Anwar, an AICC general secretary, came out with a flurry of tweets calling for 'urgent and deep introspection' over the debacle of the party, the second largest constituent of the opposition coalition, which contested as many as 70 seats but returned with a tally of just 19.
While Himanta Biswa Sarma scotched rumours that he would be the king this time, political sources in Guwahati maintained that he, and not Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, had a bigger say in choosing candidates, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
'The only thing that makes Nitish Kumar acceptable to Biharis, to the Mahagatbandhan allies, is the BJP.'
The Shiv Sena on Monday refused to call off the protest against the book launch of former Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri in Mumbai.
Inarguably the biggest gainer in the Grand Alliance, the CPI-ML, often working in the margins of mainstream politics, had 19 candidates in the fray, most of them students and youth leaders.
"The governor has returned to Ranchi...so far he has not issued any order," an official source in Raj Bhavan said.
'The message has gone loud and clear (among the people of Assam) that the BJP is only interested in polarising (the country) and they are basically interested in (capturing votes in) the Hindi heartland and they don't bother much about rest of India.'
President Pranab Mukherjee, PM Narendra Modi, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Left parties, among others, condoled the demise of former Cuban president.
'The continuous and mysterious praise of the BJP and the chief minister by AIUDF leadership and senior members have affected the public perception of the Congress party'
Nineteen political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, received over Rs 1,100 crore during assembly polls in five states and Union territories in 2021 and spent over Rs 500 crore, a big chunk of which went towards advertisements and travel expenses for star campaigners, a study said on Friday.
Ravi Shankar Prasad in Patna Sahib, Ram Kripal Yadav in Pataliputra, R K Singh in Arrah and Ashwani Choubey in Buxar are all having a tough time.
The main contest is likely to be between the Maoists and the Nepali Congress, but neither of the parties have retained the support they had in 2008. Shubha Singh reports
Once Mazar-i-Sharif falls, some isolate pockets of resistance may remain, which the Taliban would tackle through political work or coercion, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Municipality employees kicked, punched and beat Khan with a stick, which led to his death.
This was a difficult election to win, but the Modi card, the caste divide and the division in the Opposition vote bank helped overcome many challenges.
The Congress expressed its 'whole-hearted' support to the 'Bharat bandh' called by farmer unions against the new agri-marketing laws and announced that it will hold protests that day at all district and state headquarters in solidarity with the demands of the farmers. TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the party rank and file would actively participate in the bandh to ensure it was a success.
Yadav said all parties have joined hands against the BJP in the Bihar assembly, and added "now this is going to be replicated across the whole country".
Shukla claimed that the current Nitish Kumar-led dispensation would be ousted after the elections and people have started protesting against the ruling alliance leaders in public meetings.
Temple priest performed a 'purification' ritual for an hour before the doors were opened again.
Amid a brewing political storm in Bihar, the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal on Monday said it was ready to "embrace" Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Janata Dal-United if he broke ranks with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
"'So ja bete nahi to Gabbar Singh aa jayega'. Mothers, who have seen the jungle raj days in Bihar, please do tell your children, especially youth, on the polling day to cast their votes carefully, otherwise they (the RJD) may return to power... those who ran a regime of terror and fear," he told a press conference.
From opposing the NPR and NRC to demanding special status for Bihar to staying out of the Union Cabinet on principle to showing the BJP who was boss in Bihar, Nitish Kumar has wasted no opportunity at cocking a snook at the BJP leadership. But how long can he continue, asks Gopal Krishna.
The Election Commission is making sure that the winds of potential change cause no disruption in the counting process.
BJP backed to the hilt Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as its leader in the state and rebuffed a rebellious Chirag Paswan, while acknowledging his Lok Janshakti Party as an ally 'at the Centre'. At a press conference which was attended by top leaders of the JD-U headed by Kumar and the BJP, it was made clear that 'only those who accept the chief ministers leadership will be deemed to be a part of the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar'.
The government has initiated a series of steps to check the spread of the Islamic in India, including the launch of a counter-radicalisation and de-radicalisation strategy.
'This allows opportunities for (Chinese) entry into the domestic politics of Nepal, something that is also encouraged by Nepali politicians's willingness to play the China card (vis-a-vis India).'
Bihar became the first non-NDA state and overall second after the BJP-ruled Assam to pass GST bill.
Interestingly, in his entire remarks, Modi never once mentioned regional security, Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar points out.
Besides weakening the Maoists' lethal capacities and reducing violence, it is essential to ensure that governance is improved, so that those prone to sympathising with, or supporting, the Maoists would, in the long run, realise the needlessness and futility of doing so, says P V Ramana and Raj Bala Rana.
Lalu Prasad on Monday met Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi for the second time this month amid indications that the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress were working out the nitty-gritty of forging a "secular alliance" in Bihar.
Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha, who was a minister himself in the previous National Democratic Alliance government, was visibly shaken at the disdain shown towards the Chair by Samrat Chaudhary who holds the Panchayati Raj portfolio.
Rallies, an integral part of Bihar politics are now churning out catchy names like 'Khabardar', 'Hunkar' and 'Adhikar' to attract the masses.
The Nitish Kumar government has the support of 132 MLAs.
Referred to as 'Badlav Patr (document of change)', Congress leader Randeep Surjewala and All India Congress Committee's Bihar in-charge Shakti Sinh Gohil presented the manifesto that promises farm loan waiver and 50 percent subsidy in electricity bills to farmers up to 100 units of consumption. The manifesto also promised that it will reject the Centre's farm laws if voted to power.
81 per cent voter turnout recorded in West Bengal, 80 per cent in Assam.
The announcement comes a day after the opposition's Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) allotted just one seat to the Left parties in Bihar.
Pointing out that this is the first time that a complete alliance has been formed by the major Left parties in Bihar, the Communist Party of India state secretary Rajendra Prasad Singh said top Central leaders of the three parties will campaign together for the by-elections.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad and other leaders claimed the countdown for the ouster of the BJP and its allies from power in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls had begun.
All the drama from inside Bihar's legislative assembly.
The jovial RJD chief, known for his earthy humours, apparently could not digest that his party drew a blank in its stronghold Bihar and also in the neighbouring Jharkhand.
