the Match in skipper Modi’s record victory

One must give it to 91-year-old Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch Prakash Singh Badal to recognize BJP president Amit Shah as the rising star of the BJP after its indomitable leader Narendra Modi as their National Democratic Alliance sweeps back to power in 2019.

Before Amit Shah filed his nomination from Gandhinagar on March 30, he received a call from Badal saying that as the BJP has to prepare for the future, he should call all the NDA allies for a show of strength before he files his papers. The 54-year-old BJP president instinctively rebuffed the idea and wanted to go with 11 of his supporters to file his papers for the Gandhinagar seat.

2:25 pm IST

Rajinikanth congratulates PM Modi

2:21 pm IST

Sonia, Priyanka headto meet Rahul Gandhi as Congress stares at big defeat

Priyanka Gandhi was made in-charge of the party’s fortunes in eastern Uttar Pradesh, but despite her high-octane election campaign Congress is ahead on just one seat- her mother Sonia Gandhi from Raebareli.

Rahul Gandhi is facing a tough battle in Amethi as BJP rival Smriti Irani is leading from the seat, though by a slim margin. However, he is leading from Kerala’s Wayanad.

The protests forced the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) not to table the legislation, which sought to give citizenship to religious minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, in the Rajya Sabha.

But on Thursday, as trends from the 24 seats in the seven states in the region (except Sikkim) trickled in, it appeared that the apparent anger against CAB