Campaigning has concluded for the second and final phase of the Bihar assembly elections, marking the end of a month-long intense political battle. Key candidates and prominent leaders from various parties held rallies and roadshows to woo voters.
A Congress worker died during a protest near the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in Lucknow, India, on Wednesday. The Congress party alleged the worker, Prabhat Pandey, died due to "police brutality," while police said he was brought to the hospital unconscious and had no visible injury marks. An investigation is underway, and a post-mortem is to be conducted by a panel of doctors.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance appeared to register a landslide victory in Bihar, opening up impressive leads in more than 180 of the state's 243 assembly seats, with early trends also indicating that the saffron party was on track to post its biggest tally.
Lockheed Martin plans to establish a C-130J Super Hercules co-production facility in India, the first outside the US, as the IAF seeks to procure new transport aircraft.
The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Delhi high court's order suspending the life sentence of expelled Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case.
According to political observers, the AIMIM sees a catchment area in Bihar, where Muslims are more than 17 per cent of the total population but have never got a proportionate representation in the state legislature.
The Uttar Pradesh government and iPhone maker Foxconn have started discussions to set up an electronics manufacturing unit in the state, sources aware of the development said. The investment pitch was made by Invest UP to Foxconn at the time of the final land allocation for the HCL-Foxconn chip joint venture Vama Sundari.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh is reviving its 'brotherhood committees', a strategy used successfully in the 2007 elections, to bolster its support among Other Backward Castes (OBCs) ahead of the 2027 state assembly elections. These committees, to be formed in all 403 constituencies, aim to connect with 100 people from OBC communities in each village, acting as ambassadors of the party at the booth level. The BSP sees these committees as a counter to the Samajwadi Party's PDA pitch and a means to consolidate its scattered rural vote bank. The party is also highlighting the 'anti-Dalit' and 'anti-OBC' tactics of the Congress, BJP and SP, hoping to capitalize on perceived grievances and reposition itself as a champion of marginalized communities.
BJP sources said the formal process to elect current party President J P Nadda's successor will begin in mid-January, following Makar Sankranti, with Nitin Nabin expected to be the frontrunner to file his nomination.
'Judges have transmitted a terrible message to citizens across the nation. All right-thinking individuals will be disturbed by what the Delhi high court judges have done.'
If Lockheed Martin gets the opportunity, then it will set up a mega hub in India to produce the "iconic" aircraft and it will be the first such global facility outside of the US, top officials of the company told PTI.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J P Nadda and several other top leaders of the NDA.
Officials reveal details of a foiled Jaish-e-Mohammed terror plot involving a doctor who planned a bomb blast near the Red Fort, timed around the Babri Masjid demolition anniversary. Arrests and investigations uncovered the interstate network.
Army jawan Kapil Panwar, who was brutally assaulted by toll plaza staff in Meerut, expresses his distress over the incident, while authorities take action against the toll operator and arrest suspects.
Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Election Commission's voters' list cleanup exercise, will commence in nine states and three Union territories from Tuesday.
Police have registered a case against journalist Siddique Kappan and 10 others in connection with a solidarity event held in Kochi condemning the arrest of journalist Rejaz M Sheeba Sydeek.
"I am going to Raghopur to get feedback from the people of the constituency, which wants an end to the supremacy of one family. Before Tejashwi Yadav, a second-term MLA, his father Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi had represented that seat. Yet, it is crying for basic amenities," alleged Kishor.
A report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) reveals that a significant number of registered unrecognised political parties in Bihar have not made their mandatory financial disclosures public for 2023-24.
A controversy has erupted in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, after a Muslim woman alleged that a doctor at the district hospital refused to treat her on religious grounds. Hospital authorities deny the accusation, and an inquiry is underway. The incident has sparked political reactions and a police investigation into journalists who circulated the video of the allegation.
Winnability to be paramount in selection of candidates, followed by clean public image and proven loyalty to the BJP.
'The question for the TMC is not whether it can hold its bastions, but whether it can expand effectively into regions where the BJP already possesses a good ecosystem.'
Association for Democratic33 per cent of 4,092 sitting MLAs were non-graduates.
Voters are weighing a stark trade-off -- between preserving a socially driven policy and reversing course to revive revenue, restore fiscal balance, and rein in the underground liquor economy.
With the Bahujan Samaj Party keeping out and the Congress being in the fray only for namesake, Saturday's bye-election for 11 state assembly constituencies and for one Lok Sabha seat will determine the supremacy between Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
AIIMS-Delhi reports a rise in eye injuries caused by carbide guns during Diwali, prompting calls for a ban on these dangerous chemical firecrackers. Doctors report severe chemical burn-like injuries and highlight the need for stricter regulations and awareness.
Indian authorities have uncovered a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror plot involving doctors from south Kashmir, a Faridabad university, the recovery of 2,900 kg of explosives, and a car bomb near the Red Fort. Eight people have been arrested in connection with the plot.
Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra on Thursday said all political parties in Uttar Pradesh want the Assembly elections to be held according to schedule while ensuring Covid protocol.
Amid the political push and pull, the Centre's decision to allow sugar exports and remove the 50 per cent duty on molasses exports has rekindled hope in the industry that more relief may follow.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the record turnout in the first phase of the Bihar assembly polls indicates people's trust in the NDA government. He predicted victory for the NDA, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and lauded the Election Commission for conducting successful elections.
During the presser, Gandhi showed a picture of a woman who appears on the voter list 22 times in 10 booths in the Rai assembly constituency, and said this shows that this was a 'centralised operation'.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday reiterated his 'vote chori' allegations and took a swipe at the Election Commission, calling it an 'election watchman' who 'stayed awake, watched the theft, and protected the thieves'.
'Are elections still fair in India, or are we all witness to a macabre style of 'selection' of lawmakers? The jury will be out on this for a long time because there is no definitive evidence on either contention, at least as yet,' notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
The Samajwadi Party on Thursday expelled its MLA Pooja Pal, for alleged anti-party activities, hours after she praised Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the assembly for putting gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad to dust.
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.
The Maharashtra government plans to introduce a stringent anti-conversion law in the winter session of the legislature, with provisions stricter than those in other states.
'...the electoral playing field is tilted significantly in its favour.'
'India has experienced any number of doctors, engineers, and individuals from professional backgrounds being implicated in terrorism. This is not a novel development.' 'These are mobilisations of opportunity. One does not exclusively associate with one's own kind. A comprehensive conspiracy requires diverse skill sets.' 'One needs individuals with local community contacts, those possessing physical capabilities, technical expertise -- an entire spectrum of capacities.'
Ahmad was elected to the assembly as an Independent in 1989, 1991, 1993 and on a Samajwadi Party ticket in 1996. He returned to the House in 2002 on an Apna Dal ticket. He was elected as an MP in 2004.
While the results of the bypolls will not directly impact the composition of the 403-member state Assembly, the contest is being seen as a prestige fight between the BJP and opposition parties.
Bypolls are due in Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
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