'When you compare Bihar's poverty from its earlier times, then there is a huge difference. Things have improved a lot. And migration has played an important role in reducing poverty.'
The metro, it seems, is politics-proof -- even if it comes at a high cost.
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.
'If you want a bright future of Bihar and your children, I urge you not to vote for anyone with a criminal background or corrupt candidates even if they belong to your caste.'
Election Commission officials defend the intensive revision of Bihar's voters' list as 'inclusive' amid criticism from opposition parties, who claim it will disenfranchise voters. The Supreme Court is set to hear petitions challenging the revision.
The Election Commission has assured the Supreme Court that no voter's name will be deleted from the draft electoral roll in Bihar without prior notice and a fair hearing. The EC also clarified that it is not required to share separate lists of those not included in the draft rolls.
'The possibility of Nitish Babu continuing at least for some time is very much there, but don't rule out the artistic possibility of a leadership change executed very elegantly.'
All along, we were told SIR was an essential exercise carried out as part of the Election Commission's regular duties. But now that the ideological mentor of the ruling party has declared that SIR is a means of detecting infiltrators, one understands the unseemly haste with which it is being carried out, notes Jyoti Punwani.
'Of course, we are secular. Three of our Hindu brothers have won seats from our party. Tell me where AIMIM has managed that.'
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge criticizes Home Minister Amit Shah, calling him 'incompetent' and demanding his resignation following a deadly blast in Delhi, citing intelligence failure and lack of accountability.
Newly appointed Bharatiya Janata Party national working president Nitin Nabin on Monday termed his elevation as a blessing of the party and claimed that it is the only political outfit that allows its grassroots workers to thrive.
Intense lobbying continues among NDA partners in Bihar to finalize cabinet berths and the Assembly Speaker post ahead of the swearing-in ceremony. Consensus is being sought between BJP and JD(U) for the Speaker's position, while new faces are expected in the cabinet. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for November 20.
The Election Commission (EC) defended its power to revise electoral rolls and ensure no foreigners are registered as voters before the Supreme Court. The EC argued it has a constitutional duty to maintain the purity of electoral rolls and exclude those not eligible to vote.
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.
The Election Commission removed 6.5 crore electors from the draft electoral rolls of nine states and three Union territories as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The removals are due to voters being absent, shifted, deceased, or duplicates.
Lok Janshakti Party leader and Union Minister Chirag Paswan -- whose mother Reena Paswan nee Sharma has Punjabi origins -- visited the Patna Sahib gurdwara with his mum and other members of his family on Sunday, November 16, 2025 following the NDA's Bihar assembly election victory.
The Election Commission is ramping up preparations for a special intensive revision of voter lists across India, assessing the progress made on mapping current electors with voters as per the last SIR in different states.
Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Election Commission's voters' list cleanup exercise, will commence in nine states and three Union territories from Tuesday.
The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to display the names of those on the 'logical discrepancies' list at various public offices in West Bengal, addressing concerns about irregularities in the voter rolls.
Its ally JD-U recorded one of the most notable gains in this election, with its vote share jumping to 19.26 percent from 15.39 percent in 2020. The party also contested 101 seats this time, as against the 115 seats in the last elections, the EC said.
The BJP has filed a complaint with the Election Commission against Rahul Gandhi for his alleged derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during recent rallies in Bihar.
'...in comparison to his presence in the previous election campaign where he looked robust and vibrant.' 'His television and social media interviews looked dull and predictable.' 'There could be a different kind of fatigue of being out of power for a long time at work here.'
The party's state unit chief, Mangani Lal Mandal, made the remark a day after the state building construction department issued a notification directing Rabri Devi to shift to 39, Hardinge Road, which has been "earmarked" as the residence of the leader of the opposition in the legislative council.
The PM's overseas visits in 2025 picked up sharply after May, particularly following Operation Sindoor.
While it is evident that the INDIA bloc has not shut its doors on Nitish Kumar, those within the NDA are hopeful that the JD-U's support base would benefit them as well
Turning her guns on the Election Commission, Banerjee alleged that the BJP had "stolen" the mandate in Maharashtra with the poll panel's help and was now attempting to replicate it in Bengal through the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise by deleting genuine voters' names.
As US President Donald Trump claimed that India will significantly reduce Russian oil imports by year-end, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday hit back by criticising him for making announcements on behalf of New Delhi.
'Every party want to contest more seats, nothing wrong in it. We have to compromise to take all together as the NDA.'
'When the BJP wanted the election to focus on 'ghuspathiya' and promises that look like pies in the sky, we forced them to talk about jobs, giving free 125 units of power, and addressing women's indebtedness.'
Bandana Preyashi, the bold IAS officer from Bihar who took on dreaded dons, is the court-appointed mentor to 18-year-old Sakshi, who had fled home to follow her IAS dream.
As the Bihar assembly results swept in, Patna's Veerchand Patel Marg, the city's political artery, split into two starkly different worlds, with celebrations at the BJP and JD(U) offices and disappointment at the RJD headquarters.
INDIA bloc parties are set to raise issues such as the Pahalgam attack, US President Trump's claims of brokering a ceasefire, and concerns over electoral roll revisions in Bihar during the Parliament's Monsoon session.
In its instructions issued to the chief electoral officer of Assam, the poll authority said that "software-based" reports should be generated for 'black and white images', 'not to specification images', 'non-human images' and 'no image' entries.
State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal has reiterated that the party would never join hands with "those who indulge in violence".
Call it political opportunism or sagacity, his moves, in effect, have not allowed the Bharatiya Janata Party to appoint its own chief minister to date, despite enjoying a near hegemonic status nationally and the best performance in recently held assembly polls where the saffron party bagged 89 seats, followed by the Janata Dal-United with 85.
Democracy in India is too important to be left to a leader with a limited appeal. If Rahul Gandhi cares for India, he should step aside for a new crop of leaders, suggests Harishchandra.
Earlier today, former RJD candidate Madan Shah broke down in public, claiming that he was promised a ticket by the Rashtriya Janata Dal for the upcoming 2025 Bihar assembly polls.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United made public the names of candidates for all 101 seats it will be contesting in the assembly polls, with more than half of them from the backward and extremely backward classes.
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.
'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.'
