Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal tendered his resignation to Governor Jagadish Mukhi prior to a meeting of the BJP legislature party which is expected to elect the next Chief Minister of the state.
As is the tradition, the Governor asked Sonowal to continue in office till the formation of the new government.
The party's central leadership had summoned Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, both contenders for the top post, to New Delhi for discussions on the formation of the next government in the state.
India and the European Union (EU) announced their decision to resume negotiations for a balanced and comprehensive trade agreement after a gap of eight years.
During the first-ever India + 27 EU member states summit, an ambitious connectivity partnership was unveiled during the virtual meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of the member nations.
India and the EU also agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation on digital and emerging technologies such as 5G, AI, Quantum and High-Performance Computing including through the early operationalization of the Joint Task Force on AI and the Digital Investment Forum.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited the EU to support a proposal by India and South Africa to waive patents on COVID-19 vaccines so that there can be equitable vaccine access for the entire world, officials said.
However, there was no concrete decision on the matter from the EU side.
India Extends Support to Maldives Post Attack on Former President
India has been in touch with the Maldives authorities in the aftermath of the attack on the former President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed.
Nasheed who is the current speaker of the Maldives Parliament was injured in a bomb blast.
As part of the engagement between Male and Delhi, help in the form of security resources continues from the Indian government.
India, a close ally of Maldives was the first country to react after the attack, with External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar expressing his concern.
Biman Banerjee New Speaker of West Bengal Assembly
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Biman Banerjee was elected as Speaker of West Bengal Legislative Assembly for the third time.
West Bengal witnessed a fierce contest between the ruling TMC and BJP across eight phases. The Samyukta Morcha comprising the Congress, Left parties and ISF has also tried to put up a strong fight. The BJP has made a concerted attempt to dislodge the TMC.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) won 213 seats in the just concluded state assembly elections. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on the other hand, garnered 77 seats in the 294-seat state assembly.
May 08, 2021
Election Commission Panel Counsel in Supreme Court Resigns
Advocate Mohit D. Ram, the panel counsel representing the Election Commission of India, tendered his resignation, saying "my values are not in consonance with the current functioning of the commission".
Mohit D. Ram had been the panel counsel representing ECI in the Supreme Court since 2013.
He described representing the Election Commission "a cherishing milestone" of his career.
Ram's resignation comes after the Election Commission fought a case in the Supreme Court requesting that the media be stopped from reporting court observations. The Election Commission's objection involved the Madras High Court recently commenting that the poll body was singularly responsible for the Covid surge and "should be booked for murder" for not stopping election rallies in the last two months. The comment was not in the final order.
Tripura: INPT Merges with Pradyot Kishore Deb Barman's TIPRA
A month after their alliance won the state tribal council polls, the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT), the oldest tribal party in the state, has merged with the Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) to achieve their "common goal of Greater Tipraland".
The merger was announced by TIPRA chairman Pradyot Kishore Deb Barman.
The TIPRA and the INPT had contested the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) polls as alliance partners on April 6 and won 18 out of the total 28 seats.
This merger is for the unity of the entire tribal community of the state. We want other tribal parties also to unite to achieve their common goal.
May 07, 2021
Rangasamy to be Sworn in as Puducherry CM
AINRC chief N Rangasamy will be sworn in as Chief Minister of Union Territory of Puducherry at a brief ceremony.
Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan would induct Rangasamy as Chief Minister at a brief session on the precincts of Rajnivas.
Official sources said that Rangasamy alone would be inducted as Chief Minister although he would be heading an NDA dispensation which has the BJP as the other constituent.
As per reports, the swearing in of other ministers, including those from BJP will take place in the next few days.
Usually, the strength of a ministry in Puducherry would be six, including the Chief Minister.
There is however a reported move to have one Deputy Chief Minister now although there is no precedent in this regard.
A Namassivayam, who joined the BJP in January after quitting the Congress is tipped for the post of Deputy Chief Minister.
India and EU Likely to Resume Free Trade Talks
As per reports, India and the European Union (EU) are expected to announce the resumption of the stalled free trade talks during the India-EU leaders' meeting.
The two sides will resume the talks after eight years, and pick up from where they had left, one of two officials cited above told reporters during a virtual briefing from Brussels.
While the emphasis was on bilateral ties, there was also a subtle reference to a more robust cooperation between the two sides in view of the rise of an unpredictable China.
EC Panel Counsel in Supreme Court Resigns
Advocate Mohit D Ram, who has been panel counsel for the Election Commission in the Supreme Court since 2013, resigned due to incompatibility of his personal values with those of the poll panel.
As per Ram, his values are not in consonance with the current functioning of the ECI and hence, withdraw himself from the responsibilities of its panel counsel before the Supreme Court of India.
May 06, 2021
EC Postpones Bypolls to 3 Lok Sabha, 8 Assembly Seats
The Election Commission decided to defer proposed bypolls to three Lok Sabha and eight assembly seats in view of the prevailing coronavirus situation in the country.
The Commission said that vacancies have been notified in three parliamentary constituencies of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh) and Mandi (Himachal Pradesh).
Also, there are eight vacancies in state assemblies—Kalka and Ellenabad in Haryana; Vallabhnagar in Rajasthan; Sindgi in Karnataka; Rajabala and Mawryngkneng in Meghalaya, Fatehpur in Himachal Pradesh and Badvel in Andhra Pradesh.
May 05, 2021
UP Panchayat Polls
The BJP has won just eight out of the 40 zila panchayat seats in Ayodhya, a disappointment for the ruling party in the district on which the Centre and the state government have lavished much attention. The opposition Samajwadi Party claimed to have made major gains in the panchayat elections held last month, saying candidates it backed won 22 district level seats here. The Bahujan Samaj Party claimed its candidates won four zila panchayat seats in Ayodhya.
DMK Chief Stalin Elected as Legislature Party Leader
DMK president M K Stalin was unanimously elected as legislature party leader and he is to be sworn-in as Chief Minister on May 7.
The meet to elect him was held at headquarters 'Anna Arivalayam' and it witnessed participation of 133 DMK MLAs, which includes eight from alliance parties like the MDMK.
Stalin had already said that the ceremony shall be held in a simple manner in the Raj Bhavan premises here. The DMK top leader is expected to call on Governor Banwarilal Purohit and stake claim to form the government.
Modi, Johnson Hold Virtual Summit; UK PM Announces 1 bn Pound Trade Deal
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual summit with his British counterpart Boris Johnson with an aim to further bolster bilateral ties in a range of areas including healthcare and trade, as the UK Prime Minister announced GBP 1 billion worth of UK-India trade and investment.
According to a statement from Johnson's office, "more than 6,500 new jobs will be created around the UK thanks to the one billion pounds of new UK-India trade and investment announced by the Prime Minister."
The package contains over 533 million pounds of new Indian investment into the UK, which is expected to create more than 6,000 jobs in vital and growing sectors such as health and technology, Downing Street said.
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