Vijay Swaroop

Bihar BJP leaders, Manjhi blame Bhagwat’s quota remark for loss

The BJP’s national leadership may be putting up a brave face after the drubbing in Bihar and blaming the loss on alliance arithmetic but the party’s state leaders and allies are alleging a string of controversial statements caused the crushing defeat.

Bihar results explained: 5 things GA did right, 5 things NDA messed up

The Nitish Kumar-led grand alliance on Sunday looked set to form the next government in Bihar, possibly with a three-fourths majority, an outcome which was shaped by a combination of factors.

Vote on Modi? PM’s Bihar campaign comes crashing down

The Nitish Kumar-led grand alliance appeared headed to form the next government in Bihar on Sunday, a verdict that comes as a huge blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for whom the election was seen as a key test of popularity.

Bihar results: Congress, RJD gain big as Nitish trumps Modi’s BJP

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar registered an emphatic victory in the assembly elections on Sunday as his grand alliance inflicted a heavy loss on a BJP-led coalition, belying all predictions of a closely-contested poll battle in the politically crucial state.

Bihar poll results LIVE | Grand Alliance takes lead over NDA

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA and the Grand Alliance are going neck and neck in the Bihar assembly elections as the counting of votes began on Sunday to determine whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi or a rival grouping of chief minister Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad will control the state’s 243-member assembly. The election is seen as a barometer of many issues shaping Indian politics.

Bihar election: Parties hold their breath as suspense nears end

Exit polls from the month-long election have merely prolonged the suspense, giving little indication of whether Modi’s promise of jobs and development made a dent in a region where religious and caste alliances have long dominated politics.

Bihar polls: Turnout hit by indifference

The timing of the Bihar elections ensured voters would not face rain or flood, nor the heat wave experienced during the Lok Sabha polls in 2014.

Leaders put up brave face before Bihar poll results

The BJP-led NDA and the Grand Alliance (GA) appeared confident about the electoral outcome in Bihar, where the exit polls gave mixed predictions after the five-phase voting ended on Thursday.

Bihar exit polls over but both BJP, Grand Alliance remain confident

A day after exit polls gave mixed signals on the outcome of the assembly elections, both the BJP and Grand Alliance camps in Bihar still appeared confident.

BJP’s video bomb: Nitish seen with tantric who shouts Lalu ‘murdabad’

A video clip purportedly showing Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar with a seer raising slogans against RJD chief Lalu Prasad has added a new dimension to the bitter electoral battle ahead of the third phase of polling later this month.

Bihar elections: More at stake for Nitish-Lalu combine in phase 2

The high-stake battle for Bihar has entered the second phase with campaigning for 32 assembly constituencies spread across six district coming to an end on Wednesday evening.

Bihar polls: Braving Maoist threat, 57% cast their votes in phase 1

After high-voltage campaigning and exchange of barbs, Bihar votes on Monday for the first round of the high-stakes electoral battle that seem to be headed for a photo finish.

Bihar elections: JP caught between rightists, secularists

The battle for Bihar has now extended to the ownership of the legacy of iconic leader Jayaprakash Narayan, or JP, as he was popularly known.

Bihar elections: Do-or-die for Modi, Nitish as polling begins today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces a key test when Bihar begins voting on Monday in a high-stakes election that is crucial for the Bharatiya Janata Party’s reform programme and the political future of a regional secular alliance led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Bihar elections: Lalu remark lets BJP add beef politics to polls

Poll-bound Bihar was impervious to the Dadri incident in Uttar Pradesh until RJD chief Lalu Prasad stoked a controversy by allegedly saying Hindus eat beef.

Political heat soars, barbs fly ahead of Phase 1 Bihar polls

An under-graduate, he is clued into Bihar’s politics. But his profession is not allowing him to keep a tab on this election.

RK Singh not to campaign for ‘tainted’ Bihar polls contestant

Bihar base consolidated, BJP now aims for the finishing touch

There is no denying that the BJP has become a formidable political force in Bihar. In the outgoing assembly, it is the second-largest party with 88 MLAs — next only to former partner JD(U)’s 115.

Mandal poll talk finds no resonance in BP Mandal’s village

The Mandal report wanted an egalitarian society, but has it resulted in just vote bank politics?

In Bihar, 'Durga Vahini' targets female voters

Durga Vahini, an affiliate of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP),is fanning out across the poll-bound state of Bihar to win over supporters for the BJP.

If Bihar polls were held now, Nitish-Lalu would trump BJP: Survey

The Nitish Kumar-Lalu Prasad alliance has an edge over the BJP and its allies in poll-bound Bihar and would romp to victory if polls were to be held today, according to a survey by AC-Neilson.

Political contest: Candidates in ‘auto mode’ for Bihar election

A political contest has already broken out in Bihar ahead of the assembly elections in September, with each party trying to grab maximum eyeballs.

Crop damage hurts Isabgol growers in MP's Neemuch dist

Jagdish Lohar, in his mid 40s, of Bharbhadia village in Neemuch district of Madhya Pradesh is distraught. Reason: Lohar is one of more than four lakh farmers, whose Isabgol crop was damaged in the unseasonal rain and hailstorms that hit the state twice — in the first week of March.

Giriraj's remark: Sonia 'won't respond to people with narrow mindset'

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Thursday brushed aside Union minister Giriraj Singh’s “racist” comment saying she need not reply to a person with “neech mansikta” (narrow mindset) even as the BJP insisted the matter has ended after the MP’s clarification.

Is Madhya Pradesh chief minister feeling insecure?

Is the fiasco over record number of bank accounts opened under PM Jan Dhan Scheme in the state, an attempted overdrive of MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to get closer to PM Narendra Modi?

Increase in communal clashes in MP: Is politics playing the game?

Indore, Ratlam, Dewas, Khandwa, Harda, Betul, Sagar and Neemuch districts have become hotbed of communal violence. And joining the list is Barwani. Is politics playing hands in this flare ups?

MP: Chouhan gets a pat on the back from PM Modi

PM Narendra Modi, in his first visit to MP since assuming office about four months ago, gave enough reasons to CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan to feel elated, but his certain remarks bemused even Chouhan's detractors.

Modi stresses federalism in $100-bn opportunity call

Foreign investments worth $100 billion are knocking at the doors of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday, calling for stronger Centre-state relations to capitalise on the opportunity.

MP: Hassle-free atmosphere on top of industrialists' wish list

Though CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced a number of measures at the MSME meet to offer more facilities to industrialists, the latter in their one-to-one interaction with the former registered their wish list before him.

Madhya Pradesh's investment hopes ride on Modi wings

PM Narendra Modi’s presence at GIS on Thursday has injected business circles in MP with new buoyancy as hopes rise that India’s top industrialists would see it as a signal to invest heavily in the state.