'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.'
Despite claims that he is tired and unwell, Nitish Kumar has addressed 84 election rallies, urging voters to give him 'one more chance'.
At least seven teachers of the government run school in Bihar's Saran district were suspended for allegedly campaigning for different candidates contesting next month's assembly polls.
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.
As Bihar goes to the polls in two weeks, locals speak about what the election means to them in the shadow of a devastating flood in Saran, Bihar.
'Three Congress leaders have sold party tickets for crores of rupees.'
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.
On Sunday, October 26, 2025, New York mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani and two of his most prominent backers, United States Senator Bernie Sanders and US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, framed his election as a one-on-one battle versus President Donald Trump and his administration at a raucous rally at the Forest Hills stadium in New York City's Queens borough.
'If people had a problem, you could probably find him at one of the future events and could talk about specific issues.'
The Election Commission has warned against the use of bulk SMSes and audio messages during the 48-hour 'silence period' before the conclusion of voting in the Bihar assembly polls. The EC has also mandated pre-certification of political advertisements on electronic media, including social media.
'Stalin's intention is plain and simple.' 'The DMK wants to convert what is an 'incumbency-centred' election for the party-led alliance into one more 'Modi/BJP election' after Stalin's successive success in 2019 and 2021, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'I fail to understand why when Rahul Gandhi himself gave me hope that I would contest the polls, how come other Congress leaders did not consider my name?'
'...the electoral playing field is tilted significantly in its favour.'
What an achievement it will be if a young Gujarati-Punjabi man is able to give the most powerful nation in the world a new direction, asserts Aakar Patel.
'Every party want to contest more seats, nothing wrong in it. We have to compromise to take all together as the NDA.'
The Shiv Sena-UBT-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena panel has lost all 21 seats in the election to the BEST Employees Cooperative Credit Society Ltd, a platform where the two parties came together, sparking buzz about a pan-Maharashtra alliance.
'The name will be declared at the right time.'
'...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.'
'In times of adversity, families unite, but the reverse is happening in the Lalu family.'
While it is evident that the INDIA bloc has not shut its doors on Nitish Kumar, those within the NDA are hopeful that the JD-U's support base would benefit them as well
Mokama will witness one of this Bihar assembly election's hottest battles as Janata Dal-United candidate Anant Singh takes on the Rashtriya Janata Dal's Veena Devi, whose husband Surajbhan Singh, like her JD-U rival, is considered one of the state's tough guys or as they say in these parts, a Bahubali.
'Talking about boycotting polls is simply a move to galvanise party leaders, workers, and supporters for the big political fight.'
Meet the maverick serial election contester who shares his name with current Bihar's best known politician.
'If the RJD loses it would be out of power for nearly 25 years. Meanwhile, the JD-U will have survival issues if it gets less number of seats.'
'Prashant Kishor is forgetting that the BJP will field a strong candidate against Tejashwi from Raghopur.' 'His entry will force a three corner contest in Raghopur, an easy battle for the RJD.'
TVK cadres are worried, the leadership looks weak, and the party is not fully prepared for the 2026 elections, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, along with their families, reunited at a Diwali event in Mumbai, fueling speculation about a potential political alliance between Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS ahead of local body polls.
'If Nitish Kumar were to depart from this alliance, it would signal substantial instability in central government politics.'
'This will be a close election. At least now, it appears that the NDA has an edge.'
'When maximum voter participation occurs, they do not vote to re-elect the incumbent government. They vote to change it.' 'How can anyone credibly suggest that crores of young voters -- particularly the unemployed youth -- would vote to re-elect an existing government that has demonstrably failed them?'
'If you want a bright future of Bihar and your children, I urge you not to vote for anyone with a criminal background or corrupt candidates even if they belong to your caste.'
''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.'
Former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy -- the joint candidate of the Opposition parties -- filed his nomination papers for the for the vice-presidential election on Thursday, August 21, 2025.
'The campaign by the Mahagathbandan has failed to capture the imagination of the electorate given the fatigue factor with the Nitish government.'
Ashok Gehlot convinced the RJD leadership that the Congress had no issue about declaring Tejashwi as the Mahagathbandan's chief minister face.
33 candidates face cases of murder, 86 candidates face cases related to attempted murder, 42 candidates have cases related to crimes against women with two of them facing rape cases.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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