Despite claims that he is tired and unwell, Nitish Kumar has addressed 84 election rallies, urging voters to give him 'one more chance'.
SMAT: Haryana beat Bengal to enter Super 8s, Punjab also qualify
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.
'If the RJD loses it would be out of power for nearly 25 years. Meanwhile, the JD-U will have survival issues if it gets less number of seats.'
The Army conducted a flag march in violence-hit West Karbi Anglong district of Assam to help maintain law and order after clashes between Karbi and Bihari communities. Two people were killed and over 70 injured in the violence.
A seasoned politician and two-term Member of Parliament, Dr Shakeel Ahmad, who has served as a Union minister and senior Congress leader, resigned from the Congress party, marking the end of his decades-long association with an organisation that his family has been part of for three generations. In an interview with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff he speaks why he quit the party.
"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.
According to Election Commission data, Bhabanipur had 2,06,295 voters as of January 2025. The draft rolls now carry 1,61,509 names, indicating that 44,787 voters, nearly 21.7 per cent of the electorate, have been deleted.
Expressing surprise over political parties not coming forward in filing objections related to 65 lakh excluded voters, the top court directed the chief electoral officer of Bihar to implead them in the court proceedings.
Speculation intensifies regarding a potential political shake-up in Jharkhand's ruling coalition, fueled by strained relations between JMM, RJD, and Congress, and Chief Minister Hemant Soren's Delhi visits. Both JMM and Congress have denied the claims.
Nitish Kumar was sworn in as Bihar's Chief Minister for a record 10th time, extending his tenure and joining the list of longest-serving CMs in India.
Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge assured Chairman CP Radhakrishnan of cooperation from the Congress party in the smooth conduct of the House, while also urging him to treat the Opposition and Treasury benches equally. He also mentioned the previous Chairman, triggering protests.
Former poll strategist Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party fails to win any seats in the Bihar assembly elections, while his prediction about JD(U)'s performance proves inaccurate. The article analyzes Kishor's political journey and future prospects.
A recent report indicates that over 5,000 government schools in India have no students enrolled, with a significant concentration in Telangana and West Bengal. The number of schools with very low enrolment has also increased.
'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.'
'When maximum voter participation occurs, they do not vote to re-elect the incumbent government. They vote to change it.' 'How can anyone credibly suggest that crores of young voters -- particularly the unemployed youth -- would vote to re-elect an existing government that has demonstrably failed them?'
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.
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.
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.
Intense lobbying continues among NDA partners in Bihar to finalize cabinet berths and the Assembly Speaker post ahead of the swearing-in ceremony. Consensus is being sought between BJP and JD(U) for the Speaker's position, while new faces are expected in the cabinet. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for November 20.
The former Bihar minister, who lost the election from Mahua assembly seat, voiced his sentiments in support of his sister Rohini Acharya in a post on his X handle, blaming the crisis on 'Jaichand', a metaphor for traitors.
'Caring for one's parents is the husband's responsibility, especially if he is the earning member of the family.' 'The wife may be financially dependent on him but that does not create a legal obligation for her to serve or care for her in-laws.'
Ten years after a dream electoral debut, which saw him become the deputy chief minister at a young age of 25, the heir apparent of party supremo Lalu Prasad finally won, after trailing for several rounds, from Raghopur, a RJD stronghold.
From a side that promised much after a fourth-place finish in the Tokyo Olympics, the Indian women's team has collapsed into a seemingly direction-less outfit.
'After the 2020 Bihar assembly polls when our party got only 43 seats and our ally the BJP got 73 seats, Nitish Kumar refused to become chief minister and assured the BJP that he will support the government led by anyone.' 'But the BJP's top leaders told Nitish Kumar that as the NDA contested the polls under his leadership, the next government will be headed by him.'
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".
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.
A shift appears underway in India's tax landscape. States with relatively smaller tax collections like Odisha and Telangana are emerging as the fastest-growing contributors to indirect and direct tax collections, respectively.
'The Election Commission is conducting the National Register of Citizens in Bihar through the backdoor.'
The Congress will launch a nationwide campaign against the repeal of the United Progressive Alliance-era rural employment legislation Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) on January 5, similar to the pushback against the three farm laws which eventually forced the Narendra Modi government to rollback its decision, party president Mallikarjun Kharge said.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise being conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) was 'essential', as electoral rolls were not perfect.
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
'When the time comes, we will take a decision following a discussion with the alliance partners.'
The little-known 'Poll Diary' was the only pollster which predicted that the NDA would win over 200 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan would fall below 50.
Wednesday's joint protest march in Patna marked a significant moment, with Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and Tejashwi Yadav, the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar assembly, leading a unified demonstration -- perhaps a first in the state's recent political history.
A surge in violent crimes, including targeted killings, has raised concerns about law and order in Bihar. Police attribute the rise to the widespread availability of illegal firearms and ammunition.
'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 charismatic presence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma alongside a host of top India cricketers lends unprecedented gravitas to the Vijay Hazare One-Day Trophy beginning on Wednesday, giving all of them a chance to prove a point amid a renewed focus on domestic grind.
His inheritance was a double-edged sword because the NDA was understandably interested only in highlighting that part of the RJD's tenure in government that evokes kidnapping, extortion, and lawlessness.
The Bihar chief minister had a point to prove in the latest assembly elections, which were held amid speculations of a fatigue factor, if not downright anti-incumbency, made worse by rumours of his indifferent health.
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