GUWAHATI, May 12: Himanta Biswa Sarma was sworn in as Chief Minister of Assam for the second consecutive term on Tuesday, following a decisive victory by the National Democratic Alliance in the recently concluded state assembly elections. The oath-taking ceremony was held at the Veterinary College Field in Guwahati.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP national president Nitin Nabin, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Minister Nara Lokesh, several senior Union Ministers, and NDA chief ministers and deputy chief ministers from across the country attended the ceremony.

Along with Sarma, four cabinet ministers were also administered the oath of office on Tuesday. The ministerial berths were distributed among NDA constituent parties — the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Asom Gana Parishad and the Bodoland People's Front. Atul Bora of the Asom Gana Parishad, Charan Boro of the Bodoland People's Front, and Rameshwar Teli and Ajanta Neog of the BJP took oath as ministers in the new cabinet.

The NDA's emphatic performance in the Assam assembly elections, winning 81 of the 126 seats, paved the way for the alliance to return to power in the northeastern state for a third consecutive term — a feat that underscores the consolidation of the ruling coalition's political base in the region.

Sarma, who first assumed office as Chief Minister in 2021, has been the dominant face of BJP's political expansion in the northeast. His return to power with a strengthened mandate is widely seen as an endorsement of his administration's governance record over the past term.

The swearing-in ceremony witnessed a significant gathering of NDA leadership from across the country, reflecting the alliance's solidarity and the national importance accorded to the BJP's continued hold over Assam, one of the key states in India's northeastern corridor.

Amaravati, May 6: In what has emerged as one of the most remarkable electoral coincidences in recent Tamil Nadu political history, a DMK Minister has lost the Tirupattur Assembly constituency by a single vote — the precise margin that the BJP's election incharge for the segment had repeatedly predicted months before polling day.

Kokker Srinivas, a BJP leader from Andhra Pradesh appointed by the party's national leadership as election incharge for the Tirupattur Assembly constituency, had taken up residence in the segment from March 6 onwards, conducting an intensive campaign across all seven mandals of the constituency for 45 consecutive days until April 25.

Throughout this period, Srinivas consistently emphasised a single, unwavering message to party workers, booth-level functionaries, and allied party cadres alike: that one vote could alter political destiny.

"One vote changes political fate," he told gatherings across the constituency. "One vote decides victory. This one vote can change history." The message was repeated not merely as a rhetorical device, but as a strategic directive — workers were mobilised with the explicit understanding that no vote could be treated as inconsequential.

The same message was carried to meetings of the National Democratic Alliance partners in the constituency, including the AIADMK and the AMMK, where Srinivas elaborated the point with historical examples of razor-thin electoral outcomes.

When results came, the words acquired new weight

When votes were counted on May 4, the outcome at Tirupattur confounded observers across the political spectrum. The TVK candidate prevailed over the sitting DMK Minister by a margin of exactly one vote — a result described by election analysts as virtually without precedent in Tamil Nadu's electoral history.

The coincidence was not lost on BJP workers who had sat through those pre-election meetings.

"When he said it then, we took it as motivational talk," admitted a senior BJP functionary in Tirupattur. "But he said it so clearly, so many times — only now do we realise the full significance of what he was telling us."

A question of political foresight

The episode has since sparked considerable discussion across party lines in Tirupattur and beyond — not merely about the extraordinary result itself, but about the degree to which the BJP's national apparatus had assessed ground realities in the constituency with precision.

Whether the repeated emphasis on a single-vote margin reflected a precise reading of the constituency's electoral arithmetic, or whether it was a general motivational strategy that happened to align with an extraordinary outcome, remains a matter of conjecture. What is beyond dispute, however, is that the phrase "one vote" has acquired an entirely new resonance in Tirupattur's political lexicon.

The result has drawn wide coverage across print and electronic media, with analysts examining both the mechanics of the recount process and the broader implications of such a narrow verdict in a constituency where a Cabinet Minister was the incumbent.

For the BJP, whose candidate was not the eventual winner, the episode has nonetheless provided an unexpected moment of political vindication — the party's meticulous booth-level mobilisation and the incharge's insistent messaging are now being cited within its ranks as evidence of sound ground-level intelligence.

The Tirupattur constituency result is currently under scrutiny, with legal and procedural processes expected to follow given the unprecedented margin.

KONGAD,MAY 5: The Bharatiya Janata Party has claimed a significant increase in its vote share in Kongad in the latest round of polling, with party functionaries describing the result as evidence of deepening support for the party's development agenda in the constituency.

Dr. Dileep Kilaru, the party's election in-charge for Kongad, attributed the improved performance to sustained ground-level work by party workers, effective communication of Central government welfare schemes, and consistent advocacy on local infrastructure and public service issues. He said the party's presence in the constituency had been year-round rather than election-driven, which he credited with narrowing the gap between the administration and ordinary voters.

"The rise in our vote share is a humbling validation of our hard work. It strengthens our resolve to serve Kongad with even greater vigour," Dr. Kilaru said, adding that the BJP had now established itself as a definitive voice for the aspirations of the constituency.

Party leaders said the results reflected a growing alignment among voters with the BJP's stated goals of inclusive development, framing the gains as consistent with the broader national narrative of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas." The party indicated it would continue to expand its organisational presence in the constituency and ensure that local concerns are taken up at higher levels of governance.

VIJAYAWADA, May 5: Bharatiya Janata Party Andhra Pradesh State president P.V.N. Madhav on Tuesday described the party's victories in three of the five States that went to the polls as historic, and said the results reflected the growing trust of the electorate in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. He was addressing a press conference at the party's State office in Vijayawada.

Mr. Madhav said Mr. Modi had effectively articulated people's issues during the election campaign, and that voters in West Bengal had rewarded the BJP with a decisive mandate. The party's return to power in Assam and its success in Puducherry, he added, further underscored the expanding reach of the NDA.

Bengal win rooted in history and public discontent

Contextualising the West Bengal result within a broader historical frame, Mr. Madhav said the victory was made possible by the sacrifices of Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, and that winning in the land of luminaries such as Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Swami Vivekananda, and Subhas Chandra Bose lent the achievement special significance.

He was sharply critical of the preceding years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule in the State, alleging that both had presided over a rise in lawlessness. He further alleged that illegal immigrants from Bangladesh had been encouraged and cultivated as a vote bank by the ruling dispensation. It was public awareness of and anger against these trends, he argued, that had driven high voter turnout and ultimately brought the BJP to power.

Assam hat-trick and Kerala foothold

On Assam, Mr. Madhav said the BJP had achieved a hat-trick by strengthening the spirit of nationalism in the State. He also highlighted the party's performance in Kerala, where it won three seats and entered the State Assembly for the first time, describing it as a significant indicator of the party's geographic expansion.

Commenting on Tamil Nadu, he said the victory of actor-politician Vijay's party over the DMK was a signal of change in the State.

Senior party functionaries including Kapu Ramachandra Reddy, Saligrama Lakshmi Prasanna, Sheikh Baji, Rongala Gopi Srinivas, Uppalapati Srinivas Raju, Adduri Sriram, Syed Basha, Surendra Reddy, and Reddy Pavani were present at the press conference.

VIJAYAWADA, May 5: The Andhra Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday held a victory rally in Vijayawada to celebrate the party's electoral successes in three States, with State president P.V.N. Madhav leading the procession from the Sujana Chowdary office at Bhavani Puram. Party leaders and workers turned out in large numbers for the celebratory event.

Addressing the gathering, Mr. Madhav said the results reflected the trust that voters across the three States had reposed in the BJP. He singled out West Bengal as particularly significant, asserting that the people of the State had decisively ended the Trinamool Congress government led by Mamata Banerjee. The Bengal verdict, he said, had been received with jubilation across the country.

A journey from one seat to a historic majority

Recalling the party's ideological lineage, Mr. Madhav noted that the Jana Sangh had begun its journey in West Bengal — the birthplace of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee — with just a single seat, and that the BJP's landmark victory in the State today represented a remarkable political transformation. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he added, NDA governments were now in power in nearly 20 States, which he described as a testament to the country's development trajectory.

Wins across States

Mr. Madhav also highlighted the party's strong performance in Assam under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, as well as its gains in Puducherry. He pointed to the party's showing in constituencies with a Muslim population of around 60 per cent — where the BJP had won 40 of 63 seats — as evidence that the notion of minorities being averse to the party was a misconception. He also said the BJP welcomed the victory of actor-politician Vijay in Tamil Nadu.

The State president attributed the electoral successes to the organisational efforts of senior leaders such as Amit Shah and Sunil Bansal, as well as the sacrifices of party workers at the grassroots level.

Among those present at the event were NTR District president Adduri Sriram, MLA office in-charge Sridhar, BJP State office in-charge Uppalapati Srinivas Raju, State spokesperson Sheikh Baji, Minority Morcha State president Syed Basha, and OBC Morcha State president Rongala Gopi Srinivas.

VIJAYAWADA, May 4: Andhra Pradesh Minister Satya Kumar Yadav on Monday said the BJP's strong performance in the West Bengal Assembly elections signalled the end of what he described as a regime that fomented religious hatred, issued voter identity cards to illegal infiltrators, and deprived the poor of their rightful entitlements.

Reacting to the election results, Mr. Satya Kumar Yadav said the people of Bengal had blessed Prime Minister Narendra Modi in recognition of his commitment to regional development, basic infrastructure, and wealth creation for ordinary citizens. The BJP's victory, he said, was proof of the people's faith in the vision of Viksit Bharat.

The Minister said the NDA coalition was now poised to usher in successive terms in governance, breaking what he called the earlier assumption that a second consecutive victory was near impossible. He noted that in several States where the NDA was in power, the alliance had been consistently fulfilling its electoral promises.

Mr. Satya Kumar Yadav said the government would identify, delete, and deport illegal infiltrators, invoking what he described as the BJP's three-point slogan of "Detect, Delete, Deport." He said the party would continue to consolidate its presence across States on the strength of this agenda.

Underlining the party's inclusive development philosophy, the Minister cited Prime Minister Modi's "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas" commitment as evidence that no region or community would be left behind. He reiterated that the people's trust in the BJP's ideology remained firm and that the party's win in Assam further reinforced this confidence.

Guntur: The BJP Mahila Morcha, Yuva Morcha and the NDA alliance jointly organised a "Praja Akrosh Mahila Yatra" (Women's Protest March) in Guntur on Sunday, demanding that opposition parties be held accountable for allegedly blocking the implementation of the 33 per cent Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament. The protest rally marched from Shankar Vilas Centre to the Ambedkar statue, drawing a sizeable turnout of women participants and party workers.

Addressing the rally, district president Cherukuri Tirupathi Rao alleged that the INDIA bloc had done a disservice to women out of fear that reservations in legislative bodies would erode their own political standing. He warned that women across the country would give the opposition an appropriate response in the days to come.

Mahila Morcha district president Dr. Radha Madhavi said it was deeply unfortunate that the INDIA bloc continued to sideline women in political representation. She noted that the Central government had been taking measures to ensure the economic empowerment of women from birth to old age through various welfare schemes, and called it deplorable that the Women's Reservation Bill — aimed at providing political opportunities as well — was being obstructed.

District Yuva Morcha president Yashwant said it was heartening to see women across the country, cutting across party lines, coming out to protest against the stance of the Congress and the INDIA bloc.

Mahila Morcha state general secretary Naddi Nagamalleswari Yadav asserted that 33 per cent reservation was a rightful entitlement of women. She said the party would intensify protest marches against the Congress alliance in the future and pledged to take the core objectives of the Women's Reservation Bill to every woman in the state, while exposing what she described as the INDIA bloc's anti-women actions before society at large.

Among those who participated were Mahila Morcha state secretary Hari Pavani, Mirchi Yard director Sravana Kumari, district vice-president Mantri Suguna, Vimala Devi, Yuva Morcha leaders Sridurga and Swapna, Mahila Morcha leaders Dr. Sravanthi, Padmaja and Swati Swapna, TDP leader Kalpana, BJP state leaders Eedara Srinivas Reddy, Velagaleti Gangadhar, Kokkera Srinivas Yadav, Charaka Kumar Goud and Mekala Lakshman, along with several district leaders and functionaries.

AMARAVATI, APRIL 24: Andhra Pradesh BJP State president P.V.N. Madhav on Thursday called upon alliance leaders to mount a sustained campaign to inform the public — particularly women — about the INDIA bloc's opposition to the Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament, saying the matter must reach every doorstep in the State.

Mr. Madhav was speaking at a teleconference convened by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu with leaders of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), during which the strategy for a public outreach drive against the Opposition's stance on the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was discussed at length.

'Grave injustice to women'

Addressing the conference, Mr. Madhav said the Opposition parties had done a grave injustice to women across the country by blocking the Nari Shakti Bill, which he described as a landmark legislation central to women's empowerment. He characterised the move as being contrary to democratic values and said it was incumbent upon the NDA to ensure that women in every part of the State were made aware of who had stood in the way of their political representation.

He directed party and alliance leaders to organise wide-ranging awareness programmes on behalf of the NDA to carry this message to every home and every woman voter, and to highlight the coalition's commitment to safeguarding women's rights.

Delimitation issue

Mr. Madhav also addressed the question of constituency delimitation based on updated population data, assuring leaders that the exercise would be carried out equitably without any discrimination between northern and southern States. He asked NDA functionaries to proactively dispel misconceptions and unwarranted apprehensions that were being circulated among the public on the matter, and to ensure that a clear and factual understanding prevailed at the grassroots level.

The teleconference, chaired by Mr. Naidu, is understood to have reviewed the broader political situation and chalked out the NDA's outreach agenda in the State in the weeks ahead.

Vijayawada, April 23: Union Minister of State for Steel and Heavy Industries Bhupatiraju Srinivasa Varma on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the Congress party and its allies for what he described as their duplicitous stance on the Women's Reservation Bill, asserting that the Modi government remained firmly committed to ensuring 33 per cent representation for women in legislative bodies by 2029.

Addressing a press conference organised under the banner of 'Jana Akrosh' in Vijayawada, along with NDA alliance leaders, the Minister said that the enactment of the 'Nari Shakti Vandanam' legislation stood as testimony to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's unwavering commitment to women's empowerment. He recalled that successive governments over the past three decades had reduced women's reservation to a mere electoral promise, whereas the Modi government, since 2014, had pursued the matter with sincerity and resolve.

Bhupatiraju said the credit for introducing and securing passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in 2023 belonged entirely to the NDA government under Modi's leadership. He alleged that when the amendment bill to implement the 33 per cent reservation from 2029 was placed before Parliament, the Congress and its allies obstructed it with various pretexts, defeating it by a margin of merely 54 votes. He described this as a betrayal of the aspirations of women across the country, and accused parties with patriarchal ideologies of conspiring to prevent women from advancing politically.

Dismissing opposition claims that southern States were being shortchanged, the Minister argued that it was precisely the failure to pass the amendment bill that was causing grave injustice to the southern States, and urged opposition parties to recognise this reality and extend their support. He explained that the Modi government was undertaking the delimitation process with the objective of implementing women's reservation by the 2029 elections, well ahead of 2034, and that a population-based reorganisation of constituencies would ensure equal opportunities for all regions and women alike. He noted that women currently constituted only 12.6 per cent of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, and stressed that reservations were indispensable to improve this figure.

TDP leader Gadde Anuradha, who also addressed the gathering, held the neglect of previous governments responsible for India's poor ranking in global indices of women's empowerment. Jana Sena leader Potireddy Sunitha said that genuine development was possible only when women entered decision-making roles, and affirmed that the alliance government in the State was committed to that goal.

Among those present were BJP State General Secretary Lakshmi Prasanna, Mahila Morcha President Nishidha Raju, and Media In-charge Kilari Dileep, among others.

Amaravati, April 20: The Union Ministry of Rural Development has released ₹1,805 crore towards wage payments for VB-JI RAM JI  Employment Guarantee Scheme  workers in Andhra Pradesh for the financial year 2025-26, drawing appreciation from the State BJP unit.

Andhra Pradesh BJP State president P.V.N. Madhav welcomed the release of funds and extended his gratitude to the Union government for the timely disbursement. He said the State government would distribute the funds to the beneficiaries through the Panchayati Raj and Rural Development departments.

Mr. Madhav said the amounts would be credited directly to the bank accounts of the wage earners based on the upload of wage Fund Transfer Orders (FTOs), and assured that all workers who had completed their employment would receive their full wages in their accounts shortly.

Reiterating the BJP-led NDA coalition's commitment to the welfare of marginalised and weaker sections, Mr. Madhav said both the Union and State governments accorded the highest priority to social security and inclusive development. He expressed confidence that the coordinated efforts of the Central and State governments would lead to a sustained improvement in the living standards of rural workers in Andhra Pradesh.

Vijayawada, April 20: The Andhra Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Congress party and its allies for opposing the Women's Reservation Bill, announcing a series of NDA protest programmes across the State later this month.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP State office in Vijayawada, party State general secretary Nagotu Ramesh Naidu accused Congress and its allies — the Trinamool Congress, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Samajwadi Party — of collectively blocking legislation that sought to ensure equal political representation for women. "They are celebrating this obstruction as though it were a great victory," he said.

Mr. Naidu recalled that the Congress-led UPA government had, during the tenure of Rajiv Gandhi, enacted special legislation in the Shah Bano case overriding a Supreme Court ruling. He further noted that while Sonia Gandhi had successfully steered the Women's Reservation Bill through the Rajya Sabha, the party failed to bring it to a vote in the Lok Sabha. He accused the Congress of using Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to play what he termed a "Shikandi role" in obstructing the bill.

Asserting that delimitation must not be carried out on the basis of population ratios alone, Mr. Naidu said the BJP remained committed to reintroducing the Women's Reservation Bill and securing its passage. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working towards making women equal partners in the nation's development, and no obstacle will deter that goal," he said.

The party announced a series of protest events across Andhra Pradesh. On April 24, a demonstration will be held in Vijayawada with BJP State president P.V.N. Madhav, Minister Kandula Durgesh and TDP State president Palla Srinivasarao as chief guests. A parallel protest will be organised in Rajamahendravari under the leadership of MP Daggubati Purandeswari on the same day.

On April 25, Union Minister of State Bhupatiraju Srinivas Varma will participate in protests at Tirupati, while a separate programme is scheduled in Kurnool.

BJP NTR District president Adduri Sriram was also present at the press conference.

NEW DELHI, April 18: Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a sharp attack on the Opposition on Friday, expressing outrage over the defeat of key legislation related to women's reservations in the Lok Sabha and accusing the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and Samajwadi Party of collectively undermining women's empowerment.

Taking to the social media platform X, Mr. Shah said it was shameful that the Opposition parties were celebrating the defeat of a Bill that would have strengthened women's political representation. "This is not the first time Congress and its allies have done this. They have consistently adopted the same stance on critical issues concerning national development and women's empowerment," he said.

The Home Minister asserted that the Congress had no genuine interest in national development, women's rights, or empowerment, and that all the parties that had voted against the Bill had together betrayed Indian women who had been fighting for their rights for decades.

Mr. Shah warned that the Opposition would face a decisive political response from the women of India in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. "The women of this country will give a fitting answer to the parties that opposed the Women's Reservation Bill," he said, adding that no political force could afford to take women's aspirations lightly.

The 131st Constitutional Amendment Bill, which sought to fast-track the implementation of the one-third reservation for women in legislative bodies, was defeated in the Lok Sabha on Thursday after the ruling National Democratic Alliance failed to secure the two-thirds majority required for a constitutional amendment. Of the 528 members who participated in the division vote, 298 supported the Bill while 230 voted against it, leaving the government 54 votes short of the required 352.