The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday sprang surprises with its first list of 71 candidates for the Bihar assembly polls, denying a ticket to Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav, a seven-term MLA, while fielding Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary in a direct election after over a decade.
'Nanandan Yadav was hiding in the Madwa Pahari locality when the police surrounded him. He tried to flee, and was shot during the encounter.'
The Supreme Court stated it has not approved any modifications to Form 6, used for electoral roll inclusion, during the Special Intensive Revision. This observation came during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging alleged unilateral decisions by the Chief Election Commissioner regarding changes to Form 6 and electoral roll revisions in states like Goa and West Bengal, without the concurrence of his colleagues. The court issued notice on the plea, highlighting concerns over collective decision-making within the Election Commission.
Newly-elected leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party legislative party in Bihar, Samrat Choudhary, met Governor Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (retd) at Lok Bhavan on Tuesday and staked a claim to form the government in the state.
The Congress party has launched nationwide protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his removal. Accusing him of acting in favour of the BJP and citing alleged irregularities in electoral roll revisions (SIR), party workers burned effigies and clashed with police. Opposition parties plan further action, including a meeting of the INDIA bloc to strategize for his ouster.
JD(U) president Nitish Kumar and his son Nishant Kumar made a joint appearance at a party orientation programme, sparking speculation about Nishant's political future and potential leadership roles within the party. The event, aimed at training parliamentarians and legislators, also saw Nishant urging attendees to uphold his father's principles of "zero tolerance for crime, corruption and communalism."
Bihar on Wednesday witnessed a pitched battle between hundreds of student activists demanding Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation and the police, which used tear gas shells, water cannons and batons in a bid to prevent their 'Lok Bhavan march'.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has resigned, dissolving his cabinet and paving the way for a potential BJP-led government in the state. The BJP, the largest party in the assembly, is set to elect its legislature party leader.
Political activity in Bihar is all set to intensify once the inauspicious kharmas period ends on April 14. Will Nitish Kumar pull another rabbit out of his hat? M I Khan reports.
A high-level Indian delegation, including Bihar Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain and Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita, paid tributes to the assassinated Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, conveying India's condolences.
The Janata Dal (United) is considering a proposal to rename the party as 'JD(U)-Nitish' to honour its leader Nitish Kumar, a move supported by key aides but criticised by the RJD, which suggests it indicates an impending split within the party.
It now has become clear that he will have to quit his post.
The spiralling agitation over the NEET issue saw protests and counter-protests by Congress and BJP across the country on Wednesday, with clashes and tense face-offs at many places, a day after Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders were forcibly removed from a dharna outside the prime minister's residence.
A social media post by BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi's daughter celebrating Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation as Union Education Minister, has ignited an internal controversy within the BJP.
Samrat Choudhary's appointment as Bihar's Chief Minister marks a significant milestone for the BJP, ushering in a new era of leadership in the state's political landscape.
Bharat Tiwari, a self-proclaimed social worker, was shot by an STF team after he surrendered near his Bilauti village but succumbed to injuries few hours later on June 17.
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.
'Nearly 80 of 85 JD-U MLAs are not in favour of a CM from the BJP.'
The JD(U) stated that it supported the BJP for the Bihar chief minister's post to reciprocate past support, as the new government prepares for a vote of confidence.
The Election Commission of India has addressed reports of internal dissent among its commissioners and clarified that all Special Intensive Revision (SIR) orders and Form 6 updates for voter enrolment received unanimous consent and were upheld by the Supreme Court. The EC also announced measures to ease the process for voters issued notices, including doorstep document collection and extended deadlines in Delhi and Maharashtra, while affirming its commitment to transparent decision-making and meticulous compliance with directives.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav was detained in Patna during a protest march concerning police action related to NEET paper leak protests in Bihar. Yadav, along with RJD workers, was protesting against frequent exam paper leaks, stating that the government is jeopardising students' futures.
Six police encounter in five days in Bihar, the first such action to deal with criminals in decades.
Former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa has strongly criticised the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, labelling it an 'unfair procedure' despite its legal standing, raising concerns about mass voter deletions and the erosion of democratic trust.
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has urged people to support and strengthen the party for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, while also criticising the BJP government on issues like the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and the Vande Mataram row.
The BJP has announced its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections across multiple states, including Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, and Haryana.
The Bankipur assembly bypoll is a high-stakes electoral debut for Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor as he challenges the BJP in a constituency that has been a BJP stronghold for nearly two decades.
Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary criticised the RJD regarding the allotment of government bungalows, referencing the dispute over Rabri Devi's residence.
'Samrat Chaudhury's limited independent standing within the party, his reliance on the central leadership for his elevation, and his lack of a personal mass base all point toward this outcome.'
Many students and at least 14 police personnel were injured in clashes during protests over NEET paper leak across several districts of Bihar on Thursday, prompting the security forces to fire in the air and baton-charge to disperse the agitators, officers said.
Supporters of senior BJP leader Narottam Mishra clashed with police and blocked a national highway in Madhya Pradesh's Datia district after Mishra was denied a ticket for the July 30 assembly by-election, leading to injuries among police personnel and arrests.
A five-storey building housing a boys' hostel in Delhi's Satya Niketan collapsed, resulting in three student deaths and five critical injuries. The incident, which occurred on a Sunday afternoon, sparked frantic rescue operations and raised serious concerns about building maintenance and safety in the congested student neighbourhood. An investigation is underway to find the building's owner.
Nishant Kumar, son of former Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, is poised to enter Bihar politics by joining the Samrat Choudhary government, marking a significant development in the state's political landscape.
Prashant Kishor, founder of Jan Suraaj Party, secured a significant victory in the Bankipur Assembly bypoll, breaching a BJP bastion, while independent candidates sharing names with Bihar's political stalwarts, Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar, failed to make an impact and lost their security deposits.
The BJP-led government in Bihar secured a vote of confidence in the state assembly, with Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary pledging economic development and significant investments. The motion was passed amidst heated debates and accusations between the ruling NDA and the opposition, highlighting political tensions and differing views on issues like women's reservation.
An official of the Sultanganj Nagar Parishad in Bihar's Bhagalpur was killed, while its chairman got critically injured on Tuesday when unidentified miscreants barged into the latter's chamber and allegedly opened fire, police said.
The administration has sounded a high alert in Maharajganj and Kushinagar districts of Uttar Pradesh, while stepping up the monitoring of the Gandak and other water bodies downstream of rivers in Nepal, following devastating flash floods in the neighbouring country that have killed more than 350 people and left thousands missing.
The question for the next 20 years is not whether India can become a $5 trillion or $10 trillion economy. Those are attractive targets, but the real question is whether India can create enough productive jobs, educate its children properly, make its cities liveable, and give hundreds of millions of people a substantially better life, asserts Ramesh Menon.
A man has been arrested in Gujarat for allegedly issuing death threats to Samrat Choudhary, the Chief Minister of Bihar, prior to his swearing-in ceremony.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NDA leaders reviewed India's progress in international sports and significant growth in youth employment opportunities at their weekly parliamentary meeting.
Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 12 lakh for the family of Pandav Kumar, a delivery worker from Bihar who was shot dead in Delhi. The compensation includes Rs 8 lakh from the Labour Resources Department and Rs 4 lakh from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. The incident has sparked political debate in Bihar.
