'The Election Commission's involvement in the avoidable SIR controversy has carried a message down to the last voter -- who just does not like it,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'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.'
At least 25 people were killed in lightning strikes and hailstorms in several districts of Bihar, India, on Thursday. The India Meteorological Department has issued an 'orange alert' for a number of districts, forecasting heavy rainfall on Friday and Saturday. The state capital, Patna, recorded an average of 42.6 mm rainfall till 5.30 pm.
Bihar police on Wednesday conducted raids in Siwan jail in connection with the murder of senior journalist Rajdeo Ranjan.
As the election nears, political positions on prohibition are shifting.
Only in the event of the RSS managing to force Modi into accepting a consensual candidate, will the party not continue to 'being' the 'next Congress', observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
'Prashant Kishor is a businessman before he is a politician, and given that the expected average turnout for JSP candidates is 5,000 to 6,000 votes and since Bihar has a significant number of seats where the margin between the winner and runner-up falls within that range he will capitalise on exactly that to showcase his presence.'
The Indian Railways has established holding areas at various stations across northern India in anticipation of a surge in pilgrims during the final week of the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. This comes after a stampede at New Delhi Railway station claimed 18 lives due to confusion over train names. The holding areas are located outside the platforms to control passenger flow and prevent overcrowding, ensuring safe and smooth travel operations.
Eighteen more people lost their lives after allegedly consuming illicit liquor in dry Bihar's Siwan and Saran districts, taking the toll in the tragedy to 24, officials said on Thursday.
The Supreme Court of India has transferred a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) concerning the safety and longevity of bridges in Bihar to the Patna High Court. The court expressed concern over the state government's handling of bridge collapses, noting that officials were suspended after incidents but reinstated after the public outcry subsided. The court also criticized the state's voluminous response to the PIL, which lacked explanations for the collapses. The Patna High Court will now monitor the state's efforts to ensure structural and safety audits of bridges in Bihar.
Rashtriya Janata Dal member of Parliament Mohammad Shahabuddin on Saturday filed a petition in the Patna high court challenging Siwan district magistrate's order barring him from entering the district for one year.
Enraged by the sexual assault, the victim's family and passengers thrashed Kumar.
Another instance of bridge collapse came to the fore in Bihar on Thursday, making it the 10th such incident to have been reported from the state in just over a fortnight, an official said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a fresh case in connection with alleged impersonation by four National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG), 2024 candidates in Bihar's Purnea, officials said on Wednesday.
The EC order specifically asks the state government to shift Shahabuddin to a town/city not going to the polls in the second and third phases on February 15 and 23.
Villagers suggested that heavy rainfall over the preceding days may have contributed to the collapse, with a surge in Gandaki river potentially weakening the bridge's structure.
Official sources in Siwan jail said that some of the inmates were injured in the violent clash, but the situation was brought to normal.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has taken over investigations in the murder of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan as it registered a case on Thursday against unknown assailants.
In the last few years, a number of similar incidents have taken place in various parts of the state, and though no fatalities have been caused, these have led to questions being raised on the quality of public works in the state.
In a village of Rajputs, the vote is for Modi even though the BJP is not contesting from here.
The RJD has fielded six women candidates, some of them are wives of bahubalis.
The incidents occurred in 15 districts of the state during the festival held on Wednesday.
This is not the first time Shahabuddin, who faces charges in over 30 criminal cases of murder, abduction and possession of illegal arms and stolen vehicles, has been sentenced by court.
"It might be a small bridge or causeway. District officials have left for the spot. We are trying to gather more information about the incident," Additional Collector (Saharsa), Jyoti Kumar, said.
Mehrotra said the assailants, clad in shorts and vests, entered the village at around 01:00 am and opened indiscriminate fire.
In a poor village of daily wage earners in Siwan, Bihar, people speak about their hard lives and why they vote.
Five bridges, big and small, have collapsed across the state in just over a week. One incident each was reported from Araria, Siwan, East Champaran, Kishanganj and Madhubani districts.
The 16-metre-long bridge was being built over a canal by the state's rural works department to connect Amwa village to other areas of the block.
Majority of these constituencies are in Uttar Pradesh and the party that is on the third slot even as the counting is still underway on several seats is the Bahujan Samaj Party, a party neither with the National Democratic Alliance nor the opposition INDIA bloc.
Besides, the department has sought an explanation from officials concerned for the collapse of bridges in East Champaran on June 23 and in Madhubani on June 26.
The transferred officers included 22 IAS, 79 IPS, 45 Bihar Administrative Service officers
Acharya will contest from Saran while Bharti will try her luck in the Patliputra LS constituency.
The RJD polled the highest vote share in Bihar, but it was not reflected in the number of seats it won.
Reacting to the incident of a police sub-inspector being mowed down by a tractor carrying illegally mined sand in Jamui, Bihar Minister Chandra Shekhar said that the incident is nothing new and asked whether such incidents did not happen in other states.
A voter turnout of 10.82 per cent was recorded till 9 am on Saturday in 58 constituencies in six states and two Union territories where polling is underway in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
This will be the first time the BJP has got more seats than Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led JD-U in Bihar, underscoring the change in their equations after they joined hands a few months back.
