'The Opposition will continue to be attacked through misuse of agencies, civil society will be force-marched towards extinction and India's plummeting on global indices will continue.' 'Minorities and especially Muslims will continue to have open season declared on them. Institutions will continue their decline,' predicts Aakar Patel.

They are learnt to have taken stock of the prevailing political situation following the exit polls predicting a big win for the BJP-led alliance, and the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)'s series of meetings rejecting the forecast and sticking to its claim that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is on its way out.

This might be the first time in the country's electoral history that the poll body has convened a press conference on the conclusion of polls.

Government sources said Modi will also chair meetings to review the aftermath of the Cyclone Remal, especially in the north east region hit by natural disasters.

Asked how many seats INDIA bloc will get, Gandhi said, "Have you heard Sidhu Moose Wala's song '295'? So 295 (seats)."

The BJP had already won 10 seats unopposed in the 60-member assembly, elections for which were held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls in the first phase on April 19.

In a letter to Ramesh, the poll panel has asked him to share details regarding his claim by 7 pm on Sunday.

Director general of police Swain commended the security forces for their efforts in monitoring potential threats from external elements particularly "proxies of Pakistan" who intended to disrupt the democratic process.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the NDA won 64 seats -- 62 bagged by the BJP and two by Apna Dal.

The marathon polling process to elect the 18th Lok Sabha ended on Saturday with the seventh phase of elections witnessing an approximate voter turnout of 62.36 per cent, amid clashes between Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party supporters in Sandeshkhali and some other parts of West Bengal.

Baseless allegations are being made against Pune MLA Sunil Tigre linking him to the Porsche crash that left two software engineers dead, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday exuded confidence that people have voted in record numbers to re-elect the National Democratic Alliance government and said the 'opportunistic INDI Alliance' failed to strike a chord with the voters who rejected their 'regressive politics'.

Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties on Saturday announced that they will participate in the exit poll debates on television on Saturday evening after the grouping's top leaders met and deliberated on the issue at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence.

Singh has served as the chief sports officer of the CRPF and won a silver medal at the 1986 Seoul Asian Games in the 200-metre butterfly event, which was India's first medal in swimming at the tournament since its 1951 edition.

'It does not understand economics. The entire focus of this government is skewed.'

Nearly half of the MPs elected in the 2019 general elections in India were first-timers.

Other prominent candidates among the 904 in the fray are Union minister Anurag Thakur, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti.

Few in Varanasi expect the result to be different from 2014 and 2019. The only point of interest is whether Narendra Modi will increase his winning margin against his rivals.

Saturday's voting will mark the end to the marathon polling process that began on April 19 month and has already covered 486 Lok Sabha seats in 28 states and Union territories.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has identified "climate shocks" as a risk to food inflation rates and overall price rise while stating that the outlook for the country's economic growth remains bright. In its Annual Report for 2023-24, released on Thursday, the central bank said easing supply-chain pressures, broad-based softening in core inflation, and early indications of an above-normal southwest monsoon meant well for the inflation outlook in 2024-25. "The increasing incidence of climate shocks, however, imparts considerable uncertainty to the food inflation and overall inflation outlook," said the RBI while noting headline inflation moderated by 1.3 percentage points on an annual average basis to 5.4 per cent in 2023-24.

A combination of factors, including heavy investments in US Treasury bonds and dollar sales at a healthy profit, facilitated the Indian central bank in transferring a record surplus of Rs 2.11 trillion to the government for 2023-24 (FY24). The RBI's dollar purchases increased in FY24, supported by robust capital inflows endorsing the economy's health.

'The voice coming out of every home is Modi, Modi, Modi...' 'He is in people's hearts. Who can stop us from 400 paar?'

The best-case scenario is that the BJP will top out at around 50 seats in UP -- a drop of 12 from the 62 it had won in 2019. Taken in tandem with Maharashtra and Karnataka, this is what is likely to put paid to the BJP's ambitions of a third term for Modi, argues Prem Panicker.

'What social justice is Tejashwi talking about?' 'Muslims in Bihar are asking we are 18%, and you are giving us 2 seats.'

Polling is scheduled in all 13 seats of Punjab and four of Himachal Pradesh, 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha and three seats in Jharkhand besides Chandigarh.

'Even last time, when I defeated Shatrughan Sinha, I did not take his name.'

The current instability in the world is a result of long term systemic and socio-politico problems, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).

What may work for the BJP is the growing resentment against V K Pandian, a bureaucrat-turned-politician who Jay Panda alleges has hijacked the Odisha government.

This second tranche of citizenship certificates were issued on Wednesday, days before the final phase of voting for Lok Sabha polls on June 1.

Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com tried to buy a house on his recent visit to Srinagar.

Congress leader and former diplomat Mani Shankar Aiyar called the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) of yore an "upper caste" service, which he claimed is becoming more democratic now with the flavour of the country getting into it.

The youth -- their dreams of government jobs unfulfilled -- are voicing their frustration.

The petitioner, advocate PV Jeevesh, said that while the Centre gave Hindi and Sanskrit titles to those important legislations, the majority of the legal fraternity in South India is not conversant with the two languages.

India currently does not have any XBB 1.5 variant-based vaccines available.

As Chandigarh braces for a fierce contest between Congress candidate Manish Tewari and the BJP's Sanjay Tandon, its industry leaders harbour a fervent wish: Replicate the success of the National Capital Region model in this Union Territory.

Auto parts maker Sona BLW Precision Forgings (Sona) reported strong revenue in the fourth quarter of financial year 2023-24 (Q4FY24) as demand for electric vehicles expands. The company reported a 19 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase in sales to beat street estimates. Sales were powered by a 34 per cent growth in the battery electric vehicle (BEV) segment and a good show in the differential gear segment.

'There is uncertainty regarding job opportunities for our children after they serve for just four years under the Agnipath scheme.'

The Election Commission on Monday said the voter turnout in Jammu and Kashmir this time was the highest in a Lok Sabha election in the last 35 years with the Kashmir Valley witnessing a 'massive' 30 percentage point jump in poll participation compared to 2019.

The home minister, however, said the government will make an exception in case someone from a family comes forward and informs the authorities that his or her close relative has joined a terror outfit.

The electoral battle in Varanasi, according to locals and political experts, is not about whether the PM will win for a third successive occasion, but if he will increase his share of the votes polled and his win margin.