Bhadohi (UP), Jun 27 (PTI) A shocking incident of forced religious conversion, sexual exploitation, extortion, blackmailing and humiliation of a woman came to light in Uttar Pradesh's Bhadohi district on Friday, a senior police official said.
The Jan Suraaj Party announced its second list of candidates for the Bihar assembly elections, covering 65 constituencies. The party has kept its choice for the Raghopur seat, where founder Prashant Kishor is expected to contest, under wraps. The list includes candidates from various sections of society, including the extremely weaker sections, Other Backward Classes, and Muslims.
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.
'The possibility of Nitish Babu continuing at least for some time is very much there, but don't rule out the artistic possibility of a leadership change executed very elegantly.'
Senior BJP leaders and an expelled MLA have questioned the Karnataka government's decision to have author Banu Mushtaq inaugurate the Mysuru Dasara festivities, citing concerns about her faith and its appropriateness for a religious ceremony.
A Muslim cleric has been booked for allegedly making objectionable and inflammatory remarks against Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav during a televised debate.
Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani celebrates his victory in the 2025 New York City mayoral race at an election night rally in Brooklyn, New York.
His victory means that his party will have to learn from him, because after the rise of Donald Trump, the Democrats have been in disarray. They have had no real answer to the Trump phenomenon and Zohran, with his emphatic and clear policies aimed at working class Americans offers them a national path for a return, asserts Aakar Patel.
'Mamata needs to address the anger and resentment among various sections of the Hindu community because low-scale communal violence has always paid richer electoral dividends for the BJP.'
Voting is underway for the second and final phase of the Bihar assembly elections across 122 constituencies. Key candidates and political dynamics are in focus as the state decides its next government.
Pakistan was created as a result of the 1947 Partition of then-undivided India, and the Sindh region near the river Indus has been part of Pakistan since then.
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will meet with President Trump at the White House, marking their first meeting since Mamdani's election victory. The meeting highlights Trump's willingness to engage with diverse political figures, even those with differing ideologies.
The mass of voters chose Kejriwal and Mamdani for the simple reason that they were sick and tired of the stale promises and repetitive speeches belted out for long by mainstream political personalities, notes M R Narayan Swamy.
The Congress on Friday posted its second worst performance in Bihar's electoral history, managing to win only six of the over 50 seats it contested and losing deposits in most seats as its 'vote chori' pitch failed to make any impact on the ground.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticized the BJP following an assault on food vendors at a Bhagavad Gita recital event in Kolkata, asserting that the state would not tolerate intimidation, communal division, or attempts to dictate dietary choices. She vowed stringent action against those responsible and accused the BJP of trying to import a culture of communal division and weaponize religious texts for political mobilization.
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.
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.
The sweeping victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the Bihar Assembly elections has caused ripples across the country, but perhaps more pronounced in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, where Assembly elections are due in 2027.
The Deepa Thoon controversy, if not allowed to die a natural death, could take the election focus away from the anti-incumbency impacting the DMK and into the secular space. Stalin would love to have it that way, all over again, after the three past elections, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Adrika Anand delves into the world of Bohri food to learn how to make the mutton-in-porridge Khichada and the nut-based mutton curry.
Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj party faces skepticism and challenges as it enters the Bihar Assembly elections, with critics questioning its experience and impact.
If women voters are mobilised in big numbers to the voting booths on November 6 and 11 by the Nitish Kumar-led NDA, then it will be quite difficult for the Tejashwi Yadav-led Mahagathbandhan to defeat the incumbent government, points out Sheela Bhatt.
Former Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin was sworn in as a minister in Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy's cabinet. His appointment is seen as significant ahead of the Jubilee Hills bypoll.
The submission was vehemently opposed by senior advocate C S Vaidyanathan, representing deity 'Ram Lalla', who said: "This is totally unwarranted".
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra has triggered a row with his comments suggesting that non-Muslims were attacked in Pahalgam because terrorists feel Muslims are being "mistreated" in the country. The BJP has accused him of using the language of terrorists and demanded an apology. Vadra condemned the Pahalgam terrorist attack but suggested that communal issues and a feeling of vulnerability among minorities are contributing to the violence. He said it is time to separate politics and religion and called for introspection by political parties. Vadra's remarks have been met with strong condemnation from the BJP, which accused him of playing politics on the issue and demanded a clarification from the Congress party. The BJP has also criticized Vadra for justifying the actions of terrorists.
'I am determined now to celebrate all festivals together.' 'People don't respond much when you try to convince them by talking about principles of secularism etc. But if we revive our shared cultural practices, specially food, we may get a better response.'
'He knew the world's eyes were on him, and he had to speak directly to the fears that immigrants in New York feel right now.'
'His campaign reached into every community, every constituency, with a unifying platform of affordability.' 'Zohran began by listening to Trump supporters and brought many of them to his side because they too care about affordability.' 'Care for the poor is a tenet of every faith; this is the best platform to unite us.'
'I wanted to go for the heart, and at the same time, open the audience's mind.'
A SWOT analysis of the INDIA bloc, led by the RJD-Congress combine, as Bihar prepares for Assembly elections. Examines strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing the opposition alliance.
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.
Nitish thought that his stakes as chief minister were far greater than his stakes in protecting one of his party MLAs. He could not allow his rule-of-law train to be derailed by a small rock on the track. On the contrary, if he removed it to keep the train moving at a steady speed he would gain strong public admiration and sympathy that would help him take the masses along in carrying out other tasks. A fascinating excerpt from Arun Sinha's Nitish Kumar And The Rise Of Bihar.
The Assam government on Tuesday distributed the report of the Tewary Commission, which had probed into the 1983 Nellie massacre during which over 2,000 people were killed, and large-scale violence that year, in the Assembly on first day of Winter Session.
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.
What an achievement it will be if a young Gujarati-Punjabi man is able to give the most powerful nation in the world a new direction, asserts Aakar Patel.
'The BJP only talks of Kashmiri Pandits when elections are held.'
The BJP's MoSha leadership are past masters in encouraging defections from their allies if it helped their party capture the chief minister's chair. In Bihar, they are not sure if JD-U MPs and MLAs would be willing to cross over to the BJP if the Nitish leadership came on top -- and the NDA crossed the halfway mark together, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Bihar recorded its highest-ever voter turnout of 67.14 per cent in the second and final phase of the assembly elections. The election is seen as a referendum on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Kishanganj recorded the highest polling percentage at 76.26.
Electoral fortunes of 1,302 candidates, including over half a dozen ministers in the Nitish Kumar government, will be sealed on Tuesday with 3.70 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise across 122 assembly segments in the second and final phase of the Bihar polls.
Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expresses dwindling hope for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, citing delays and governance challenges in the Union Territory setup.
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