The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) faces a crucial test in the upcoming municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra after being defeated by the BJP-led Mahayuti in recent local polls. Political observers are calling the upcoming contest for 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai, a mini assembly election.
NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule acknowledges the role of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in her four Lok Sabha election victories, refraining from blaming them despite being part of an opposition coalition.
Congress MLC Pradnya Satav joined the BJP in Maharashtra, prompting accusations of undemocratic practices and political maneuvering ahead of local elections.
'The real story of 2025 is that India officially stopped being a 'market of the future' and started acting as the world's primary economic engine.'
The agreement was to disengage from remaining standoff sites along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), two days before a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh's former first female prime minister and chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has died at the age of 80 after a prolonged illness.
The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), an NDA member, announced it will contest 153 seats in the upcoming Bihar elections after not being allocated any seats by the NDA. The party claims the BJP's Bihar unit provided a negative report regarding their strength.
Votes will be counted on January 16 and the outcome will be keenly watched as the BJP-led Mahayuti will seek to stamp its supremacy in urban landscape, especially in Mumbai, while the Opposition parties will try to redeem themselves after last year's rout in assembly polls.
The Union Cabinet's decision to raise the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the insurance sector to 100 per cent is unlikely to significantly boost foreign investment as distribution remains a critical factor, requiring overseas players to partner with Indian businesses, experts said.
Analysis of election expenditure reports reveals Congress spent more on propaganda and social media, while BJP's overall expenses were higher in the Delhi assembly elections.
Attempting to defuse the controversy, the Nishad Party chief said the comment, made in Hindi and labelled misogynistic and crude, was light-hearted and made casually.
The United States Department of Justice released a batch of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking investigation, including photos and records showing Bill Clinton, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Michael Jackson in social settings with Epstein, CNN reported.
Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde launched a veiled attack on Uddhav Thackeray, invoking characters from a film to criticize Thackeray's leadership and policies ahead of upcoming municipal elections. Shinde highlighted government initiatives and defended his position, while also criticizing the opposition's performance.
Abdullah emphasised the 24x7 model of politics pursued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team, and said that "no sooner has one election finished, they've already moved into the next territory... We will move into those states two months before the elections. We will be lucky if we sew up our electoral alliances before the last date of filing nominations".
The little-known 'Poll Diary' was the only pollster which predicted that the NDA would win over 200 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan would fall below 50.
United States President Donald Trump announced on social media that conservative activist Charlie Kirk has died after he was shot in the neck while speaking at a Utah Valley University event.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claims that 'Miyas' vote unitedly, leading to their political advancement, while the votes of 'our people' are scattered. He also asserted the need to maintain pressure on illegal settlers in Lower Assam.
After big win in Bihar, the BJP is likely to push harder in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK government and the uneasy BJP-AIADMK alliance are preparing for a tense election filled with seat-sharing fights, changing alliances, and the unpredictable entry of Vijay's TVK party, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Sindhudurg police on Saturday registered an FIR against Nilesh Rane, an MLA of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, for "trespassing" into a BJP supporter's house. The Shiv Sena leader had 'raided' the BJP supporter's home and claimed to have found bags of cash meant for distribution to voters ahead of civic polls.
The 2025 US National Security Strategy marks a major pullback, with America turning backward and effectively allowing China greater dominance in Asia. while long-time partners like India are left to face an increasingly unstable global order largely on their own, observes Rajeev Srinivasan.
The DMK may consider a two-tier campaign, where they keep the focus on Chief Minister Stalin, as a senior statesman with 50-plus years of political experience, and let EPS and the BJP shout in the wilderness. In such a case, the second-tier may project Udhayanidhi as the contender and chosen obstructionist in Vijay's path. The attempt, if any, would be to reduce Vijay to Udhayanidhi's level when the former is aiming at Stalin and Stalin alone in the state's political horizon, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Non-compatible with Western Civilization' is about as vague and jingoistic as it gets and Trump saying this gives full license to his acolytes to go full throttle on making life as difficult and scary as possible for as many non-white people as possible,' notes Sree Sreenivasan.
Bihar's opposition Mahagathbandhan is experiencing internal conflict following their defeat in the recent assembly elections. Congress leaders have expressed dissatisfaction with their alliance with the RJD, leading to a blame game and further disarray within the opposition camp.
Unlike his National Democratic Alliance allies who rushed to the spotlight soon after the NDA won a historic mandate in the 2025 Bihar assembly election, Nitish Kumar stayed away from the public eye on Friday, November 14.
'The Congress has no positive vision for the country. The truth is that today the Congress has become the Muslimleegi Maowadi Congress -- MMC. The Congress' entire agenda revolves around this, so now a new faction is emerging within Congress itself, which is uncomfortable with this negative politics.'
The Trump administration has sanctioned entities and individuals from India involved in sales of Iran's petroleum and petroleum products, saying the funds from this trade support Tehran's regional terrorist proxies and procure weapons systems that are a direct threat to the US.
Luckily for us, a Russia that is desperate to stay relevant in an emerging multipolar world finds in India a reliable geostrategic partner. The Russian proximity to India also keeps China from exploiting its economic dominance vis a vis Russia, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Most Shiv Sena ministers in Maharashtra's BJP-led government were absent from a cabinet meeting, signaling tensions over defections between the parties. Only Deputy CM Eknath Shinde attended. Sena ministers later met with the Chief Minister to express their displeasure.
Both the life and non-life insurance segment posted over 20 per cent premium growth in November for the first time in this financial year (FY26), supported by the reduction in goods and services tax (GST) on premiums from 18 per cent to zero and a favourable base effect.
The ruling National Democratic Alliance decimated the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar on Friday to retain power and dealing a body blow to the Congress and ally Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Union minister Raksha Khadse of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday alleged that Shiv Sena workers were intimidating people in the Muktainagar assembly segment in her home district of Jalgaon in north Maharashtra, a claim exposing strains between the two Mahayuti allies.
Multiple exit polls predict a victory for the NDA alliance in the Bihar Assembly elections, with forecasts of a disappointing debut for Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj party.
Jaiswal ticked a box in the third ODI with his maidan ton and Ruturaj Gaikwad chipped in with a hundred at Raipur, leaving Gambhir pleased as punch.
The Deepa Thoon controversy, if not allowed to die a natural death, could take the election focus away from the anti-incumbency impacting the DMK and into the secular space. Stalin would love to have it that way, all over again, after the three past elections, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The likes of Sengottaiyan can help Vijay navigate it better and faster -- but not necessarily to his goal, which is farther, and can move towards or away from him as well in the weeks and months to come, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer joined European allies in a video call to discuss the Ukraine conflict ahead of President Zelensky's visit to the White House for talks with President Trump.
His remarks come after the Sindhudurg Police registered an FIR against Nilesh Rane on Friday on the charge of trespassing on a BJP supporter's house, days after the Shiv Sena MLA alleged that bags of cash meant for distribution to voters were found there during his "sting operation".
Speculation intensifies regarding a potential political shake-up in Jharkhand's ruling coalition, fueled by strained relations between JMM, RJD, and Congress, and Chief Minister Hemant Soren's Delhi visits. Both JMM and Congress have denied the claims.
Nitish Kumar may be in the chief minister's chair again, but with the BJP grabbing the home department and the assembly speaker's post, the real power in Bihar has shifted unmistakably, reports MI Khan.
Dhurandhar may not have the dark realism of a spy story which a web show can manage. But it does not have the flamboyance either, that has come to be associated with espionage movies, observes Deepa Gahlot.
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