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.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a protest march in Kolkata against Enforcement Directorate searches linked to I-PAC, signaling a show of strength ahead of the 2026 assembly polls. The march featured cultural elements and participation from party members and celebrities.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah distanced himself from the 'vote chori' issue raised by the Congress, stating the INDIA bloc has no involvement.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi during rallies in Bihar, accusing him of prioritizing votes over genuine governance and alleging that the BJP is controlling the state government through remote control.
The BJP has emerged as the most dominant force in the recently-held municipal council and nagar panchayat elections in Maharashtra, securing the highest number of seats in five out of the state's six administrative divisions.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) which is probing the alleged 'vote chori' (theft)' in the Aland Assembly segment in 2023 Assembly elections in Karnataka, has filed a charge sheet naming seven persons, including a former Bharatiya Janata Party MLA, his son and his close aide.
On Sunday, October 26, 2025, New York mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani and two of his most prominent backers, United States Senator Bernie Sanders and US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, framed his election as a one-on-one battle versus President Donald Trump and his administration at a raucous rally at the Forest Hills stadium in New York City's Queens borough.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju demanded an apology from Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi after Congress workers allegedly threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi's life at a rally.
'This is purely transactional politics -- there exists no family reunion as such.'
Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh's former first female prime minister and chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has died at the age of 80 after a prolonged illness.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of sabotaging her helicopter ride to Bongaon, alleging political conspiracy. She claims the cancellation forced her to travel by road, allowing her to connect with more people. Banerjee also addressed concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Actor-politician Vijay held his first public meeting in Puducherry, criticising the central government for neglecting the union territory's demand for statehood and praising the local government's impartiality. He also targeted the DMK government in Tamil Nadu, suggesting they could learn from Puducherry.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly insulting novelist Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay by calling him "Bankim da."
Ashok Gehlot convinced the RJD leadership that the Congress had no issue about declaring Tejashwi as the Mahagathbandan's chief minister face.
'When maximum voter participation occurs, they do not vote to re-elect the incumbent government. They vote to change it.' 'How can anyone credibly suggest that crores of young voters -- particularly the unemployed youth -- would vote to re-elect an existing government that has demonstrably failed them?'
The stage is set for the crucial first phase of the assembly elections in Bihar on Thursday, as 3.75 crore voters will decide the electoral fate of 1,314 candidates, including top leaders such as Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance's (INDIA's) chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
According to an FIR registered at Edachery police station, around 200 people marched towards the Congress office carrying dangerous weapons and vandalised the building, causing damage estimated at around Rs five lakh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his Bihar assembly poll campaign, asserting that the NDA under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will break all previous electoral records. He criticized the INDIA bloc and highlighted the NDA's cohesiveness and development efforts in Bihar.
India summoned the Bangladesh envoy to express strong concerns over extremist elements planning to create a security situation around the Indian mission in Dhaka.
Gandhi alleged that assembly and Lok Sabha polls were being "stolen" across the country and there was a "conspiracy" in Bihar to do the same through the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The Congress's performance in the Lok Sabha elections showed that it may be down but not out, and Modi is determined to ensure that in the next round in 2029, it is consigned to irrelevance, points out Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Abdullah emphasised the 24x7 model of politics pursued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team, and said that "no sooner has one election finished, they've already moved into the next territory... We will move into those states two months before the elections. We will be lucky if we sew up our electoral alliances before the last date of filing nominations".
Protests continue in Kolkata against attacks on minority Hindus in Bangladesh. BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari threatens a large-scale protest if the attacks are not stopped.
It is a double century with a difference for the cricketer turned politician, who is the lead campaigner for the Opposition Mahagathbandhan in the state.
Bangladesh's interim government has ordered a nationwide security clampdown following the shooting of a youth leader and election candidate, leading to renewed unrest.
The costs involved in putting together a successful rally are bizarre.
'This outcome is thoroughly unexpected.' 'I travelled extensively across villages, engaged in detailed discussions with residents, and consulted with party workers who had been canvassing from village to village, from one location to another, seeking grassroots feedback.' 'Not a single interlocutor suggested that there would be an NDA wave of this magnitude.'
The BJP's MoSha leadership are past masters in encouraging defections from their allies if it helped their party capture the chief minister's chair. In Bihar, they are not sure if JD-U MPs and MLAs would be willing to cross over to the BJP if the Nitish leadership came on top -- and the NDA crossed the halfway mark together, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'We have been struggling with problems, but we want to elect Tejashwi to see him as the next chief minister.'
Maharashtra is set to hold local body elections for municipal councils and nagar panchayats, marking the first phase of a Supreme Court-mandated process. The elections are seen as a key indicator of political sentiment following the BJP-led Mahayuti's victory in the assembly elections.
Left to its machinations, the BJP would have loved to cut Nitish down to size, but it can't afford to do so as the JD-U is in alliance with the BJP at the Centre, and cannot form a government on its own in Bihar. For now, both need each other: Nitish for legitimacy, the BJP for numbers, points out Ramesh Menon.
Sharing his experience of the yatra so far, the Congress leader said he felt sad while talking to farmers, youth, and tribals.
Donation boxes kept for the proposed Babri masjid-style mosque by suspended Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir in West Bengal's Murshidabad district are nearly full, with cash-counting machines whirring through the night as donations continue to pour in both physically and online.
A seasoned politician and two-term Member of Parliament, Dr Shakeel Ahmad, who has served as a Union minister and senior Congress leader, resigned from the Congress party, marking the end of his decades-long association with an organisation that his family has been part of for three generations. In an interview with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff he speaks why he quit the party.
With nominations for the first phase of Bihar elections closing soon, the INDIA bloc is struggling to finalize seat sharing, while the NDA has announced its candidates. Key political figures are actively campaigning.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday claimed that people were not voting for the Rashtriya Janata Dal-helmed opposition in Bihar as they fear that if voted to power, its regime will 'put katta to their heads and order them to hold their hands up'.
Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani celebrates his victory in the 2025 New York City mayoral race at an election night rally in Brooklyn, New York.
His inheritance was a double-edged sword because the NDA was understandably interested only in highlighting that part of the RJD's tenure in government that evokes kidnapping, extortion, and lawlessness.
The Congress will launch a nationwide campaign against the repeal of the United Progressive Alliance-era rural employment legislation Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) on January 5, similar to the pushback against the three farm laws which eventually forced the Narendra Modi government to rollback its decision, party president Mallikarjun Kharge said.
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.
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