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In a surprise move, Federal Power Minister Suresh Prabhu resigned from the government yesterday following differences with his Shiv Sena party supremo, Balasaheb Thackeray, who was not very happy with his style of functioning.

The local Delhi Police, clueless about the whereabouts of a senior police officer accused of having masterminded the brutal killing of a female journalist three-and-a-half years ago, got the much-needed breather yesterday with the Delhi High Court postponing till Monday hearing the anticipatory bail application moved on behalf of the police officer.

A rattled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) yesterday came out in the open, strongly defending its besieged senior federal minister named by the wife of the prime accused in a journalist's murder case as the real culprit in the wake of mounting pressure from the opposition for his resignation to wave the way for a fair probe.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's reluctance to forward the resignation of Power Minister Suresh Prabhu to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam notwithstanding, regional ally Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray's unrelenting attitude has opened the door for a mini-reshuffle of the council of ministers.

Caught in a bind over constitutional propriety and pressure from the party, the federal government yesterday decided to put the onus on the Supreme Court to decide whether the Election Commission's (EC) decision to delay state assembly elections in Gujarat is legally correct.

The Election Commission is contemplating a move to hold the state assembly polls in the western province of Gujarat towards the end of October, which may in all probability be held only after the election process in Jammu and Kashmir ends.

The predicted defeat of the opposition's candidate for the vice president, Sushil Kumar Shinde, has come as a big embarrassment for the opposition, which had closed its ranks to give a tough fight to the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate.

Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, a nominee of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), was yesterday elected the new vice president of India.

Come Monday and the capital will once again plunge into the now familiar chaos following forced withdrawal of nearly a quarter of the city's bus fleet.

Even as grey clouds have returned and weathermen have predicted revival of the much-awaited monsoon in the drought-affected central and north India, the unusually dry season has come as an opportunity for the major political parties to indulge in politics with an eye on farmers' votes during the upcoming provincial elections.

The day-long national council meeting of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) being held in the capital today is likely to give a serious thought to replace its chief minister in Jharkhand in a bid to counter the party's fast growing unpopularity in the essentially tribal eastern state.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) yesterday set its juggernaut rolling for the upcoming round of state assembly elections in 10 states – including Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat – by discussing and adopting a strategy document: a roadmap to fight back after a series of electoral debacles.