadshows brought the curtain down on the high-octane campaign in Nandigram on Tuesday, with Union home minister Amit Shah targeting Mamata Banerjee for her “silence” on the fatal assault on a BJP worker's octogenarian mother. The Bengal CM hit back by mocking him for "trying to break Trinamool", only to end up stoking dissension in BJP over poll tickets.
India's drug regulator has allowed the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to be used for up to nine months from its manufacture date, as opposed to the prescribed six months, according to a document reviewed by Reuters and a source.The approval, given to a licensed version of the drug made by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and exported to dozens of countries, could help health authorities minimise vaccine wastage and better plan their inoculation programmes.
Exuding confidence that BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari will win the elections from Nandigram by a record margin, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said defeating TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, a co- contestant from the seat, was "absolutely necessary to bring about the much-desired change in Bengal.
This unique scheme aims at increasing the capacity of states to manage their ground water resources and for ensuring their long-term sustainability with active participation of the local communities through a mix of top-down and ground-up approaches.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will make an additional 2,269 Covid beds available, including 360 ICUs, in private hospitals with immediate effect amid the rising coronavirus cases. These beds will be in addition to more than 3,000 beds currently vacant in Mumbai.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday slammed opposition parties and stated that the fixed match of United Democratic Front (UDF) and Left Democratic Front (LDF) is going to be rejected by Kerala in the forthcoming Assembly polls.
Six states, including Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, have reported a high number of daily Covid-19 cases and account for 78.56 per cent of the 56,211 fresh cases recorded in the country in a day, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
The Manipur government issued a circular to the Deputy Commissioners of districts bordering Myanmar not to open camps to provide food and shelter to refugees fleeing the neighbouring country after the coup but withdrew it three days later to avoid potential public anger.
India's Covid-19 tally climbed to 1,20,95,855 with 56,211 more people testing positive for the infection in a span of 24 hours, while 271 more fatalities pushed death toll to 1,62,114, according to the Union Health Ministry's data updated on Tuesday.
People of Indian origin and the Indian diaspora having Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cards are now not required to carry their old, expired passports for travel to India, as required earlier, according to a government notification that has been welcomed by members of the community.
The last time Aishe Ghosh had cameras trained on her, she had her head in a bandage and Deepika Padukone’s arms around her shoulders, after an attack by a stick-wielding mob that had stormed her university, JNU, on January 5, 2020.
China said on Monday that it was "happy" over the recent "active interactions" between Pakistan and India, indicating that it would like to work with Islamabad to inject "more positive energy" into regional peace, stability and development.
The second wave of coronavirus in India is spreading rapidly and is expected to get worse. The recent surge in cases is happening at a pace more rapid than seen during the first wave of the virus. The number of cases is likely to rise further in the wake of relaxed restrictions, festive season and state assembly elections in four states.
Chief Justice of India Bhushan Gavai emphasized the importance of the creamy layer principle within SC/STs. He cautioned against judicial ov...
