The Congress party has released its initial list of 48 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, including key state leaders. The announcement precedes the finalization of seat-sharing arrangements with Mahagathbandhan allies.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday jumped into a muddy pond in Bihar and interacted with fishermen present at the spot, whom he told that they always had his back.
With the Budget and the Finance Bill yet to be passed, senior Congress leaders have gone into overdrive to salvage the situation and save the government and ensure that the DMK with its 18 MPs is back on track as far as the UPA is concerned.
'This daylight robbery of elections is happening in the commercial capital of India, Mumbai city, so you can imagine what they will do to win elections in the interiors of India.'
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh advocates for an unbiased evaluation of 'Vande Mataram', asserting it and 'Anand Math' were against British imperialism, not Islam.
Bihar is preparing for the counting of votes in the recent assembly elections, with political leaders reviewing preparations and expressing confidence in their respective alliances' prospects. Security measures are in place to ensure a smooth and transparent counting process.
Veteran BJP leader Prem Kumar has filed his nomination for the post of assembly Speaker in Bihar. With the NDA holding a majority, his election is likely.
Humayun Kabir, a former TMC minister, has been suspended from the party after announcing plans to lay the foundation of a "Babri Masjid-style" mosque on December 6. This move has sparked controversy and raised concerns about communal tensions in West Bengal.
Maharashtra is set to hold local body elections on December 2 for municipal councils and nagar panchayats. The polls are seen as a test of the ruling coalition's strength after their recent assembly election victory.
Earlier, AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh welcomed reports claiming Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has shown interest in the possibility of an alliance with Arvind Kejriwal-led party in poll-bound Haryana.
'Maybe this has created some minor issues which can happen in any party.'
'It would have polarised the Marathi-non Marathi divide further. 'Fadnavis had a very clear strategy: Let all Marathi people campaign for us (the BJP), and whatever results we get will be delivered by Marathi people only.'
Nationalist Congress Party minister Manikrao Kokate has resigned from the Maharashtra Cabinet after a court upheld his conviction and two-year jail term in a 1995 cheating and forgery case. This marks the second NCP minister to resign this year.
The most optimistic outcome was that of Matrize exit polls which predicted the NDA to win anywhere between 147 and 167 seats and the opposition Mahagathbandhan of Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress party to bag 70-90 seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday pulled off a stunning performance in Maharashtra winning a record number of seats to propel the party-led ruling Mahayuti alliance to a landslide victory while the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) stormed back to power in Jharkhand on the back of a spectacular showing by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.
'...the electoral playing field is tilted significantly in its favour.'
This is the fourth such death reported in the state since the exercise began on November 4, sparking a political blame game.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah promised a defence corridor and factories in each district of Bihar if the NDA wins the upcoming elections. He also outlined plans for flood control, infrastructure development, and revival of sugar mills.
As US President Donald Trump claimed that India will significantly reduce Russian oil imports by year-end, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday hit back by criticising him for making announcements on behalf of New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the NDA's victory in the Bihar assembly elections as a win for good governance, development, and social justice. He congratulated alliance partners and thanked the people of Bihar for their support.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Anil Parab claimed a drone was spotted hovering over 'Matoshree', the Mumbai residence of party head and former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, raising serious concerns about a potential breach in a high-security zone.
India has wrapped up its operation at a strategic air base in Tajikistan's Ayni following the lapse of a bilateral agreement, people familiar with the matter said this week.
The ruling National Democratic Alliance on Friday secured a thumping majority in the Bihar Assembly, winning 202 seats in the 243-member House, as results for all the constituencies were declared by the Election Commission.
The DMK may consider a two-tier campaign, where they keep the focus on Chief Minister Stalin, as a senior statesman with 50-plus years of political experience, and let EPS and the BJP shout in the wilderness. In such a case, the second-tier may project Udhayanidhi as the contender and chosen obstructionist in Vijay's path. The attempt, if any, would be to reduce Vijay to Udhayanidhi's level when the former is aiming at Stalin and Stalin alone in the state's political horizon, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The rally is being organised to protest against alleged electoral roll manipulation in the Maharashtra assembly elections, with opposition parties alleging that there were around 96 lakh fake votes which had been added in the 2024 assembly elections.
According to political observers, the AIMIM sees a catchment area in Bihar, where Muslims are more than 17 per cent of the total population but have never got a proportionate representation in the state legislature.
Maharashtra is set to hold local body elections for municipal councils and nagar panchayats, marking the first phase of a Supreme Court-mandated process. The elections are seen as a key indicator of political sentiment following the BJP-led Mahayuti's victory in the assembly elections.
'Nitish Kumar previously held tight control over key ministries, but this concession (giving the home portfolio to the BJP) reflects either his weakened political position or a pragmatic acknowledgment of the BJP's growing dominance.'
Dhurandhar's most dangerous idea is that Director Aditya Dhar envisions an Indian state run by a deep state -- an intelligence machinery not accountable to Parliament, courts, or voters. A future political system where unelected officials decide when Indian democracy is 'fit' to function, observes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
The 'Mahagathbandhan' alliance in Bihar is expected to finalize its seat-sharing arrangement and announce candidates along with a joint manifesto soon. Talks between RJD and Congress are ongoing, with potential meetings in Delhi. The Congress is aiming for a respectable number of seats and highlighting the desire for change in Bihar.
Sources said a couple of resolutions are expected to be passed at the crucial meeting, with an eye on the upcoming Bihar polls.
Filing of nomination papers ended on Monday for the second and final phase of Bihar assembly polls, with the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) appearing fractured, as constituents would end up fighting each other in a number of seats.
'America has historically been a magnet for people who aren't from here.' 'That sort of thing -- the promise of opportunity, no matter what that looks like -- doesn't grow on trees.' 'It also happens to be geopolitical gold that Trump is flushing down the toilet,' points out Sree Sreenivasan.
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.
Radhakrishnan defeated INDIA bloc nominee Justice B Sudershan Reddy by 152 votes in the Vice Presidential elections held between 10 am and 5 pm on Tuesday.
The road ahead will require navigating complex financial challenges while fostering job creation and sustainable development in the region.
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.
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 Maha Vikas Aghadi, along with MNS, held a protest march in Mumbai against alleged irregularities in the voters list, claiming it favors the ruling BJP. Key leaders participated and addressed a rally highlighting issues like multiple entries and wrongful deletions.
Both NDA and INDIA are racing to woo marginalised groups with Assembly polls fast approaching.
