A SWOT analysis of the INDIA bloc, led by the RJD-Congress combine, as Bihar prepares for Assembly elections. Examines strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing the opposition alliance.
'Raj Thackeray is working at the behest of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.'
While participants in the domestic financial market are expecting a 25 basis-point policy repo rate cut in the December meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), economists remain torn between a reduction in rate cut and a pause.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has instructed police to register a treason case against Congress leaders for allegedly singing the Bangladesh national anthem at a party meeting. The move has sparked controversy and accusations of disrespect towards India's national anthem.
Tata Trusts has unanimously reappointed Venu Srinivasan as a trustee for life, and all eyes are now on the upcoming decision regarding Mehli Mistry's renewal, amid reported internal divisions within the organisation. The reappointment of Srinivasan this week, ahead of his term expiring on October 23, comes amid reports of a vertical split within Tata Trusts - with one faction said to align with Noel Tata, who took over as chairman following Ratan Tata's death, and the other comprising those seen as loyalists of the former doyen.
Gangster-turned-politician Dular Chand Yadav, once known for rubbing shoulders with the who's who of politics in Bihar, was allegedly shot dead near the state capital during an election campaign on Thursday, police said.
The story of Bihar's educational reform is a lesson for all reforms done halfway.
The RSS-affiliated ABVP won the president's post and two other positions in the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections, restricting the NSUI to just one seat. The victory celebrations were muted due to court orders against disruptive festivities.
'If the BJP had its way, it would sideline him in favour of someone else. But that's not feasible. There is no vote catcher in Bihar for the BJP.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday claimed that the Congress had been unwilling to accept Tejashwi Yadav as the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) chief ministerial candidate and relented only after the Rashtriya Janata Dal pointed a 'katta', an unlicensed country-made gun, at its head.
The Election Commission will conduct phase two of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union territories between November and February, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced on Monday.
The Election Commission has directed enforcement agencies and security forces to take proactive measures during the Bihar elections to prevent the use of drugs, liquor, and cash to influence voters.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has announced it will contest the Bihar assembly elections independently and review its alliance with the Congress and RJD in Jharkhand after the Bihar elections.
The 'Mahagathbandhan' alliance in Bihar is expected to finalize its seat-sharing arrangement and announce candidates along with a joint manifesto soon. Talks between RJD and Congress are ongoing, with potential meetings in Delhi. The Congress is aiming for a respectable number of seats and highlighting the desire for change in Bihar.
This is America's 15th funding lapse since 1981 and the first since the record 35-day shutdown of 2018-2019.
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.
Criticising the Election Commission ahead of the local body elections, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Monday claimed that 9.6 million fake voters have been added, as per the information received.
A man's alleged suicide in West Bengal, with a note blaming the National Register of Citizens (NRC), has ignited a political firestorm between the ruling TMC and the BJP, with accusations of fear-mongering and political exploitation.
The Election Commission on Tuesday announced that it has come out with the "final electoral roll" in Bihar ahead of the assembly polls, taking into account all the claims and objections to the draft voters' lists, which were published as part of special intensive revision (SIR).
On May 7, 2025, the conclave to elect a new pope began.
The AAP and BJP have engaged in a war of words over Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's Karwa Chauth celebration, with the AAP mocking the event and the BJP accusing them of being "enemies of Sanatan Dharma."
EVMs can't be used in presidential, vice-presidential, or Rajya Sabha polls because they only count simple votes, not the preference-based system needed for these elections.
'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 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.
Vijay, despite the loud message from his delayed arrival at the road-show/stampede venue, and more so his continued inaccessibility for fans-turned-cadres after graduating from a super-star to a political party leader with electoral ambitions, refuses to change. Or, so it seems, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The RJD, which has been voicing apprehensions that the SIR might have been carried out to "help" the BJP-led NDA, also urged the EC to divulge details of the 3.66 lakh persons whose names were deleted from the final electoral roll published earlier this week.
'If the NDA returns with the BJP substantially ahead of the JD-U, a BJP CM bid becomes plausible; if the gap is narrow or JD-U holds pivotal seats, continuity with Nitish is the lower-risk option.'
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav likened Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to an infiltrator, saying he is from Uttarakhand and should be sent back to the state. Yadav also criticized the BJP's governance and alleged injustices against Dalits and backward communities.
Gor, 38, was among 107 nominees confirmed by the Senate in a single en bloc vote on Tuesday, with 51 senators voting in favour and 47 against.
A quiet but consequential power struggle has erupted within the storied 156-year-old Tata Trusts just a year after the death of group patriarch Ratan Tata on October 9, 2024.
'Vijay is badly politically wounded.'
Poll strategist Prashant Kishor alleges that the BJP pressured three Jan Suraaj Party candidates to withdraw from the Bihar elections, accusing the ruling NDA of threatening opposition candidates and urging the Election Commission to ensure candidate security. The BJP denies the allegations.
He said that ruling party MLAs Manda Mhatre (BJP) and Sanjay Gaikwad (Shiv Sena) have also spoken about the duplication of voters and irregularities in the electoral rolls.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan questioned the attempts being made to implement the SIR in poll-bound Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal while the Constitutional validity of the Bihar SIR process is under consideration by the Supreme Court.
'There's no pressure of the Olympics but at the same time, I am not being complacent about it.'
''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.'
Developing relations with the Taliban is needed, but plunging headlong into Afghanistan without due thought will be akin to the rooster entering a KFC outlet, warns Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
'The seats which we would be contesting have been identified. Respective candidates have also been finalised. Four non-performing sitting MLAs will be replaced with fresh faces.'
The CPI (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation has rejected an offer to fight on 19 seats in the upcoming assembly polls as a part of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagatbandhan, deeming it an undignified proposal.
The main accused in Bihar's infamous 'topper scam', Amit Kumar, alias 'Bachcha' Rai, has been fielded as a candidate by Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen for the Bihar assembly elections.
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