Poll strategist Prashant Kishor alleges that the BJP pressured three Jan Suraaj Party candidates to withdraw from the Bihar elections, accusing the ruling NDA of threatening opposition candidates and urging the Election Commission to ensure candidate security. The BJP denies the allegations.
'The campaign by the Mahagathbandan has failed to capture the imagination of the electorate given the fatigue factor with the Nitish government.'
'In times of adversity, families unite, but the reverse is happening in the Lalu family.'
Bihar's upcoming elections are marked by the significant presence of candidates from political families, raising questions about ideological commitments and democratic principles.
A SWOT analysis of the NDA coalition led by Nitish Kumar as Bihar heads into assembly elections, examining its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats against the INDIA bloc.
It was significant that the ceremony took place at 24, Akbar Road, the party's former national headquarters, and not at its new office in Kotla Road.
Mokama will witness one of this Bihar assembly election's hottest battles as Janata Dal-United candidate Anant Singh takes on the Rashtriya Janata Dal's Veena Devi, whose husband Surajbhan Singh, like her JD-U rival, is considered one of the state's tough guys or as they say in these parts, a Bahubali.
Former IPS officer Shivdeep Lande, the popular Maharashtra-born 'supercop' calls Bihar his 'karmabhoomi.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday claimed that the Congress had been unwilling to accept Tejashwi Yadav as the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) chief ministerial candidate and relented only after the Rashtriya Janata Dal pointed a 'katta', an unlicensed country-made gun, at its head.
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Having struck a seat-sharing deal, leaders of the Janata Dal-United and the Bharatiya Janata Party sat across the table in Patna on Monday to thrash out, among other things, constituencies they planned to swap or give up in favour of smaller allies in Bihar.
The 'Mahagathbandhan' alliance in Bihar is expected to finalize its seat-sharing arrangement and announce candidates along with a joint manifesto soon. Talks between RJD and Congress are ongoing, with potential meetings in Delhi. The Congress is aiming for a respectable number of seats and highlighting the desire for change in Bihar.
Meet the maverick serial election contester who shares his name with current Bihar's best known politician.
'Rahul Gandhi has promised me to give a Congress ticket to contest the polls.'
''Now the roads in Bihar are as good as any other Indian state. The power sector has improved.' 'Connectivity, law and order, gender justice...' 'Bihar now stands for all these things that were totally absent when it was under jungle raj.'
'Without our support Nitish Kumar wouldn't have become chief minister.' 'After the government was formed we became ministers, but our agenda remained the same: Amit Shah had promised reservation for Nishads.' 'He wouldn't listen, so we went to UP and contested 52 seats in the 2022 elections. He didn't like the idea of rebellion.' 'He saw that this man, coming from Bombay, is very sharp. He's made four MLAs now, tomorrow he'll make 40. A time will come when they will make it 125.' 'They bought our MLAs and ousted us from the government.'
'Stalin's intention is plain and simple.' 'The DMK wants to convert what is an 'incumbency-centred' election for the party-led alliance into one more 'Modi/BJP election' after Stalin's successive success in 2019 and 2021, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The RJD, which has been voicing apprehensions that the SIR might have been carried out to "help" the BJP-led NDA, also urged the EC to divulge details of the 3.66 lakh persons whose names were deleted from the final electoral roll published earlier this week.
'The Congress has faded and fighting for survival.'
'Bihar's voters' electoral memory is long, and their evaluations are relational; who came to the village, who followed up, who resolved a problem.'
'We share and support the ideology of the NDA and will not work against the NDA.'
Each leader will look after six assembly constituencies.
Most of these leaders are known for their organisational skills and successful management of elections in their respective states.
The Election Commission has uncovered significant irregularities in Bihar's voter list, including multiple enrollments and probable deaths, during a special intensive revision.
This is the first time a JD-U leader has openly expressed fears about the party's future.
Tej Pratap was expelled a day after he reportedly confessed on social media to being "in a relationship" with a woman named Anushka.
'Our party has formed governments independently in all neighbouring states except West Bengal; now it's Bihar's turn.'
'Main chunauti deta hun ke ek naam bhi ghuspaithiya ka bataye jiska SIR mein samne aya ho ya delete hua ho (I challenge you to name even one infiltrator who was identified or deleted in the SIR).'
The Election Commission (EC) is sharing lists of Bihar electors with political parties and their booth-level agents to verify the status of voters before July 25. The lists include those who have likely died, permanently shifted, or enrolled at multiple places.
'No one can ignore PK's prediction about Nitish Kumar's party.'
'Nitish Kumar is our CM today and he will be CM going forward also. Nitish Kumar will continue as CM till he wishes.'
The Election Commission will publish the draft electoral rolls for Bihar assembly polls, triggering a period for claims and objections amid fears of voter exclusion.
'I am alive, I have not died. Look, I am standing and speaking,' says Imarti Devi who is listed as deceased and whose name has been deleted from the voter's list. M I Khan reports from Dharaichak, a village in Bihar where 200 voters have been removed from the voter's list.
'If the Mahagathbandhan ignores Mukesh Sahni's demands as it did in 2020, he will be left with no option but to join hands with the BJP.'
The Election Commission of India is conducting a special intensive revision of the electoral roll in Bihar, with over 6.60 crore electors expected to be included in the draft roll.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) asserts that major political parties participated in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, deploying booth level agents despite opposing the exercise in the Supreme Court. The ECI defends its authority to conduct the revision to maintain the integrity of elections.
This was probably the largest such gathering in the country to protest the Waqf (Amendment) Act.
'They have no chance of winning if free and fair polls are conducted.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sounded the poll bugle in Bihar, where assembly elections are due this year, calling for 'an NDA government, once again', which would protect the state from the 'evil intentions' of the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress combine.
'Talking about boycotting polls is simply a move to galvanise party leaders, workers, and supporters for the big political fight.'
The incident occurred when both leaders attempted to board the van carrying Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, but were stopped by security guards.
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