'If the BJP had its way, it would sideline him in favour of someone else. But that's not feasible. There is no vote catcher in Bihar for the BJP.'
The Election Commission (EC) has published the draft electoral rolls for Bihar, marking a key step ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. The publication follows a month-long Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Nowhere are the stories of the coming election better told than on the roads of Bihar.
'We have been struggling with problems, but we want to elect Tejashwi to see him as the next chief minister.'
'When the time comes, we will take a decision following a discussion with the alliance partners.'
'His willingness to take the initiative to fight for truth and justice and his willingness to cross swords with anyone for a just cause.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the RJD's past education policies in Bihar, attributing migration to the state's poor education system under their rule. He praised the current NDA government's efforts to improve education and development, launching several initiatives focused on youth skilling and education in the state.
A string of welfare schemes and promises tests the state's budget, which is already heavily dependent on central support and spends little as capital outlay.
Former Kerala Chief Minister and veteran CPI(M) leader V S Achuthanandan, a key figure in Kerala's political history, died on Monday at the age of 101. He was a founding member of the CPI(M) and served as Chief Minister from 2006 to 2011.
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.
'Contesting fewer seats than last time but winning more and performing better... would be in the interest of the Congress.'
Workers from the BJP and Congress clashed in Patna during a protest march organized by the BJP against the use of abusive language towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's late mother. The protest turned violent, with stone pelting and vandalism reported. Police intervened to control the situation, and an investigation is underway.
'We can't afford to fight each other.' 'We have to win the 2026 election.'
"There have been no talks about supporting or not supporting....We have left the decision to the Congress since we do not make the numbers together (to form a government)," party chief Mehbooba Mufti said. Replying to questions, she said, "we are ready to sit in the opposition...We have a party, we have an agenda, we have our programmes to follow.
We the people are left in the wind, waiting on the whims of an unengaged president and an oligarch with a nearly bottomless wallet, observes Sree Sreenivasan.
Addressing a joint press conference after a meeting of 26 opposition parties in Bengaluru, Kharge said, "This was a very important meeting to save democracy and the Constitution in the interest of the people of the country."
'Many are saying that some significant announcement regarding Jammu and Kashmir or even separate statehoods might come; that possibility cannot be ruled out given today's date.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has launched a 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar to advocate for fair elections and protect voting rights, alleging irregularities in electoral rolls and accusing the BJP of attempting to disenfranchise voters.
Vijay, despite the loud message from his delayed arrival at the road-show/stampede venue, and more so his continued inaccessibility for fans-turned-cadres after graduating from a super-star to a political party leader with electoral ambitions, refuses to change. Or, so it seems, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
EVMs can't be used in presidential, vice-presidential, or Rajya Sabha polls because they only count simple votes, not the preference-based system needed for these elections.
Aam Aadmi Party's Gopal Italia on Monday won from Gujarat's Visavadar assembly constituency and his party also retained Punjab's Ludhiana West seat while the Congress-led United Democratic Front wrested Nilambur from the ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala, according to results of assembly bypolls in four states.
Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi held a virtual meeting on Friday evening with leaders of 19 Opposition parties, including the chief ministers of some Opposition-ruled states, amid efforts to boost Opposition unity and evolve a common strategy against the National Democratic Alliance government.
Mehbooba Mufti was on Monday re-elected as the president of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party for a further period of three years.
In the rally in Michigan on Saturday, Trump, who is the Republican presidential nominee for the November 5 elections, was joined by his running mate JD Vance.
'In my 26 years at Raj Bhavan, working with more than ten governors, I can tell you C P Radhakrishnan Sir stands out.'
Celebrating the 26th foundation day of the party, the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party on Tuesday said there was no proposal of reunion with the rival faction, while Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar MP Supriya Sule too avoided making any statement despite the recent buzz over the issue.
The arrest of two Catholic nuns from Kerala in Chhattisgarh on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion has ignited a political controversy, with opposition parties criticizing the arrest and the Chief Minister defending the police action.
'Anyone they don't like can be potentially arrested and thrown in jail for 30 days to induce regime change.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday took the Congress to the cleaners over making the 2024 general elections about the protection of the Constitution, saying Indians voted on the plank only once when they threw out the Indira Gandhi government in 1977 after the Emergency.
The Supreme Court has begun hearing petitions challenging the Election Commission's decision to conduct a special intensive revision exercise in Bihar ahead of elections, raising concerns about voter exclusion.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet an all-party delegation from Jammu and Kashmir led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tomorrow to discuss the current situation in the Valley and steps to restore complete normalcy.
Both NDA and INDIA are racing to woo marginalised groups with Assembly polls fast approaching.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has set its sights on winning an 'unprecedented majority' in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking key organisational leaders to work towards boosting the party's vote share by 10 per cent, sources said.
'People are fed up with rising crimes and poor law and order.' 'Modi must have got feedback and decided not to touch the 'jungle raj' issue as it will backfire.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed that former finance minister Arun Jaitley had threatened him to not speak against the farm laws, a charge refuted by the BJP.
Mufti said the Bharat Jodo Yatra was like a breath of fresh air in Kashmir as it allowed people to come out of their homes in numbers for the first time since 2019.
The opposition on Saturday termed the absence of female journalists from a press conference of visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi "unacceptable" and an "insult to women", and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence in the face of such discrimination exposes the "emptiness" of his slogans on Nari Shakti.
Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who is a part of India's diplomatic mission abroad, on Monday said it is 'distressing' that people back home are calculating political allegiances and asked if it is 'so difficult to be patriotic'.
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.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleges that the Election Commission is colluding with the BJP to manipulate elections, citing data analysis from a Karnataka constituency. He claims evidence of 'vote chori' and demands transparency from the EC.
