Less than a month before assembly polls in Bihar, a Delhi court on Monday framed charges against Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi and their son and leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav in the alleged IRCTC scam case.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar disbursed Rs 2,500 crore to 25 lakh beneficiaries of the 'Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana', raising to one crore the number of women to have received Rs 10,000 each under the self-employment scheme.
Gandhi alleged that assembly and Lok Sabha polls were being "stolen" across the country and there was a "conspiracy" in Bihar to do the same through the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
'This will be a close election. At least now, it appears that the NDA has an edge.'
Women workers of the NDA in Bihar enforced a bandh to protest alleged abuse directed at PM Modi's mother during a Congress event. Protests were held across the state, with BJP leaders participating in sit-ins.
Less than 10 days are left for filing of nomination papers for the first phase of the Bihar polls.
'...in comparison to his presence in the previous election campaign where he looked robust and vibrant.' 'His television and social media interviews looked dull and predictable.' 'There could be a different kind of fatigue of being out of power for a long time at work here.'
Priyanka accused the prime minister of "speaking on unnecessary issues" while staying silent on corruption, unemployment and the alleged misrule under the NDA government in Bihar.
The Election Commission released a copy of the electoral rolls showing his details, confirming that he was listed at a booth in the Veterinary College in Patna.
Gangster-turned-politician Dular Chand Yadav, once known for rubbing shoulders with the who's who of politics in Bihar, was allegedly shot dead near the state capital during an election campaign on Thursday, police said.
The Election Commission has asked RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav to hand over a voter ID card for investigation after he claimed to possess it despite it not being officially issued. The controversy arose after Yadav alleged discrepancies in the electoral rolls and claimed his voter ID number was changed.
'When the BJP wanted the election to focus on 'ghuspathiya' and promises that look like pies in the sky, we forced them to talk about jobs, giving free 125 units of power, and addressing women's indebtedness.'
A SWOT analysis of the NDA coalition led by Nitish Kumar as Bihar heads into assembly elections, examining its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats against the INDIA bloc.
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 Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that a 'systematic vote chori' method, evolved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Election Commission to 'kill Indian democracy', will be deployed in the Bihar assembly polls as well.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi jokingly mentioned ongoing discussions with RJD president Lalu Prasad regarding marriage, following a suggestion from Prasad's son to Union Minister Chirag Paswan.
'A tally less than 150, even if it is 120 or 130, shall be a defeat for me'
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Patna to discuss election strategy. The meeting aims to dispel rumors of strained relations and solidify the NDA alliance ahead of upcoming assembly polls.
Having struck a seat-sharing deal, leaders of the Janata Dal-United and the Bharatiya Janata Party sat across the table in Patna on Monday to thrash out, among other things, constituencies they planned to swap or give up in favour of smaller allies in Bihar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sounded the poll bugle in Bihar, where assembly elections are due this year, calling for 'an NDA government, once again', which would protect the state from the 'evil intentions' of the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress combine.
'Bihar's voters' electoral memory is long, and their evaluations are relational; who came to the village, who followed up, who resolved a problem.'
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a batch of pleas challenging the Election Commission's decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. Political parties and other petitioners have raised concerns about the revision process.
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.
The RJD leader on Wednesday had accused senior BJP leader and Muzaffarpur Mayor, Nirmala Devi and her two relatives of "having dual voter ID cards".
College students in Bihar, many first-time voters, express concerns about job opportunities and education quality ahead of the state elections, desiring a government focused on employment and strengthening the education system.
AIMIM's Bihar state president Akhtarul Iman, the party's lone MLA in the state, has written to RJD president Lalu Prasad, formally requesting inclusion in the grand alliance.
Lok Janshakti Party MP Mehboob Ali Kaiser, the lone Muslim to have been elected to the Lok Sabha from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in Bihar, joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal on Sunday, in a shot in the arm for the opposition party amid the elections.
Tejashwi Yadav and Prashant Kishore claim that a group of senior Janata Dal-United leaders and retired bureaucrats, locally dubbed the 'Bhunja Party', manages the state administration on Nitish Kumar's behalf.
Meet the maverick serial election contester who shares his name with current Bihar's best known politician.
'Without our support Nitish Kumar wouldn't have become chief minister.' 'After the government was formed we became ministers, but our agenda remained the same: Amit Shah had promised reservation for Nishads.' 'He wouldn't listen, so we went to UP and contested 52 seats in the 2022 elections. He didn't like the idea of rebellion.' 'He saw that this man, coming from Bombay, is very sharp. He's made four MLAs now, tomorrow he'll make 40. A time will come when they will make it 125.' 'They bought our MLAs and ousted us from the government.'
'No one can ignore PK's prediction about Nitish Kumar's party.'
The BJP and JD(U) will each contest on 101 seats in the Bihar assembly elections, while the LJP will field candidates on 29 seats. Other NDA partners will contest on fewer seats.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accuses the BJP-led government of stealing votes with the help of the Election Commission during a rally in Siwan, Bihar.
Acharya's clarification comes close on the heels of a couple of cryptic tweets, which had triggered speculations that the medical graduate-turned-homemaker, who was the party's candidate from Saran in last year's Lok Sabha polls, was unhappy with the clout of her younger brother Tejashwi Yadav.
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.
Kumar's outburst came as opposition members stood in the well of the House, demanding that the state's amended reservation laws be incorporated in the 9th schedule of the Constitution to make it immune from legal scrutiny.
It drew condemnation from the ruling NDA in Bihar which reprimanded the Leader of the Opposition for his choice of words.
The entire election process will be concluded by November 16.
If the TVK joins the NDA, there is every likelihood of the AIADMK winning an absolute majority in the 234 seat assembly and wanting to form a stand-alone government. In turn, it could mean that the BJP especially and the TVK equally so, will want to restrict the AIADMK's seat share closer to the cut-off figure, if only to ensure that EPS won't get the absolute majority that he desires (if the NDA won, that is) and will have to settle for a coalition government, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'If the Mahagathbandhan ignores Mukesh Sahni's demands as it did in 2020, he will be left with no option but to join hands with the BJP.'
