LIVE news updates, Nov 18: Catch all the latest news developments here
The Congress on Monday attacked the government over the reported deletion of nearly 27 lakh workers' names from the MGNREGA database between October 10 and November 14 this year, saying this is not an isolated act but a "systematic attempt to end" the rural jobs scheme. The opposition party also reiterated its demands, including a minimum MGNREGA wage of Rs 400 per day and an immediate halt to the mandatory adoption of exclusionary technology like Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS), National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS), and e-KYC. Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, shared on X a media report which claimed that nearly 27 lakh workers' names were deleted from the database of MGNREGA between October 10 and November 14 this year, far exceeding the 10.5 lakh additions during the same period. "Another day, another attempt to deny India's rural poor their legislative right to employment. In the last one month -- between October 10th and November 14t
LIVE news updates, Nov 17: Catch all the latest news developments here
West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose will lead a team of security personnel, who would carry out a search operation at the Raj Bhavan on Monday in the wake of allegations by a TMC MP that arms and ammunition were stacked within its premises, an official said. Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee had on Saturday accused Bose of "sheltering BJP criminals" inside the Raj Bhavan and "arming them with bombs and guns". "The entire Raj Bhavan will be searched by a joint team of the Kolkata Police and central forces deputed here on Monday to find out whether there are arms and ammunition stacked inside. The Governor will be leading the search operation," the official told PTI. Members of the civil society and journalists will be allowed to accompany Bose during the exercise, he said. The TMC MP had made the allegations on Saturday, hours after Bose said that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was essential to "clean up the election process". Bose on Sunday said he so
The swearing-in ceremony of the new government in Bihar is likely to take place in Patna on November 20, official sources said on Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other top leaders of the NDA, including union ministers, are expected to take part in the oath-taking event, they said. Earlier in the day, Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal told reporters that the newly elected legislators will meet on Tuesday to elect their legislature party leader. Most likely, the oath-taking ceremony of the new government will take place either on November 20 or November 21, he said. Preparations are underway at Patna's Gandhi Maidan for the swearing-in event. Meanwhile, the last cabinet meeting of the outgoing NDA government in Bihar on Monday authorised Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to recommend dissolution of the assembly, a state minister said. The CM met Governor Arif Mohammad Khan soon after the meeting to apprise him about the decision of the cabinet. The cabinet in its meeting
Bihar Assembly election results 2025 LIVE updates: The NDA has pulled ahead in the early trends, with the Mahagathbandhan trailing in second position, show data from ECI
The BJP suspended former Union minister Raj Kumar Singh, saying his recent remarks and actions went against the party and caused serious damage
Bihar Assembly elections 2025: For the first time in a state election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) became the single largest party in Bihar, winning 89 seats
JDU dominates with big jumps in vote share while AIMIM suffers sharp declines, even in seats it retained, as Bihar records a strong 66.9% voter turnout
BJD president and Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly Naveen Patnaik on Friday congratulated BJP candidate Jay Dholakia for his spectacular victory in the Nuapada bypoll and hoped that he would bring development to the area. Dholakia won the Nuapada assembly bypoll in Odisha by 83,748 votes on Friday. The Congress bagged the second spot, while the BJD was relegated to the third position. Patnaik, who campaigned for BJD candidate Snehangini Chhuria, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to every worker and supporter of BJD who stood united and worked tirelessly for the party. "Your commitment and spirit are the true strength of our party," the former chief minister said. "I also extend my congratulations to the BJP candidate on the victory, and I sincerely hope he will honour this mandate by bringing meaningful development to Nuapada," he said in a post on social media. BJP candidate Jay Dholakia, son of late BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia, joined the saffron party a few days before the
The NDA's big mandate and its 'Viksit Bihar' agenda face fiscal strain as the state struggles with low capital outlay and a heavy revenue burden
Even as the BJP 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 till late at night. A few of those contestants lost the polls by slender margins such as 30 or 178, according to the Election Commission. On the other hand, only six of the Congress' 61 candidates survived the onslaught of the ruling NDA. Of the 12 BJP nominees who failed to win included Vinod Kumar was handed a crushing defeat by AIMIM's Ghulam Sarwar in the Baisi seat by a margin of 27,251 votes. Kumar polled 27,251 votes. The saffron party's Haribhushan Thakur lost the Bisfi seat to RJD's Asif Ahmad by a margin of 8,107 votes. Thakur polled 92,664 votes, as per the Election Commission data. Umakant Singh of the BJP lost the Chanpatia seat by a slender margin of 602 votes. He polled 86,936 votes as against the Congress's Abhishek Ranjan, who bagged 87,538 votes. Vidya Sagar Keshari lost the Forbesganj seat by a
The outcome marks the end of Lalu as a political force. While Nitish's phase is a matter of time, the BJP has a hawk's eye. If only they could find some serious local leadership
Ruling parties Friday lost four of the eight seats where assembly bypolls were held on November 11 with the Congress bagging one seat in BJP-ruled Rajasthan and the PDP handing the National Conference its first ever defeat in its stronghold of Budgam in Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP won the Nagrota seat in Jammu and Kashmir and Mizoram's main opposition party, Mizo National Front (MNF), retained the Dampa assembly seat with its candidate R Lalthangliana defeating Vanlalsailova of the ruling Zoram People's Movement by a margin of 562 votes. Bypolls were also held in Anta (Rajasthan), Ghatshila (Jharkhand), Jubilee Hills (Telangana), Tarn Taran (Punjab) and Nuapada (Odisha). The Congress and the BJP won one more seat each while the AAP and the JMM also bagged one seat each. In Odisha's Nuapada, BJP's Jay Dholakia beat Ghasi Ram Majhi of the Congress by a huge margin of 83,748 votes. Jay is the son of late BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia, whose death necessitated the bypoll. In Nagrota, BJP's
With the NDA securing a decisive mandate, Nitish Kumar and BJP move to consolidate political gains, even as fiscal pressures, governance reforms and a fragmented opposition define the road ahead
There can be no challenge to the BJP across India without a Congress revival. The Modi party is growing - almost entirely at the cost of the Congress
'It's people's victory': BJP's Maithili Thakur after Bihar election results | JDU | BJP | RJD
With the NDA heading for a sweeping majority in Bihar, the Opposition now faces a second setback, a weaker hand in upcoming Rajya Sabha elections as multiple seats will open for renewal before 2030
Vote counting is underway across 8 Assembly constituencies, with early trends showing Congress leading in Telangana's Jubilee Hills while candidates from other parties vie for leads in other key seats
Alinagar election results 2025: BJP's Maithili Thakur won her first electoral contest with a margin of 11,730 votes