'India is cosying up to Xi Jinping. They don't need the Russian oil. It's a refining profiteering scheme.'
While it is evident that the INDIA bloc has not shut its doors on Nitish Kumar, those within the NDA are hopeful that the JD-U's support base would benefit them as well
The first phase of Bihar assembly elections saw a moderate pace of polling across 121 constituencies, with 53.77% voter turnout reported till 3 pm. Sporadic incidents of violence were also reported. Key leaders are in the fray for both the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc.
Amidst speculation over the NDA seat-sharing deal in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar distributed JD(U) tickets, while the BJP announced its first list of candidates. The INDIA bloc also faces internal challenges as parties prepare for the upcoming elections.
While both sides have announced the decision to restart talks for a trade deal, government officials said discussions are continuing virtually.
A White House official claims Donald Trump ended several conflicts, including the one between India and Pakistan, and deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. This claim is disputed by India.
The stage is set for the crucial first phase of the assembly elections in Bihar on Thursday, as 3.75 crore voters will decide the electoral fate of 1,314 candidates, including top leaders such as Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance's (INDIA's) chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
'If the Trump administration could gain access to the nuclear weapons, they would be satisfied -- at least they could control them.'
Mrs Gandhi's power ebbed and peaked with the times. Mr Modi's has almost been constant, barring the few months of hard dip after the 240 seats of 2024, points out Shekhar Gupta.
If women voters are mobilised in big numbers to the voting booths on November 6 and 11 by the Nitish Kumar-led NDA, then it will be quite difficult for the Tejashwi Yadav-led Mahagathbandhan to defeat the incumbent government, points out Sheela Bhatt.
Gangster-turned-politician Dular Chand Yadav, once known for rubbing shoulders with the who's who of politics in Bihar, was allegedly shot dead near the state capital during an election campaign on Thursday, police said.
Left to its machinations, the BJP would have loved to cut Nitish down to size, but it can't afford to do so as the JD-U is in alliance with the BJP at the Centre, and cannot form a government on its own in Bihar. For now, both need each other: Nitish for legitimacy, the BJP for numbers, points out Ramesh Menon.
'Geopolitically and diplomatically it's a very difficult situation for India.'
'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.
Trump, who has repeatedly said that he stopped the conflict between India and Pakistan through trade, last Friday said for the first time that "five jets were shot down" during the fighting.
Internal discord within the INDIA bloc has led to alliance partners contesting against each other in at least eight assembly seats in Bihar. The Congress, RJD, and Left parties are facing challenges in seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming elections.
A string of welfare schemes and promises tests the state's budget, which is already heavily dependent on central support and spends little as capital outlay.
Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a "full and immediate" ceasefire after a "long night" of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim on several occasions.
According to official records, Kishor is enrolled as a voter in West Bengal at 121, Kalighat Road, the address of the Trinamool Congress headquarters in Kolkata's Bhabanipur assembly constituency, which is Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee's seat, he said.
''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.'
'The fiscal situation is extremely vulnerable. It has never been so bad in Kerala's history.'
The era where nations thrived through rigid alignments is giving way to an age where the connective State defines power. For India, that era has arrived, points out Dr Nishakant Ojha.
India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish said that the Indian sub-continent offers a "stark contrast" in terms of progress, prosperity and development models.
'Immigrants have always been America's greatest strength, building prosperity, breakthroughs, and communities that enrich us all. Instead of embracing that strength, Trump is clamping down on every form of immigration, tearing families apart, destabilising businesses, and weakening our economy'
Another populist decision of the government was the announcement of an unemployment allowance for the youth: Rs 1,000 per month for two years for graduates and those who have completed class 12 but remain unemployed.
The opposition on Saturday termed the absence of female journalists from a press conference of visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi "unacceptable" and an "insult to women", and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence in the face of such discrimination exposes the "emptiness" of his slogans on Nari Shakti.
'This is so sad the way she was humiliated.' Harjit Kaur's deportation has drawn condemnation from civil rights organisations and the Sikh American community.
President Trump says the US is close to a trade deal with India, while also claiming to have stopped a war between India and Pakistan.
Both NDA and INDIA are racing to woo marginalised groups with Assembly polls fast approaching.
Assam's opposition AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam was arrested on Thursday on sedition charges for allegedly defending Pakistan and its complicity in the Pahalgam terror attack, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The AIUDF has distanced itself from the legislator's comments, stating that the views were his own and not of the party. Islam was arrested from his residence in Nagaon district. Sarma said no attempt to directly or indirectly support Pakistan through any means, including on social media, will be tolerated and the police have strict directions to act against such persons immediately. Assam Police said the AIUDF legislator has been arrested for a "misleading and instigating statement which went viral and had the potential to create an adverse situation ". A case has been registered at Nagaon Sadar police station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita. Meanwhile, AIUDF president Badruddin Ajmal said the views expressed by Islam are his personal opinion.
'The Election Commission's involvement in the avoidable SIR controversy has carried a message down to the last voter -- who just does not like it,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Rubio also listed the peace deal between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, 'a 12-day war that ended with an American operation that we're the only country in the world that could have done, hopefully pretty soon a peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia.'
The opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was in the grip of a crisis on Saturday with the Janata Dal-United saying the alliance was collapsing amid indications that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will switch back to the National Democratic Alliance, prompting the Congress to allege that the Bharatiya Janata Party is doing its best to cause a 'mini implosion' in the coalition.
Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien criticizes the government's focus on cross-voting in the vice presidential poll, urging attention to issues like US tariffs, Manipur violence, and MGNREGA funds.
Indian envoy Vinay Mohan Kwatra discussed fair, balanced and mutually beneficial trade ties with US lawmakers amid ongoing tariff tensions between New Delhi and Washington.
NDA candidate C P Radhakrishnan filed his nomination papers for the vice presidential election in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders.
The BJP's MoSha leadership are past masters in encouraging defections from their allies if it helped their party capture the chief minister's chair. In Bihar, they are not sure if JD-U MPs and MLAs would be willing to cross over to the BJP if the Nitish leadership came on top -- and the NDA crossed the halfway mark together, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan, with strong roots in the RSS and BJP, has been elected as the 15th Vice President of India. His rich political and administrative experience will be valuable as the Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.
Nearly all of the nine nuclear-armed States, including India and Pakistan, continued intensive nuclear modernisation programmes in 2024, upgrading existing weapons and adding newer versions, according to a report by a global think-tank.
'The government is distributing land in Ladakh as if they are selling cinema hall tickets.'
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