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Senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa can never retire and the party will fight the 2023 assembly polls under his guidance, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Friday. Bommai's remarks come hours after Yediyurappa announced that he is vacating his Shikaripura constituency and will not contest the next election. Yediyurappa also said that his son and party's state vice-president B Y Vijayendra will contest the 2023 assembly polls from Shikaripura. The former chief minister's announcement seems to indicate the end of his electoral politics.

"He never retires. Yediyurappa has never retired. In the next elections, his strength and guidance will be there," Bommai told reporters when asked under whose leadership the party will fight the next polls in the absence of Yediyurappa.

Signs of trouble are visible in Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s the second term, with ministers criticising the functioning of the government.

On Wednesday, Jal Shakti Minister Dinesh Khatik offered to quit in a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. In his letter, he made serious allegations of corruption in his department and officials ignoring him. He highlighted his Dalit background while complaining against the officials. To the media in Meerut he said, “There is no such issue.” Sources close to him said he has gone to Delhi.

Draupadi Murmu scripted history to become the first tribal president of India, comfortably defeating Yashwant Sinha, the Opposition's presidential candidate. After Murmu's historic win, BJP's Amit Malviya took a jibe at West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. He tweeted, "2 TMC MPs and 1 MLA cross voted. Vote of 2 TMC MPs and 4 MLAs declared invalid. Mamata Banerjee, self appointed fulcrum of opposition unity, failed to prevail over her own legislators. On the other hand, despite intimidation, all BJP WB legislators backed Smt Droupadi Murmu... (sic)"

The Gujarat Police on Thursday opposed activist Teesta Setalvad's bail plea, claiming that she made false anti-government affidavits in English so that Muslims in relief camps could not understand.

Accusing Teesta Setalvad of "cheating" the Muslims, the SIT team told the Sessions Court, "Teesta Setalvad and other accused are part of a larger conspiracy. They fabricated evidence, fabricated affidavits, fabricated statements."

"She (Teesta Setalvad) wanted to become a member of Rajya Sabha. There is monetary gain as well. She raised false witnesses against the government. It is revealed that the testimonies of witnesses were wrongly shown in the affidavit. Teesta filed false affidavits in the Supreme Court and other courts as well. The government is defamed by such false documents. There was a huge conspiracy against the government. Therefore, to protect the investigation, bail should not be granted to Teesta Setalvad," the probe team told the court.

Voting for the 16th presidential election ended on Monday. Counting will be on Thursday (Toady). The contest is between BJP-led NDA alliance candidate Draupadi Murmu and Yashwant Sinha of opposition camps including Congress, NCP, SP, Trinamool and Left. History tells us that 14 out of the previous 15 times, the number one citizen of the country has been contested. A total of 14 people became president. Only one first president, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, went to Raisina, winning twice.