Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor announces his participation in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, with the candidate list to be revealed on October 9. He predicts a significant vote share for his party and claims it will be Nitish Kumar's last election as Chief Minister.
As they exited the airport chatting, journalists surrounded them, speculating whether the appearance of the former RJD leader, once a staunch critic of the BJP-RSS, alongside Kishan signalled a new political equation.
The breakfast meet was convened by the CM at the behest of the Congress high command to end the logjam over the issue bothering the 2.5 year old Congress government, with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party warning of moving a no confidence motion should the power tussle between the CM and his deputy continue.
As the election dates come closer, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav is likely to be announced as the chief ministerial candidate by the opposition Mahagathbandhan on Thursday.
Bihar's opposition Mahagathbandhan is experiencing internal conflict following their defeat in the recent assembly elections. Congress leaders have expressed dissatisfaction with their alliance with the RJD, leading to a blame game and further disarray within the opposition camp.
'The move to appoint a person with a profile, markedly lower than the leader Nitin Nabin will replace, has the potential to put the brakes on the careers of several others in the party and government in the positions they currently hold,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
'The Bihar assembly polls will open the eyes of everyone once the Gau Bhakts receive votes.'
West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress on Thursday suspended its Bharatpur MLA Humayun Kabir, who had triggered a storm with the proposal to build 'Babri Masjid' in Murshidabad district.
'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.'
Estranged TMC MLA Humayun Kabir's plan to build a mosque modeled on the Babri Masjid in Murshidabad has sparked a political firestorm in West Bengal, with accusations and warnings escalating tensions ahead of state elections.
The ruling National Democratic Alliance on Friday secured a thumping majority in the Bihar Assembly, winning 202 seats in the 243-member House, as results for all the constituencies were declared by the Election Commission.
Venkatesh Prasad described the meeting with the two leaders as "extremely positive", saying the aim is to bring back international cricket and IPL to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Less than 10 days are left for filing of nomination papers for the first phase of the Bihar polls.
Abbas Ansari, the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party MLA, was sentenced to two years imprisonment in a 2022 hate speech case by a special MP-MLA court on Saturday.
The tug-of-war between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar over the CM post turned into a war of words on Thursday as the two faced off over keeping up a promise.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi, along with MNS, held a protest march in Mumbai against alleged irregularities in the voters list, claiming it favors the ruling BJP. Key leaders participated and addressed a rally highlighting issues like multiple entries and wrongful deletions.
The DMK may consider a two-tier campaign, where they keep the focus on Chief Minister Stalin, as a senior statesman with 50-plus years of political experience, and let EPS and the BJP shout in the wilderness. In such a case, the second-tier may project Udhayanidhi as the contender and chosen obstructionist in Vijay's path. The attempt, if any, would be to reduce Vijay to Udhayanidhi's level when the former is aiming at Stalin and Stalin alone in the state's political horizon, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party made a spectacular show in the Bihar assembly elections with almost all of its 101 candidates registering massive wins, 12 of the nominees missed the bus.
Nitish Kumar was sworn in as Bihar's Chief Minister for a record 10th time, extending his tenure and joining the list of longest-serving CMs in India.
The Winter session of Parliament will be held from December 1 to 19, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced on Saturday, in what the opposition has described as an 'unusually delayed' and truncated session.
Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS release a joint manifesto for Mumbai civic polls, promising free power, allowances for domestic helps, and property tax waivers.
'Modi and Shah made it clear that the next government will be led by Nitishji.'
The National Democratic Alliance was set to sweep the Bihar assembly polls, surging ahead in over 200 of 243 seats on Friday with the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as single largest party with about 90 per cent strike rate, reaffirming the popularity and campaign clout of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the face of the ruling alliance through the poll battle in the highly sensitive political state.
The incident occurred when both leaders attempted to board the van carrying Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, but were stopped by security guards.
Electoral fortunes of 1,302 candidates, including over half a dozen ministers in the Nitish Kumar government, will be sealed on Tuesday with 3.70 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise across 122 assembly segments in the second and final phase of the Bihar polls.
The Election Commission defends its directive to verify the identity of burqa-clad women at Bihar polling stations, citing a 1994 order issued during T N Seshan's tenure.
Tejashwi who is meeting senior Conngress leader Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday is expected to be announced as the CM face of the Mahabgathbandhan on Thursday.
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.
Nitish Kumar may be in the chief minister's chair again, but with the BJP grabbing the home department and the assembly speaker's post, the real power in Bihar has shifted unmistakably, reports MI Khan.
The Allahabad High Court has quashed the conviction of Abbas Ansari, son of Mukhtar Ansari, in a 2022 hate speech case, potentially restoring his assembly membership.
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.
After the drubbing his party received in Lok Sabha elections, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray has announced he and his party would contest the assembly elections in Maharashtra due later this year and would be the chief minister if his party got the mandate.
'The BJP's top leadership realised that their cadres are not happy with them, so they changed the ministers and got in new faces.'
The Election Commission is expected to initiate a phased, pan-India special intensive revision (SIR) of the voters' list, prioritizing states with upcoming assembly elections. This cleanup exercise aims to weed out illegal foreign migrants and ensure accurate electoral rolls.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah promised a defence corridor and factories in each district of Bihar if the NDA wins the upcoming elections. He also outlined plans for flood control, infrastructure development, and revival of sugar mills.
The Supreme Court has ruled that a Governor cannot send bills to the President for consideration if the state assembly has already cleared them for a second time. The court was questioning the Centre over the powers of the Governor when it comes to granting assent to bills.
The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to address typographical errors and other mistakes in the final Bihar electoral roll. The court will hear further arguments on November 4.
Each leader will look after six assembly constituencies.
Most of these leaders are known for their organisational skills and successful management of elections in their respective states.
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.
In a social media post on Tuesday, Aziz said he is a registered voter of the Kolkata Port assembly constituency and that his name is Atish Aziz.
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