India's push to accommodate a booming urban population and attract investment rests in large part with dozens of "smart" cities like the one being built on the dusty banks of the Sabarmati river. Shiv Sena's Trupti Sawant defeated Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Narayan Rane in the bypoll to Bandra (East) Assembly seat in Mumbai by over 19,000 votes. Union Minister Ramvilas Paswan ruled out any adverse impact due to the proposed merger of erstwhile Janata Parivar parties on the prospective alliance between his Lok Janshakti Party and the BJP in upcoming Assembly elections in Bihar. The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed prima facie doubts about charging Malegaon blasts accused Sadhvi Pragnya Singh Thakur, Lt. Col S. Purohit under MCOCA . Stoking another controversy, BJP MP Yogi Adityanath called for barring non-Hindus in Har Ki Pauri.
