Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accorded the Guard of Honour after he arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday. PM Modi received a warm welcome from UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and both of them hugged each other. A video circulating on social media shows PM Modi hugging Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan before the Guard of Honour ceremony.

PM Modi thanked UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan for accepting his invitation to visit his home state of Gujarat as well for attending the Vibrant Gujarat Summit and said he had taken this event to new heights and its reputation has increased in the world. The Prime Minister is on a two day visit to the Gulf nation. He will hold a wide ranging talks with Gulf’s top leaders to take forward the bilateral partnership.

The Prime Minister shared on X before leaving India for UAE and posted that he was looking forward to meeting his brother, the President of UAE, with whom he shares a good rapport. This is PM Modi’s 7^th visit to the UAE. The Prime minister will address the Indian diaspora at Ahlan Modi event today.

The Indian Prime Minister will inaugurate the BAPS Hindu Temple in Abhu Dhabi on February 14. Before the inauguration PM Modi said in a statement that the BAPS temple will be an endearing tribute to the values of harmony, peace and tolerance, which are shared by both the nations.

Before his visit Prime Minister Modi hailed Indian diaspora in the UAE and spoke of close, friendly ties and said he will deepen bilateral relations between the two countries. Modi highlighted the mutual partnership between India and UAE in every sector at present and said whenever he came to UAE, he always felt he is coming back to his home and family.

Just a few days after announcing that Aam Aadmi Party will contest for all 13 seats in Punjab, the AAP extended an alliance offer to the Congress on Tuesday in Delhi. Arvind Kejriwal’s party, however, responded sharply to the offer, claiming the Congress is undeserving of even one seat in the national capital.

In order to finalise a seat-sharing deal before the crucial Lok Sabha elections, the AAP, which is presently in power in Delhi, has been in talks with INDIA opposition bloc partner Congress.

The AAP MP Sandeep Pathak said the party only wants the Congress party to run for one of Delhi’s seven Lok Sabha seats. According to the offer, the ruling party will run for the remaining seats.

Despite the fact that the Congress Party does not deserve even one seat in Delhi on the basis of merit, they are giving them one in the name of dharma of alliance. They suggest that the AAP should contest on six seats and the Congress Party for one, he said.

Meanwhile, AAP’s strong performance in previous Delhi elections, where it won a majority of the assembly seats, has emboldened its stance in the negotiations. The Congress, on the other hand, has been attempting to retake the national capital following a string of electoral defeats.

Initial discussion called for a 4:3 seat-sharing plan in Delhi, with the Congress running for four seats and the AAP for three. While, Pathak’s remark suggests that the parties were unable to come to an agreement that was mutually beneficial for both the parties.

Notably, the BJP won all seven seats in the national capital during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, leaving the Congress and AAP with no seats.

The offer is given in the midst of ongoing disputes among the allies of the INDIA bloc, especially in Punjab, where the Congress chose to run alone after the ruling AAP rejected it. The Congress would contest independently for all 13 Lok Sabha seats.

Former Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan, who quit the Congress on Monday, became a member of the BJP on Tuesday at the party’s state headquarters in Mumbai. In the presence of Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Bawankule and Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Chavan joined the saffron party. 

Chavan might submit his nomination tomorrow and is expected to receive a Rajya Sabha ticket. The BJP is probably going to make an announcement this evening, a source said.

While taking the oath, Chavan said, today, he is going to join the BJP at its Mumbai office. He is starting a new political career today, he added.

When asked if he had heard from senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi, Chavan avoided answering.

The former chief minister insisted that he hasn’t asked any Congress leaders or supporters to accompany him on his BJP induction.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said at a press conference that it is a matter of happiness that a senior Maharashtra leader, who has been elected to the Maharashtra Assembly and the Lok Sabha and has worked twice as CM, has joined the BJP.

However, the Opposition reacted sharply to Chavan’s departure as well. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, claimed that the BJP is changing into a Congress occupied BJP. Thackeray expressed shock at Chavan’s resignation and emphasised the possible fallout for the welfare of state farmers should leaders put their own interests ahead of their constituents.

Ashok Chavan, the son of former Home Minister Shankarrao Chavan, was recently added to the Congress Working Committee (CWC). He served as the Lok Sabha representative for Nanded in 1987 and 2014. BJP’s Prataprao Patil Chikhalikar defeated him in the 2019 election. In 1999 and 2004, Mudkhed Assembly constituency went to Chavan, and later he won Bhokar in 2009 and 2019.