The Japanese PM's visit to Assam comes amid festering uneasiness in Tokyo about Beijing's assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
In its list of 26 candidates for Thursday's assembly elections, 13 are from the Bengali-speaking Muslim community -- a demographic that was at the centre of the original Assam agitation.
BJP workers celebrated in West Bengal as the party took an early lead in the state assembly elections, raising slogans and exchanging sweets.
Himanta Biswa pointed out that it was 'too early' for surveys to accurately capture the electoral mood, as several key developments vis-a-vis seat-sharing arrangements among NDA partners are yet to be finalised.
West Bengal and Tamil Nadu on Thursday saw a massive voter participation during the ongoing assembly elections, with turnout reaching 89.93 per cent and 82.24 per cent respectively by 5 pm, according to the Election Commission of India.
The government has dismissed speculation of an imminent increase in petrol and diesel prices, assuring citizens that there are no plans for a hike despite rising crude oil costs.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini celebrated the BJP's victory in the recent civic body elections, attributing the win to public confidence in the party's development-focused governance and rejection of the Congress' negative politics.
The chief minister is 'more upset with the Assam police than with Pawan Khera.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi felicitated senior BJP worker Makhanlal Sarkar at a swearing-in ceremony in West Bengal. Sarkar, 98, is an early grassroots figure associated with the nationalist movement. Suvendu Adhikari took oath as the state's first BJP Chief Minister after defeating Mamata Banerjee.
Following their success in the West Bengal assembly elections, BJP leaders are now focusing on winning the Punjab assembly polls in 2027, promising to rid the state of corruption and drugs under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
'...especially pressure on the rupee, the current account deficit, and foreign exchange outflows.' 'The key question over the next several months is whether the government can prevent external turbulence from feeding into domestic economic pessimism.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party has surged past the halfway mark in the West Bengal assembly elections, leading in 185 seats against the Trinamool Congress's 91, signalling a potential political shift in the state. Early trends suggest a geographically split mandate, with the BJP gaining in border, tribal, and industrial regions, while the TMC holds ground in parts of Kolkata and select rural strongholds.
'Even if they align with the TVK now, I don't think the AIADMK leadership will completely surrender to the dominance of Vijay.'
Top Congress leaders are questioning whether the Election Commission's announced schedule for the Assembly polls unduly benefits the BJP, citing concerns over the timing and structuring of election phases.
'It is clear they have accepted that the next two elections belong to the BJP.'
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.
There was no casualty or injuries as there was nobody in the building barring the security personnel.\n\n
The cost of the war is being counted not in the corridors of power in Washington or Tehran, but in Firozabad's darkened furnace rooms, Howrah's idle casting sheds, and a barbershop in Kochi where the wait is suddenly, inexplicably, an hour long, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
'Age matters and the way Tejashwi has been doing an aggressive campaign, only a young leader like him can do it.'
Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are due in 2026.
After big win in Bihar, the BJP is likely to push harder in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK government and the uneasy BJP-AIADMK alliance are preparing for a tense election filled with seat-sharing fights, changing alliances, and the unpredictable entry of Vijay's TVK party, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, have criticised the government for issuing the order to control communal tension in Dhubri town.
Like his father Karunanidhi and AIADMK rivals MGR and Jayalalithaa, Stalin would like to confine his real political work to Tamil Nadu, and not want to take after the late Congress leader K Kamaraj and take up a national role, even if to create greater political space for son Udhayanidhi, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Talking about boycotting polls is simply a move to galvanise party leaders, workers, and supporters for the big political fight.'
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk called off his hunger strike as protests for Ladakh statehood and Sixth Schedule extension turned violent. The BJP office was set on fire, vehicles were torched, and clashes erupted, leading to the imposition of prohibitory orders.
'Modi's charisma may have weakened as last year's Lok Sabha poll results showed but in the eyes of the Sangh Parivar, it has not waned.' 'Minus a strong BJP government at the Centre for another decade and more, there is apprehension that an anti-Hindutva government could reverse many of the ideological gains that the Modi dispensation has achieved through its three terms,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
In the last 11 years, India and the world witnessed what he stood for, what he promised and did not deliver, and what he actually stood for and practised without fearing how history would judge him. Modi's tenure has been punctuated with headline-grabbing decisions, symbolic gestures, and stage-managed moments that continue to define his leadership and India's politics, points out Ramesh Menon.
Over 73.44 lakh voters exercised their franchise in 10,592 polling stations spread over 13 districts in the Barak Valley, the hill regions and parts of central and lower Assam.
A high-level committee on Thursday recommended simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state assemblies as the first step followed by synchronised local body polls within 100 days.
Rajiv Kumar, the 25th chief election commissioner of India, has demitted office after a nearly three-year tenure marked by both electoral successes and allegations of bias from opposition parties. Kumar oversaw the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls, among other major elections. During his tenure, he implemented reforms across various aspects of the Election Commission's functioning, including structural, technological, capacity development, communication, international cooperation, and administration. However, he faced criticism from opposition parties and activists on several issues, including the efficacy of Electronic Voting Machines, alleged fudging of voter data, and being "lenient" on the ruling BJP. While the Commission responded to the allegations, Kumar often defended himself and the poll authority through poetry. In his farewell address, Kumar expressed concerns about the timing of petitions raising doubts over poll processes and the impact of freebie promises on the fiscal health of the state. He also criticized the practice of showing early trends on counting day by news channels, calling it "nonsense". Kumar's tenure was marked by numerous controversies, with opposition parties and activists alleging bias and irregularities. While the Election Commission defended its actions, the allegations cast a shadow over his time in office.
Ten Manipur tribal MLAs Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to withdraw Assam Rifles from security duties in the violence-hit state, saying its personnel have been putting their lives at risks to create buffer zones between the two warring communities.
Around 15 MLAs, who were lodged in a hotel in Gujarat's Surat, are being taken to Assam in a special flight.
The Kathmandu-based International Centre of Integrated Mountain Development has launched a project to set up a hi-tech flood early warning system in the flood prone districts of Eastern Assam's Dhemaji and Lakhimpur.
'The first and most basic responsibility of any government is to protect its people from external threats and internal harm.' 'Budget 2025-2026 has to focus on meeting this responsibility,' asserts R Jagannathan.
'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
After the 18-member 'Assam Advisory Committee' suggested the two organisations to form a political party, a source close to the development said the new outfit will be launched within the next 10 days.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved conferring the status of classical language on Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Wednesday said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has made it clear that there was no proposal to recommend dissolution of the state assembly.
A habeas corpus petition was mentioned before a bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela for listing on October 3 by a lawyer for Wangchuk's "next friend".
Those who have studied Assam elections say the high turnout has the Congress worried.
