Multiple exit polls predict a victory for the NDA alliance in the Bihar Assembly elections, with forecasts of a disappointing debut for Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj party.
Results and trends from recent bypolls across eight assembly seats in India show wins for MNF in Mizoram, BJP in Jammu and Kashmir, and Congress leading in Telangana and Rajasthan.
Nowhere are the stories of the coming election better told than on the roads of Bihar.
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".
'Rahul Gandhi is not coming to seek votes, but to reach out to people for awareness of their democratic rights.'
'This election was won because of Nitish Kumar's face and his policies.'
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.
'The way Abhishek and Shubman bat, it is like fire and ice.'
The present strength of the electoral college is 781 as six seats are vacant in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha. This puts the majority mark at 391. The NDA has 425 MPs, while the opposition camp has the backing of 324.
An ECI statement issued from New Delhi put the voter turnout at 68.76 per cent. The female turnout (74.03 per cent) was significantly higher, compared with males (64.1 per cent).
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.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) expelled 16 leaders, including a sitting MLA and two former ministers, for anti-party activities ahead of the assembly elections. The expelled leaders were charged with violating the party's ideology and working against official NDA candidates.
The Bihar chief minister had a point to prove in the latest assembly elections, which were held amid speculations of a fatigue factor, if not downright anti-incumbency, made worse by rumours of his indifferent health.
"It is high time India traded dynasty for meritocracy. This would require fundamental reforms, from imposing legally mandated term limits to requiring meaningful internal party elections, together with a concerted effort to educate and empower the electorate to choose leaders based on merit," Tharoor said.
'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.'
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The AFI added that it has got involved in the matter and Shirse should get his visa within the next 24 hours.
The Congress claimed that dynastic politics exists across party lines and also hailed the Nehru-Gandhi family's leadership.
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
BJP sources suggest that the upcoming elections will likely revolve around the renewed enthusiasm for the temple unless another theme with religious and nationalist undertones emerges.
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.
'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.'
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 amount of respect we have for people who guard our borders and put the country first.' 'Why do they do this?' 'The chances of not coming back are so high. Still, they take that risk.' 'It's for the love of the country.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday claimed that the Congress and Samajwadi Party will run a bulldozer over the Ram temple if elected to power, and asked them to take 'tuition' from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath 'where to run bulldozers'.
The poll is witnessing a direct contest between ruling NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy, with the BJP-led alliance having a clear edge in the poll necessitated due to the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar.
'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.'
Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan was sworn in as the 15th Vice President of India, succeeding Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Shubman Gill struck his 10th Test century, while Ravindra Jadeja picked up three wickets as India dominated Day 2 of the second Test against West Indies, in Delhi, on Saturday.
This comes a day after the Uttar Pradesh government suspended six officials of civic agencies for alleged gross negligence following the road cave-ins and waterlogging at several sections of the newly-built Ram Path.
According to the police, the bus was speeding and filled with passengers due to which the driver lost control and the vehicle rammed into the wing wall of the flyover.
'The name will be declared at the right time.'
Both NDA and INDIA are racing to woo marginalised groups with Assembly polls fast approaching.
If the two-time Olympic medallist Indian wins gold on September 18, the day of the finals, he will become the third men ever to win the world championships javelin title in two consecutive editions.
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.
For 62-year-old Raj Vir, who was exonerated on Thursday in a case registered under the Gangsters Act, justice did not come swiftly.
'We will announce the team on August 30. More confirmation has to come from World Athletics by then.'
The senior Paswan sought an appointment and waited for more than three months but Rahul Gandhi did not relent, said Chirag Paswan, who at that time too was keen to leave the UPA and join the National Democratic Alliance.
While 'Ram' and 'Sita' were the preferred names for many, a baby boy born to a Muslim family in the district hospital in Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, was named Ram Rahim by his grandmother.
