A banner at the venue of a Mahagathbandhan press conference in Patna, featuring only Tejashwi Yadav, has sparked controversy due to the absence of other INDIA bloc leaders' photos. This comes amid seat-sharing negotiations for the upcoming Bihar assembly polls.
As the election dates come closer, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav is likely to be announced as the chief ministerial candidate by the opposition Mahagathbandhan on Thursday.
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.
Despite claims that he is tired and unwell, Nitish Kumar has addressed 84 election rallies, urging voters to give him 'one more chance'.
The Congress's performance in the Lok Sabha elections showed that it may be down but not out, and Modi is determined to ensure that in the next round in 2029, it is consigned to irrelevance, points out Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav will address joint rallies before the first Phase of voting and, after that, for the seats in the second Phase of voting, they added.
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav accuses the Congress of spreading misinformation regarding the new definition of the Aravallis and defends the government's commitment to protecting the mountain range while allowing limited, legal mining.
Jan Suraaj Party leader Prashant Kishor on Tuesday claimed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United would have been bundled up with just 25 seats had his government not given Rs 10,000 to 60,000 beneficiaries in each constituency just before the assembly elections and promised Rs 2 lakh to 1.5 crore women across the state under self-employment initiatives.
Omar Abdullah was on Thursday unanimously elected as the leader of the National Conference legislature party, party president Farooq Abdullah said in Srinagar.
Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal took a jibe at the Centre after former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was not allowed to meet MP Sanjay Singh, who went to Srinagar to protest AAP MLA Mehraj Malik's arrest.
New Delhi looks to be testing Omar's endurance with unconcealed glee, never feeling shy to bite whenever a moment comes its way. After all, ruling the country's only Muslim-majority UT/state has been the BJP's burning desire, points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for January 21 on pleas challenging the Election Commission's decision to allot the 'bow and arrow' symbol to the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena. The court will also hear arguments on a similar dispute concerning the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on January 22.
As the year draws to a close, Rediff's Senior Contributor Roshmila Bhattacharya takes a look at the hits and misses, the highs and lows, the newsmakers and the dealbreakers in alphabetical order.
With political stalemate continuing in Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference's working president Omar Abdullah on Monday held a meeting with top party leaders where it was decided that it will have no tie-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party but was ready to support the Peoples Democratic Party in the government-formation.
Tejashwi Yadav, the INDIA bloc's chief ministerial candidate, alleges that Amit Shah's recent statement indicates BJP's plan to remove Nitish Kumar from power after the Bihar assembly elections.
The BJP legislative party staged a protest demanding the revocation of a government order mandating Urdu as a compulsory language for the Naib Tehsildar recruitment examination in Jammu and Kashmir, calling the order discriminatory and detrimental to the interests of Jammu's youth.
Ashok Gehlot convinced the RJD leadership that the Congress had no issue about declaring Tejashwi as the Mahagathbandan's chief minister face.
Jan Suraaj Party released its first list of 51 candidates for the Bihar assembly elections, with uncertainty surrounding founder Prashant Kishor's participation. The party's national president announced that Kishor is expected to begin campaigning on October 11.
'At a time when there was little awareness of world music, playing western tunes on eastern instruments like the flute and the dholak, blending vocal polyphony with Indian folk and contemporary styles, Salilkaku created a new musical genre in Bengal called Gana Sangeet.'
The opposition INDIA bloc has declared RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced it will contest all 243 seats in the Bihar assembly elections and released its first list of 11 candidates.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered the closure of Darbar Move offices in Srinagar on October 31, following Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's announcement to restore the tradition. The Darbar Move, which involves shifting government offices between Srinagar and Jammu, was scrapped in 2021 but is now being reinstated.
'Theatrics replace analysis. Public spectacle takes the place of public service.'
Union Home Minister Amit Shah challenged BJP cadre to ensure the opposition is defeated in the upcoming local body polls in Maharashtra. He emphasized the party's strength and commitment to performance-based politics, citing PM Modi as an example.
Bangladesh's interim government has called on India to extradite Sheikh Hasina after she was sentenced to death in absentia. The move has sparked reactions from various political parties.
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.
How the UN's flagship climate summit lost its direction and what's at stake.
During a debate on Kashmir situation, Ganai said Burhan was a "martyr" and that he had "given up his life for the cause of Jammu and Kashmir".
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has announced it will contest the Bihar assembly elections independently and review its alliance with the Congress and RJD in Jharkhand after the Bihar elections.
During the presser, Gandhi showed a picture of a woman who appears on the voter list 22 times in 10 booths in the Rai assembly constituency, and said this shows that this was a 'centralised operation'.
Abdullah lambasted the Lieutenant Governor and the police for trying to stop him and his entourage from entering the martyrs' graveyard.
RJD president Lalu Prasad's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav, recently expelled from the party, has announced the formation of a new political outfit, 'Jan Shakti Janata Dal', ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in Bihar.
The United Nations Security Council has adopted a draft resolution endorsing United States President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan and authorising the establishment of an international stabilisation force in the enclave, with the American leader describing it as a 'moment of true historic proportion'.
'It is important India to stay focussed on its primary national objectives: Combating terrorism; not losing sight of other security and strategic concerns (on the Sino-Indian front for instance); ensuring a strong economy and registering growth which includes improving the lot of common people; and finally making certain that the social fabric remains intact and harmony among people is not jeopardised, at least any further,' asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
It was significant that the ceremony took place at 24, Akbar Road, the party's former national headquarters, and not at its new office in Kotla Road.
Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party reiterated its promise to scrap the liquor ban in Bihar if elected, planning to use the revenue to secure loans from international financial institutions.
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.
India will publish its revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for the 2035 period by December, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Monday, while urging developed nations to achieve net zero targets ahead of their current timelines.
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.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accuses the NDA of plotting to steal the Bihar assembly elections, alleging collusion with the Election Commission and voter roll manipulation.