Police in Patna, Bihar used water cannons and mild force to disperse protesters demanding the cancellation of the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) exam held on December 13. The protesters, who were joined by Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishore, attempted to march towards the chief minister's residence, prompting police action. The protesters had gathered at Gandhi Maidan despite warnings from the administration that any demonstration would be considered unauthorized. The district police registered an FIR against 21 known persons, including Prashant Kishore, for organizing the gathering. The protest is ongoing, with students seeking the cancellation of the exam due to allegations of a question paper leak. The government has agreed to meet with a five-member delegation of BPSC aspirants.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has predicted that JD(U) president Nitish Kumar will contest the upcoming assembly polls in Bihar in alliance with the BJP but may switch sides later, with hopes for another term as the chief minister. Kishor, founder of the Jan Suraaj Party, also asserted that Kumar's popularity has declined and he is unlikely to win a fifth consecutive term. He challenged the BJP to declare Kumar as the chief ministerial candidate, arguing that they would struggle to win seats if they did so. Kishor also criticized Kumar's leadership, accusing him of being "physically tired and mentally retired" and of "bringing disrepute to Bihar" by touching Prime Minister Narendra Modi's feet. He said his new party will enter the fray to pull Bihar "out of the political rut" and that the state's much-touted prohibition policy is an example of the BJP's duplicity.
Bihar's teen sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, aged just 14, blasted an 84-ball 190 to become the youngest List-A centurion ever. His captain Sakibul Gani, then upstaged him with a 40-ball 128 not out -- the fastest List-A century by an Indian.
Raghopur assembly constituency in Bihar prepares for a high-stakes election where voters may be deciding the next chief minister. Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD's CM candidate, seeks a third term, facing a strong challenge from BJP's Satish Kumar.
Tejashwi who is meeting senior Conngress leader Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday is expected to be announced as the CM face of the Mahabgathbandhan on Thursday.
Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor has begun a fast unto death in Patna, demanding the cancellation of a recent examination held by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC). Kishor's hunger strike comes after he gave a 48-hour ultimatum to the Nitish Kumar government to act on the demand, raised by aggrieved candidates who allege the exam was rigged. The administration has declared the hunger strike illegal as it is not the designated site for protests.
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
The Supreme Court has directed registrar generals of all high courts to furnish details to their chief justices on verdicts reserved but not pronounced for three months, expressing concern over delays in judgment delivery.
'MIB which is a part of retail, will grow in the range of 20 per cent.'
The entire election process will be concluded by November 16.
Voters are weighing a stark trade-off -- between preserving a socially driven policy and reversing course to revive revenue, restore fiscal balance, and rein in the underground liquor economy.
Yes, the entry of private bankers, particularly with global experience will add value to PSBs, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
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.
'In times of adversity, families unite, but the reverse is happening in the Lalu family.'
The INDIA bloc in Bihar has announced Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate, signaling a united front after weeks of internal disagreements. The move aims to challenge the incumbent NDA government, with both sides engaging in political maneuvering and accusations.
A round-up of Sunday's action in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy group stage matches.
'Judges have transmitted a terrible message to citizens across the nation. All right-thinking individuals will be disturbed by what the Delhi high court judges have done.'
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 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.
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'The question for the TMC is not whether it can hold its bastions, but whether it can expand effectively into regions where the BJP already possesses a good ecosystem.'
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.
''Now the roads in Bihar are as good as any other Indian state. The power sector has improved.' 'Connectivity, law and order, gender justice...' 'Bihar now stands for all these things that were totally absent when it was under jungle raj.'
'...yet struggles to convert that human capital into domestic productivity.'
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The first phase of Bihar assembly elections saw a moderate pace of polling across 121 constituencies, with 53.77% voter turnout reported till 3 pm. Sporadic incidents of violence were also reported. Key leaders are in the fray for both the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc.
With nominations for the first phase of Bihar elections closing soon, the INDIA bloc is struggling to finalize seat sharing, while the NDA has announced its candidates. Key political figures are actively campaigning.
Among the seizures made are three active hand grenades, two active detonators, one foreign-made pistol and 13 cartridges of foreign make, the officer said.
'After the 2020 Bihar assembly polls when our party got only 43 seats and our ally the BJP got 73 seats, Nitish Kumar refused to become chief minister and assured the BJP that he will support the government led by anyone.' 'But the BJP's top leaders told Nitish Kumar that as the NDA contested the polls under his leadership, the next government will be headed by him.'
An analysis of the upcoming Bihar elections, focusing on the key players, alliances, and issues that will shape the outcome. The article examines the strength of the ruling NDA coalition led by Nitish Kumar and the challenge posed by the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, as well as the potential impact of Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party.
Internal discord within the INDIA bloc has led to alliance partners contesting against each other in at least eight assembly seats in Bihar. The Congress, RJD, and Left parties are facing challenges in seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming elections.
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.
'Bihar's voters' electoral memory is long, and their evaluations are relational; who came to the village, who followed up, who resolved a problem.'
How to conduct the mock exercise with active public participation of people was discussed threadbare at a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan. Top civil and police officers of the country participated in the meeting, official sources said.
"People ask me why I am now criticising Nitish Kumar, having worked with him in the past. He was a different man back then. His conscience had not been put up for sale," said Kishor, who had managed the JD-U president's election campaign in 2015 and formally joined the party two years later.
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.
Nowhere are the stories of the coming election better told than on the roads of Bihar.
Enraged by the sexual assault, the victim's family and passengers thrashed Kumar.
A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Augustine George Masih, which initially questioned the over two-month window sought by the NBE for holding the examination, said the board's plea appeared to be "bonafide".
'Where my husband lives, that is my home. I want to stay here with him'
