All posts tagged: Bihar polls

Govt Staff Must Perform SIR Duties, Extra Help Allowed For BLOs Facing Hardship: Supreme Court | India News

Govt Staff Must Perform SIR Duties, Extra Help Allowed For BLOs Facing Hardship: Supreme Court | India News

Last Updated:December 04, 2025, 14:07 IST Supreme Court suggested that state governments may take steps to address difficulties faced by BLOs, ensuring smooth functioning of voter registration and revision processes. The Supreme Court of India. (PTI File) Amid BLO suicide cases, the Supreme Court on Thursday provided directions to help Booth Level Officers (BLOs) who face hardships while performing duties for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) conducted by the Election Commission of India. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi noted that employees deputed by State Governments or State Election Commissions are required to perform statutory duties, including SIR, as mandated by law. The court suggested that State Governments may take steps to address difficulties faced by BLOs, ensuring smooth functioning of voter registration and revision processes.  The Supreme Court has said that State governments may deploy additional staff to support Booth Level Officers (BLOs) carrying out Special Intensive Revision (SIR) duties for the Election Commission of India (ECI). The Court noted that many BLOs are struggling with heavy …

Bihar Polls 2025: Actress Neha Sharma’s Father Ajeet Sharma Loses To BJP’s Rohit Pandey In Bhagalpur | Elections News

Bihar Polls 2025: Actress Neha Sharma’s Father Ajeet Sharma Loses To BJP’s Rohit Pandey In Bhagalpur | Elections News

Last Updated:November 14, 2025, 21:30 IST Actor Neha Sharma’s father Ajeet Sharma, a senior Congress leader, has held the Bhagalpur Assembly seat since 2014, winning again in 2015 and 2020. Neha Sharma’s Father Ajeet Sharma Trails in Bihar’s Bhagalpur. As vote counting wrapped up in the Bhagalpur Assembly constituency on Friday, Congress MLA Ajeet Sharma, father of Bollywood actor Neha Sharma, lost to BJP candidate Rohit Pandey by a margin of more than 13,000 votes. According to the Election Commission, Sharma secured 87,296 votes, while the BJP candidate received 1,00,770 votes after 28 rounds of counting. Who is Ajeet Sharma? The three-time MLA, who has been a prominent figure in the constituency for a decade, faces a tough contest this time despite an energetic campaign that saw his actor-daughter take centre stage. Ajeet Sharma, a senior Congress leader, has held the Bhagalpur Assembly seat since 2014, winning again in 2015 and 2020. Known for his organisational networks and personal outreach, he has long been considered one of the party’s dependable faces in the region. With …

Bihar election LIVE: No re-poll recommended, says ECI after scrutiny of Phase 1 voting day documents

Bihar election LIVE: No re-poll recommended, says ECI after scrutiny of Phase 1 voting day documents

Security personnel stand guard outside a strong room in Patna where Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are kept after the first phase of Bihar Assembly elections. | Photo Credit: ANI The Election Commission of India (ECI) has said that no re-poll has been recommended in any of the 45,341 polling stations that went to polls in the first phase of the Bihar Assembly election on November 6. Scrutiny of documents was completed on Friday (November 7, 2025) in all 121 Assembly constituencies, and, no discrepancy or malpractice was found, the ECI said. A record voter turnout of nearly 65% was registered in Phase 1. The campaigning for the second phase of the polls continue in full swing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address a rally in Darbhanga on Saturday (November 8). PM Modi has claimed the high voter turnout in Phase 1 was a sign of “trust people have in the track record of Narendra and Nitish”. Union Minister Amit Shah and other star campaigners including BJP chief J.P. Nadda are set to …

Can Congress overcome its ‘weak link’ tag in Bihar polls?

Can Congress overcome its ‘weak link’ tag in Bihar polls?

The Data Point published on Wednesday discussed in detail the spoiler effect created by Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in the 2020 Bihar Assembly election and examined the possibility of it influencing the upcoming 2025 polls as well. This effect was one of the key reasons the 2020 election turned out to be a closely fought contest between the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the RJD-led mahagatbandhan (grand alliance). Today, we will examine another major reason behind the close contest in 2020—the Congress party’s poor performance—and assess whether this imbalance within the alliance could influence the outcome of the 2025 polls. In 2020, Congress recorded a contested vote share of 32.9%, the lowest among major mahagatbandhan alliance partners, as shown in Table below. In comparison, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) secured 39%, CPI 33.3%, CPI(M) 37.6%, and CPI(ML)(L) 41.4%. Contested vote share refers to the percentage of votes a party receives in the seats it fought. In the 2015 election, Congress recorded a contested vote share of 39.5%. Table 2 shows the strike rate of parties, calculated by …

‘Prevent The Return Of Jungle Raj’: Amit Shah’s Message Amid First Phase Of Bihar Voting | Elections News

‘Prevent The Return Of Jungle Raj’: Amit Shah’s Message Amid First Phase Of Bihar Voting | Elections News

Last Updated:November 06, 2025, 09:29 IST Union Home Minister Amit Shah urged Bihar voters to “teach a lesson” to those protecting infiltrators and Naxalites, saying every vote can stop the return of ‘jungle raj’. Union Home Minister Amit Shah (Image: News18) As Bihar goes to the polls to elect a new government, Union Home Minister Amit Shah made a fervent appeal to voters to turn out in record numbers, urging them to “prevent the return of jungle raj” and “teach lesson” to those who “toy” with the country’s security. Shah’s message to Bihar’s voters In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Amit Shah addressed the people of Bihar, particularly the youth, calling their participation “vital” to the state’s progress. “I urge the voters of Bihar, especially the youth, to come out in record numbers and vote in the first phase of polling today,” Shah wrote. “Each and every vote will play a vital role in preventing the return of jungle raj, upholding good governance, and paving the way for a developed and self-reliant Bihar.” The …

People understand everything, they’re set to give NDA big mandate: Modi in Bihar

People understand everything, they’re set to give NDA big mandate: Modi in Bihar

PATNA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the manifesto of the NDA for Bihar is an honest and farsighted blueprint shared with the people for the state’s growth and prosperity, while on the other hand, the manifesto of Mahagathbandhan is a bundle of lies and deceit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public meeting ahead of Bihar Assembly elections, in Nawada, on Sunday. (@NarendraModi/YT) “Ye public hai sab jaanti hai. (The people understand everything). Those who plundered Bihar and pushed it into the dark period of jungle rai, unleashing lawlessness, closing industries like Dalmianagar in Rohtas, which once thrived with sugar, paper and cement units, and forcing migration cannot be trusted to change and usher in development. Before 2005, it was the period of massacres and even doctors had to move with security guards due to fear of abduction, while those getting salary hike shuddered fearing extortion call,” he said. At separate public meetings in Ara and Nawada, Modi cautioned people against the “dangerous designs” of the Congress and the RJD and said …

HistoriCity: The focus on the Nishad community in the upcoming Bihar polls

HistoriCity: The focus on the Nishad community in the upcoming Bihar polls

This Bihar election, expectedly, has stirred the pot of caste politics so much that one of the most subaltern caste groups is now under focus. The nomination of Mukesh Sahni as the deputy chief minister candidate for the RJD-Congress+ alliance – if it comes to power — is perhaps the first time that a person from the Mallah community has been made a key face of a major political formation. The nomination of Mukesh Sahni as the deputy chief minister candidate for the RJD-Congress+ alliance – if it comes to power — is perhaps the first time that a person from the Mallah community has been made a key face of a major political formation. (PTI) The Mallah community was formerly dependent to a great extent on occupations linked to rivers, from being boatmen (kevat) to fishing and also farming along fertile river banks. They have been aptly called Jal Kisans in the past. Communities like the Mallahs, Binds, Manjhi, Kewat, Tiyar and Turha and a few other groups traditionally associated with water-based occupations including …

Rahul Gandhi to step up outreach to Bihar backward, Dalit students: Interaction to film | Political Pulse News

Rahul Gandhi to step up outreach to Bihar backward, Dalit students: Interaction to film | Political Pulse News

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will interact with over 2,000 students belonging to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), and minority communities on Thursday at the Ambedkar hostel in Darbhanga in Bihar. Launching the Congress’s Shiksha Nyay Samvad (Discussion on Justice in Education) campaign, Gandhi will also watch Phule – the recently-released Hindi film on social reformers Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule – along with the students from these communities at a theatre in Patna. Bihar is slated for the high-stakes Assembly elections in October-November this year. Story continues below this ad Since February, Gandhi has been visiting Bihar at least once a month and has attended three Samvidhan Bachao (Save the Constitution) functions in Patna so far. These events have been held by the Congress to take forward its narrative of the BJP’s alleged assault on the Constitution. This was also part of the Opposition INDIA alliance’s campaign in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which had gained traction among a section of the marginalised communities. In these events, …

Spoiler alert: New political parties spring up in poll-bound Bihar

Spoiler alert: New political parties spring up in poll-bound Bihar

The surge in the number of political roles in Bihar may well impact the election as these new players could play the role of spoiler. After the formation of Jan Suraaj led by poll strategist Prashant Kishor, three more political parties have been formed. No parties have yet announced that they want to be part of a bigger alliance. The three parties are Aap Sabki Awaz (Rashtriya) formed by former IAS officer RCP Singh, Inquilab Party (IIP) by former Congress leader I.P. Gupta, and Hind Sena Party by former IPS officer Shivdeep Wamanrao Lande who recently resigned from the civil services. While Mr. Gupta and Mr. Singh are seeking to rely on caste votes, namely the Tanti-Tatva (EBC) and the Kurmi (OBC), respectively, Mr. Lande and Mr. Kishor are seeking a platform of “clean” politics, going beyond caste and religion. Asked about the number of seats in which his party would field candidates, Mr. Singh told The Hindu, “We have made the organisation at every level, be it block, panchayat, district and Assembly seat level. …

2 Officers On Poll Duty Die Of Heart Attack In Bihar

The polling was also held in Jhanjharpur, Madhepura and Khagaria constituencies. (Representational) Patna: Polling in five constituencies in Bihar in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections passed off peacefully, with a provisional voter turnout of 60 per cent, almost one per cent less than that of the 2019 general elections, officials said. Two persons engaged on poll duty died of cardiac arrest in Araria and Supaul Lok Sabha seats, they said. The polling was also held in Jhanjharpur, Madhepura and Khagaria constituencies. The voting was largely peaceful, barring an incident of damage caused to an EVM following a minor clash between two groups of supporters inside a polling station in Khagaria, officials said. The voter turnout in these five Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections was 61.22 per cent. Araria recorded 62.80 per cent voter turnout followed by Supaul (62.40), Madhepura (61) Khagaria (58.20) and Jhanjharpur (55.50). “Voting began at 7 am amid tight security. After the deadline for voting ended at 6 pm, around 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded. …