Congress chief Sonia Gandhi wants party workers to pay special attention to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the mass contact programmes the Congress has launched across the country. Her directives have come at a time when the Congress is determined to improve its performance in the coming Bihar Assembly polls and return to power in Uttar Pradesh.

A crucial meeting of the BJP’s top brass began on the future of its alliance with the JD(U), in the backdrop of Bihar chief minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar returning the Gujarat government’s Kosi relief fund, began late on Tuesday evening. The meeting was attended by the party top brass, including BJP chief Nitin Gadkari, Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Modi, state unit chief C.P. Thakur and Ravishankar Prasad.

The weekend global good news of China allowing a flexible yuan and the decision of the Indian government to keep Unit Linked Insurance Plans (Ulips) under the purview of the insurance regulator IRDA saw the Indian markets regain their positive momentum.

Sources disclosed that a majority section within the BJP’s central leadership is of the view that BJP would commit a political suicide, if it choses to sever ties with JD(U) at this moment. The saffron party has 54 MLAs while JD(U) has 81 in the 243 member assembly. The magic figure is 122 to run the government in the state.

Brazil coach Dunga may be seething over the dismissal of his team’s star player Kaka for two yellow cards, but in the end it was the Real Madrid ace’s reaction, minute as it may be, to being provoked that led to an early shower.

After advertisements in Bihar newspapers showing Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar together damaged the JD(U)-BJP relations and led the Opposition parties to charge Mr Kumar with hidden communalism, a Bihar government advertisement for appointment of Urdu teachers has now attracted charges that Kumar’s government harbours anti-Urdu sentiments.

Taking a swipe at the BJP for failing to hold its alliance partners in the NDA, particularly in the backdrop of ongoing scuffle with its partner JD(U) in Bihar, the Congress on Monday said that the saffron party’s contention of bipolarity of India politics is “just a farce”. Indian politics revolves around the Congress as major party and others are there to play minor roles, it claimed.

The JD(U) on Monday indicated that the party wants to forget and forgive and move ahead in alliance with the BJP for this year’s Bihar Assembly elections. In an indication of thaw between the two parties, Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Modi is to take part in the next round of Vikash Yatra of the state chief minister Nitish Kumar.

Delhi created a history of sorts by recording the highest ever power demand at 4,668 MW on Monday. The power demand shot up to the record high amidst intense heat conditions in the capital, with maximum temperature recorded at 44.1 degrees Celsius.

A day after a married couple was found shot dead in a northwest Delhi locality in an alleged case of honour killing, the Delhi police has launched a manhunt to nab the deceased woman’s brother and his friend, who are the main suspects in the case.