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.
'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.'
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.
'Prashant Kishor is a businessman before he is a politician, and given that the expected average turnout for JSP candidates is 5,000 to 6,000 votes and since Bihar has a significant number of seats where the margin between the winner and runner-up falls within that range he will capitalise on exactly that to showcase his presence.'
The Election Commission is expected to initiate a phased, pan-India special intensive revision (SIR) of the voters' list, prioritizing states with upcoming assembly elections. This cleanup exercise aims to weed out illegal foreign migrants and ensure accurate electoral rolls.
Eid al-Fitr was celebrated across India with prayers for peace and brotherhood, alongside protests condemning US-Israel actions in West Asia.
The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), an NDA member, announced it will contest 153 seats in the upcoming Bihar elections after not being allocated any seats by the NDA. The party claims the BJP's Bihar unit provided a negative report regarding their strength.
Despite claims that he is tired and unwell, Nitish Kumar has addressed 84 election rallies, urging voters to give him 'one more chance'.
Senior DMK leader I Periyasamy reiterated that Chief Minister M K Stalin is firm against sharing power with allies, dismissing any possibility of a coalition government in Tamil Nadu.
An assistant returning officer in Samastipur, Bihar, was suspended and a case registered against him after VVPAT slips were found on the roadside. The Election Commission initiated an inquiry after a video of the incident went viral.
Democracy in India is too important to be left to a leader with a limited appeal. If Rahul Gandhi cares for India, he should step aside for a new crop of leaders, suggests Harishchandra.
A striking poster featuring Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with a tiger, captioned 'tiger abhi zinda hai', appeared outside his residence as the NDA took an early lead in the assembly elections. The poster quickly became a focal point, with JD(U) workers celebrating it as a symbol of Kumar's political strength.
The BJP and JD(U) will each contest on 101 seats in the Bihar assembly elections, while the LJP will field candidates on 29 seats. Other NDA partners will contest on fewer seats.
'Modi and Shah made it clear that the next government will be led by Nitishji.'
"The Election Commission's press conference should be welcomed because it is a good step to clear public doubts regarding the SIR process (in Bihar) and other issues," Rawat told PTI in Indore.
'If this is true, the Election Commission should come forward with data and officially confirm it.'
As the Bihar assembly results swept in, Patna's Veerchand Patel Marg, the city's political artery, split into two starkly different worlds, with celebrations at the BJP and JD(U) offices and disappointment at the RJD headquarters.
An analysis of the upcoming Bihar elections, focusing on the key players, alliances, and issues that will shape the outcome. The article examines the strength of the ruling NDA coalition led by Nitish Kumar and the challenge posed by the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, as well as the potential impact of Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party.
At least seven teachers of the government run school in Bihar's Saran district were suspended for allegedly campaigning for different candidates contesting next month's assembly polls.
The list included turncoats like Shyam Rajak, who returned to the JD-U, quitting RJD about a year ago, and don-turned-politician Anant Kumar Singh, who had filed nomination papers from the Mokama assembly seat on Tuesday.
'Nitish Kumar is our CM today and he will be CM going forward also. Nitish Kumar will continue as CM till he wishes.'
As it gains commercial viability, the food will likely become a powerful political currency.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar visit New Delhi amid speculation about a cabinet reshuffle, meeting with Rahul Gandhi and fueling political buzz.
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.
Both Mr Modi and Amit Shah like Nabin because they know he will never answer back, points out Aditi Phadnis.
'I fail to understand why when Rahul Gandhi himself gave me hope that I would contest the polls, how come other Congress leaders did not consider my name?'
State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal has reiterated that the party would never join hands with "those who indulge in violence".
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.
The BJP has filed a complaint with the Election Commission against Rahul Gandhi for his alleged derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during recent rallies in Bihar.
Gandhi alleged that assembly and Lok Sabha polls were being "stolen" across the country and there was a "conspiracy" in Bihar to do the same through the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
"While Sinha's age is 57 years in one list and 60 years in another. Is this not fraud and an age scam? He must have filled two different forms in two different assembly constituencies. He deliberately got two votes registered in two different places. If he did not personally sign both forms, then did the Election Commission create two different votes for him in two different assembly constituencies based on forged signatures? Will he receive two different notices, or are these rules only for the opposition leaders?" he alleged.
'We share and support the ideology of the NDA and will not work against the NDA.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that a 'systematic vote chori' method, evolved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Election Commission to 'kill Indian democracy', will be deployed in the Bihar assembly polls as well.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J P Nadda and several other top leaders of the NDA.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has predicted that JD(U) president Nitish Kumar will contest the upcoming assembly polls in Bihar in alliance with the BJP but may switch sides later, with hopes for another term as the chief minister. Kishor, founder of the Jan Suraaj Party, also asserted that Kumar's popularity has declined and he is unlikely to win a fifth consecutive term. He challenged the BJP to declare Kumar as the chief ministerial candidate, arguing that they would struggle to win seats if they did so. Kishor also criticized Kumar's leadership, accusing him of being "physically tired and mentally retired" and of "bringing disrepute to Bihar" by touching Prime Minister Narendra Modi's feet. He said his new party will enter the fray to pull Bihar "out of the political rut" and that the state's much-touted prohibition policy is an example of the BJP's duplicity.
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 Winter session of Parliament will be held from December 1 to 19, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced on Saturday, in what the opposition has described as an 'unusually delayed' and truncated session.
The Election Commission defended its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise for Bihar's voter list in the Supreme Court, calling it accurate and dismissing allegations of impropriety by political parties and NGOs.
BJP national president Nitin Nabin announced the party's plan to replicate Assam's 'detect, delete and deport' model to expel alleged Bangladeshi infiltrators in West Bengal if voted to power.
Clue: He was appointed to an important position recently...
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