The main accused in Bihar's infamous 'topper scam', Amit Kumar, alias 'Bachcha' Rai, has been fielded as a candidate by Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen for the Bihar assembly elections.
The Congress party experienced a significant decline in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, winning a mere 15 seats out of 227. Analysts attribute the poor performance to strategic missteps, infighting, and a failure to connect with voters amidst linguistic and religious polarization.
Breaking the nearly three-decade-old dominance of the undivided Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday emerged victorious in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, and also vanquished the alliance of Nationalist Congress Party factions led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar in the Pune civic body.
Exit polls predict a clear victory for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, while forecasting a defeat for the Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena alliance. Polls also predict results for Pune and Thane.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated corporator Ritu Tawade for the Mumbai mayor election, while its ally Shiv Sena declared Sanjay Ghadi as its candidate for the deputy mayor's post.
'They are not fear-mongering just for votes, this is the repulsive Hindutva ideology in true form'
With the Congress coming third overall and having done much better than Shiv Sena-UBT and NCP-SP, its allies in Maha Vikas Aghadi, political analysts said it will force a rethink as far as coordination, seat-sharing and leadership are concerned ahead of the 2029 assembly polls.
Campaigning for the elections to 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra has ended, with the battle for Mumbai's BMC taking center stage. Key political players are vying for control, with a focus on Marathi and Hindu voters.
The BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena alliance secured a majority in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, winning 118 out of 227 seats and ending the Thackeray family's long-standing control.
'Marathi-speaking people of Mumbai have now emerged as a consolidated vote bank standing firmly behind the Thackerays.'
Its ally JD-U recorded one of the most notable gains in this election, with its vote share jumping to 19.26 percent from 15.39 percent in 2020. The party also contested 101 seats this time, as against the 115 seats in the last elections, the EC said.
AIMIM's Bihar state president Akhtarul Iman, the party's lone MLA in the state, has written to RJD president Lalu Prasad, formally requesting inclusion in the grand alliance.
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.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday condemned a video of Red Fort suicide bomber, saying suicide is 'haram' in Islam and the killing of innocents is a 'grave sin'.
"How many gods are there for Hindus? Three crores? There is Hanuman for those who are not married. There is another god for those who marry twice," Reddy said.
'Now there is no fight between us (Thackerays); now the fight is with them.'
Jan Suraaj Party spokesperson Pavan K Varma said the party would undertake a "serious review" of its performance in the Bihar Assembly elections after early trends showed Prashant Kishor's outfit making little impact despite a grassroots campaign.
'What must the Indian Air Force pilots -- who destroyed terror bases in Pakistan using BrahMos missiles' -- be thinking?'
'This campaign reeks of communalism, which is why it is being opposed.'
Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party made a spectacular show in the Bihar assembly elections with almost all of its 101 candidates registering massive wins, 12 of the nominees missed the bus.
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 Congress on Friday posted its second worst performance in Bihar's electoral history, managing to win only six of the over 50 seats it contested and losing deposits in most seats as its 'vote chori' pitch failed to make any impact on the ground.
A clash erupted between All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen and BJP councillors of the Meerut Municipal Corporation at the oath-taking ceremony on Friday, following a disagreement over the singing of Vande Mataram to begin the event.
'In times of adversity, families unite, but the reverse is happening in the Lalu family.'
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a batch of pleas challenging the Election Commission's decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. Political parties and other petitioners have raised concerns about the revision process.
A clash erupted between police and protesters in Bareilly after a demonstration in support of the 'I Love Muhammad' campaign was postponed. The postponement, announced by Maulana Tauqeer Raza, led to anger and stone-pelting, prompting police intervention.
'The question for the TMC is not whether it can hold its bastions, but whether it can expand effectively into regions where the BJP already possesses a good ecosystem.'
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen seem to have dented the Congress's sway over the votes of minorities in Gujarat in the just concluded assembly polls, bringing down the main Opposition party's vote margin considerably in various seats across the state.
Opposition parties in India are demanding a thorough and speedy investigation into a car blast near the Red Fort in Delhi that resulted in multiple fatalities and injuries. They are also raising concerns about the security situation in the national capital and questioning the government's handling of the matter.
'The BJP has ordered the AIMIM to defame the Shiv Sena, to raise questions on Shiv Sena's Hindutva'
'The possibility of Nitish Babu continuing at least for some time is very much there, but don't rule out the artistic possibility of a leadership change executed very elegantly.'
The AIMIM leader said that the party "laid certain conditions related to the development of our MLAs constituencies in Dhulia and Malegaon".
The Election Commission of India clarified that claims, objections, and corrections to the draft electoral roll in Bihar's special intensive revision exercise can be filed beyond September 1, but will be considered after the roll is finalized. The Supreme Court directed assistance for voters and parties in filing claims.
'This election was won because of Nitish Kumar's face and his policies.'
A non-cognisable offence is being filed against Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad in connection with the assault of a canteen worker at the MLA hostel. The incident sparked outrage after a video surfaced showing Gaikwad assaulting the worker over allegedly stale food.
With nominations for the first phase of Bihar elections closing soon, the INDIA bloc is struggling to finalize seat sharing, while the NDA has announced its candidates. Key political figures are actively campaigning.
The Hyderabad MP had earlier announced thatthe AIMIM will contest 100 seats in Uttar Pradesh polls scheduled early next year.
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
In polls held on February 28, the BJP and Independents won 18 seats each, the AIMIM got seven and one went to the Congress.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh, where assembly polls are due by 2023-end, are not attaching much importance to the presence of the AAP and the AIMIM citing the largely bipolar politics of the state.
