The Congress also asserted that the opposition INDIA bloc had been formed for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections at the national level and was not state specific.
The elections will begin on April 19 followed by subsequent phases on April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.
A "record" 57.59 per cent of over 1.46 crore voters cast their ballots in 55 assembly seats in Bihar on Sunday in the fourth and penultimate round of polling.
He also said the Bihar chief electoral officer has already responded to everything. The EC held four press conferences on counting day on November 10 to respond to various aspects of the process, Arora pointed out.
The rumours have primarily been about the impending resignation of JD-U national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan', for alleged proximity towards ally Rashtriya Janaat Dal at the expense of loyalty to his own party.
Concerned over large gatherings during campaigning for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections and bypolls in several states amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Election Commission on Wednesday reduced the maximum number of 'star campaigners' for recognised national and state parties from 40 to 30.
Guidelines have been issued by the Commission for safe conduct of the electoral exercise in the midst of the raging COVID-19 pandemic. These guidelines include lowering the maximum number of voters for a polling booth from 1,600 to 1,000, staggering the polling hours and extending postal ballot facility to those above 80.
'Commentators have said that dealing with allies as equals will make Modi more sensitive.' 'Remember that the people Modi is dealing with are equally autocratic in their own lairs.' 'Further, Modi always has handy the threat of dissolving Parliament and calling for fresh polls.' 'Most of his own party, and certainly his allies and opponents having blown their budgets of efforts and resources in the just concluded elections, have no stomach for this.' 'They are all greatly looking forward to the loaves and fishes of office on offer.' 'That gives Modi an unbeatable advantage in any push-comes-to-shove situation,' explains Shreekant Sambrani.
Prasad can still influence the power play in Patna if not change it, reports Satyavrat Mishra.
The arrest, the first of a sitting chief minister, came hours after the Delhi high court refused to grant protection to the AAP national convenor from any coercive action by the agency.
He was administered the oath of office by Governor Rajendra Arlekar at the Raj Bhavan in Patna.
Both Khera and Suman joined the saffron at its headquarters in Delhi in the presence of senior leaders, including BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde and national media department in-charge Anil Baluni.
Known for weighing his options carefully before making any move, Kumar, upon a closer look, comes across as a risk taker who has not shied away from going against the tide.
At the meeting which lasted for more than half an hour, the leaders of the two parties are understood to have discussed the key issue of seat-sharing among alliance partners in the NDA, which also includes Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP.
Party's chief spokesperson K C Tyagi said Kumar has agreed to take over the mantle from Lalan Singh.
Five companies of CRPF have been deployed at these polling stations where aerial surveillance was also being maintained by two Indian Air Force choppers.
Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik met Sports Minister Anurag Thakur to once again request him to stop anyone related to former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh from contesting the upcoming polls.
'It is not a political issue but a matter close to my heart'
Normal life in Bihar was on Friday affected by a dawn to dusk `bandh' called by students' bodies in protest against anomalies in the format of exams conducted by the Railway Recruitment Board and police high handedness against protesting students.
Bihar Assembly Deputy Speaker Maheshwar Hazari on Wednesday accused outgoing Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha of having "insulted Dalits" by denying him the opportunity to conduct proceedings of the House after stepping down.
41 constituencies spread over five districts-- Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Nalanda and Patna would go to polls in the last phase of polling on November 19.
The Congress on Tuesday suffered a major upset in Himachal Pradesh at the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Rajya Sabha elections which were marred by cross-voting in all the three states though it won three seats in Karnataka while the saffron party pocketed an extra seat in Uttar Pradesh.
The Congress is citing the model code of conduct, which is presently in place for the upcoming elections.
What some of our leaders were up to on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Lavasa would soon be joining the Asian Development Bank as vice president
The BJP will enter this election, as it does every election, as if it is fighting to prevent a 2004-style defeat. This is a party that wins big because it always behaves as if its back is to the wall, predicts Mihir S Sharma.
As many as 13 (93%) are crorepatis with their average assets pegged at Rs 3.93 crores, the report said.
In India elections are never fought in a straight line. It's fought on many issues, at many levels, with multiple emotions and with a bit of good luck, too. Sheela Bhatt reports from Rajasthan.
The Nitish Kumar government appeared to be heading for a showdown with Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar as the Raj Bhavan reversed an order of the state administration to freeze bank accounts of two officials of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University in Muzaffarpur.
The order issued by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla is a slight modification of the reopening guidelines issued on September 30 where the political gatherings were allowed from October 15. The political gatherings can be held only outside the containment zones.
Observing that it was dealing with a case which was an "exceptionally painful episode of our criminal justice system", the Supreme Court on Friday convicted former Lok Sabha MP from Bihar Prabhunath Singh in a 1995 double murder case, overturning the orders of the trial court and the Patna high court acquitting him.
"I am now a free citizen of India like you. I am no longer the DGP. So, no service rules apply to me anymore. Thousands of people are coming from Buxar, Begusarai, Jehanabad, Aurangabad and other districts. I will take a decision after talking to them. Contesting elections is not illegal," he told journalists.
Shoot-at-sight orders have been issued and red alert sounded in the districts adjoining India-Nepal border, while aerial and marine surveillance were being carried out by four IAF helicopters and eight motorboats, equipped with sophisticated weapons.
Kumar will be administered the oath of office by Governor Phagu Chauhan at a simple ceremony inside the Raj Bhavan at 2 pm.
The rear windscreen of a car carrying Rahul Gandhi was damaged during the ongoing 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', with West Bengal unit president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleging that the vehicle was "pelted with stones" in Malda district, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed the incident took place in adjoining Bihar.
A senior JD-U leader said Lallan Singh has expressed his desire to give up the top party post.
The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav and his father and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav for questioning in the railways land-for-jobs money laundering case probe, official sources said on Wednesday.
A maximum of 19 candidates are trying their luck from Nwaada constituency while there are just four aspirants each at Dhoraiya, Sikandra and Sahar.
The Supreme Court on Friday sentenced former Lok Sabha MP from Bihar Prabhunath Singh to life imprisonment for killing two people on the day of polling for assembly elections in Bihar's Saran district in 1995.
'Villages are much better prepared than towns as far as COVID-19 is concerned.'
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