POLITICS

Novak, nominated by the ruling Fidesz Party, which with its ally, the Christian Democratic People's Party, holds 133 seats in the 199-member parliament, won the election in a vote of 137 to 51, and will take office on May 10, Xinhua news agency reported. The Hungarian president, whose duties are largely ceremonial, is elected by the parliament, and a candidate must receive a two-thirds majority of all incumbent members of parliament.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday congratulated the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for its clean sweep in the Punjab Assembly elections, and assured the party of all possible help from the Centre. In a series of tweets, Modi expressed his gratitude to the voters and party workers and congratulated AAP for winning Punjab.

The biggest casualty was Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya who lost Sirathu to his Samajwadi Party rival, Pallavi Patel, by a margin of 7,337 votes. Among others who lost the polls this time were Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, and Rural Development who was defeated by Samajwadi Party's Jai Prakash Anchal from Bairia constituency by 12,951 votes

The state voters have been solidly behind the BJP -- first in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, then in the 2017 Assembly elections, the 2019 parliamentary elections and now again in the 2022 Assembly polls. Despite all the votes the BJP has been able to get, it may be due to the Hindutva factor, however laced with social schemes of ration distribution during pandemic and the direct cash transfers to the farmers.

The Hyderabad MP, whose party contested 100 Assembly seats but drew a blank, was obviously referring to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's remark of "80 per cent versus 20 per cent". Owaisi said though the results were not to the party's expectations, it would continue to work in the state.

Sawant also described himself as a soldier of the BJP, who was given the opportunity to lead the party's charge in the February 14 assembly election in capacity as a general, but added that the party's central parliamentary board would finalise the candidature of the BJP's legislative party leader for Goa soon.

Also, for the first time the SAD was testing the waters after severing its ties with the BJP with which it had joined hands in 1997 during the state polls and remained its oldest ally for 23 years. SAD patriarch Badal, a founding member of the NDA who before parting ways had always referred to ties as 'nau-maas da rishta' (nail-and-flesh ties), the eldest candidate at 94 in the fray for the 117-member Punjab Assembly.

Among the several names that are doing the rounds in Uttarakhand's political circles, Union Minister of State for Defence, Ajay Bhatt, has emerged as a frontrunner for the coveted post. Bhatt, a Lok Sabha member from Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar, is a senior BJP leader who was a member of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly before the formation of Uttarakhand.

Bhagwant Mann, the party's pick for the top post, is all set to become the next Chief Minister. The ruling Congress, which won 77 seats in 2017, managed to win only 18 seats with most of its stalwart faces like Chief Minister Charanjit Channi and state party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu faced humiliating defeat from their respective strongholds.

In a series of tweets, Shah said, "The BJP's grand victory in Uttar Pradesh is the victory of the unshakeable faith of village, the poor and farmers in Prime Minister Modi's welfare for the poor. Voters have re-affirmed in Yogi Adityanath government's fearless and corruption free governance. I thank people from the bottom of my heart for this massive victory."