Bihar poll results: Rahul Gandhi calls verdict ‘shocking’ as Congress sinks to historic low; wins just 6 of 61 seats
PATNA: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said he was shocked at the outcome of Bihar poll as the Grand Old Party witnessed its worst ever performance in an assembly election in the state. The party, which is a part of the Grand Alliance, contested in 61 seats but won only six (strike rate of 9.83%). In 2020, the party contested 70 seats and won 19 (with a strike rate of 27.14%). All its prominent leaders, including state president Rajesh Kumar, Congress legislative party (CLP) leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan and former CLP leader Ajit Sharma, lost the election. In a post on social media, Gandhi alleged the election was not fair from the start. He wrote, “I express my heartfelt gratitude to the millions of voters in Bihar who placed their faith in the Grand Alliance. This result in Bihar is truly shocking. We failed to win an election that was not fair from the start. This fight is to protect the Constitution and democracy.” Party national president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Congress would study the election results in depth and, after understanding the reasons, would present a detailed account. Of the six seats it won, two were by very narrow margins. In Chanpatia, party candidate Abhishek Ranjan prevailed by 602 votes, securing 87 538 votes against BJP’s Umakant Singh who got 86,936. In Forbesganj, party candidate Manoj Biswas defeated BJP’s Vidya Sagar Keshri by 221 votes. Besides Chanpatia and Forbesganj, Congress registered victories in Valmiki Nagar (Surendra Prasad), Araria (Abidur Rahman), Kishanganj (Md Qamrul Hoda) and Manihari (Manohar Prasad Singh) Khan, who lost his sitting Kadwa seat to JD(U)’s Dulal Chandra Goswami by 18 368 votes, said the party would gracefully accept the mandate. He however alleged that the result reflected the effect of Rs 10,000 credited to the accounts of women before the election rather than the people’s mandate. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Bihar election results: NDA stuns Mahagathbandhan in Muslim dominated seats; JD(U) surges
NEW DELHI: Early trends of the Bihar assembly election results on Friday indicated significant gains for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in several Muslim-dominated seats. According to the initial trends, the NDA appears on track to secure at least 16 such seats. Chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) seems to have benefited the most within the alliance, gaining around eight more seats compared to the 2020 assembly polls. Additionally, Chirag Paswan’s LJP (RV) is leading in six seats with sizeable Muslim voter populations. On the other hand, the Mahagathbandhan has struggled to convert votes despite campaigning heavily on employment and a new chief ministerial face. As per the latest trends, the RJD is losing at least seven Muslim-dominated seats it had won in the 2020 assembly elections, while Congress is trailing in four such seats it previously held. In 2020, the RJD had won 18 of these seats, and Congress had secured six. Historically, Muslims have supported secular alliances. They ensure community members vote for parties claiming to be inclusive. The 2022 Bihar survey showed Muslims make up 17.7% of population and nearly 80% Muslim votes went to MGB in 2015 and 77% in 2020. Meanwhile, the NDA alliance has taken decisive leads across the state, with the Mahagathbandhan trailing. According to the latest numbers, the NDA crossed the majority mark early in the day, with both the BJP and JD(U) delivering strong performances. The Mahagathbandhan (MGB) remains behind, with the RJD performing better than its ally Congress, though still unable to match the NDA’s spread. The RJD, despite the MGB’s overall deficit, continues to rank among the top individual parties in several seats. Jan Suraaj, however, is not appearing prominently in the early seat trends, and its vote share—where visible—remains marginal, having little impact on close contests. The counting operations are being supervised by 243 Returning Officers and an equal number of Counting Observers appointed by the Election Commission. More than 18,000 counting agents representing various candidates are present at the centres to monitor the process closely. Entry into counting centres is strictly limited to individuals with valid passes, and the use of mobile phones inside counting halls is fully prohibited. The election saw participation from over 7 crore voters who cast their ballots to decide the fate of both the ruling NDA and the Mahagathbandhan. Polling was held in two phases, on November 6 and 11. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
BSP Plans Muslim-Dalit Outreach in Western UP, Mayawati to Address Noida Rally on December 6
Two months after holding a major rally in Lucknow that stirred political activity across Uttar Pradesh, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is now focusing on specific regions and voter groups where it hopes to regain lost ground. The party is planning to begin its Muslim Dalit outreach in western UP, with a public meeting likely to be held in Noida on December 6. Party sources said BSP chief Mayawati will attend the event as the main speaker. Senior party leaders visited the Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida on Wednesday to review preparations. While officials avoided sharing details, they confirmed that planning for the event is underway. According to insiders, the gathering is designed to reconnect with Dalit and Muslim voters, two communities that have historically formed a crucial support base for the BSP. Party workers and supporters from eight divisions of western Uttar Pradesh are expected to attend. Mayawati is likely to give them directions on how to win back voters the BSP lost after 2012, when its political decline in the state began. The Dalit and Muslim bhaichara (brotherhood) committees, formed to strengthen ties between the two communities, are expected to play a key role in this campaign. Western UP has long been significant for the BSP because it has a strong presence of Jatav Dalits, the party’s core supporters, and a large Muslim population. The success of the BSP SP alliance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections also reflected this. Out of the 10 seats BSP won in that election, four were in western UP, including Nagina, Saharanpur, Amroha, and Bijnor, all constituencies with a strong Muslim Dalit voter mix. The date of the upcoming event, December 6, marks the death anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, which the BSP observes nationwide as one of its three key annual events. The other two are Ambedkar’s birth anniversary on April 14 and the death anniversary of BSP founder Kanshiram on October 9. Starting from December 6, the party is expected to hold a series of public meetings in different parts of Uttar Pradesh to assess its electoral prospects and strengthen its grassroots network. Courtesy : TOP Note: This news is originally published on https:/theobserverpost.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Cong stages protest in Ambala against ‘vote theft’
Ambala: Former chief minister and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Bhupinder Singh Hooda, along with Haryana Congress chief Rao Narendra Singh, led a protest in Ambala on Thursday against alleged large-scale vote theft in Haryana. A large number of Congress leaders, workers, and citizens gathered in the city, voicing strong anger and outrage over what they termed as a “theft of democracy.” The protesters later submitted a memorandum to the Ambala deputy commissioner’s office, addressed to the President of India. Addressing the gathering, Hooda said that LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi exposed massive vote rigging across several states, including Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Haryana. “His revelations raised serious questions about the impartiality of the Election Commission. In some areas, 501 votes were registered from a single house, in others, 223 votes were recorded in the name of one woman, and even 22 votes were cast using the photo of a foreign woman,” Hooda claimed. He alleged that the actual scale of the fraud runs into lakhs of votes. “Rigging happened not only in constituencies where the Congress lost but even in those where it won. If the voting was fair, Congress MLAs would have won by far larger margins,” he added. Citing past electoral trends, Hooda said that the party leading in postal ballots always formed the govt in Haryana. “This time, Congress was leading in 73 out of 90 seats in the postal ballot count, but lost in the EVM count. On the night of the 5th, the Election Commission reported a 61.19% voter turnout; the next day, it increased to 65.65%, which mysteriously rose to 67.9% by the 7th — just before counting. Such discrepancies are beyond comprehension,” he said. Hooda termed the developments as an “open theft of not just votes, but the entire govt.” He asserted that the incident amounts to tampering with the country’s democracy, constitution, and the hard-earned freedom achieved through countless sacrifices. “Congress will launch state-wide and nationwide protests against vote theft and will not allow the BJP to undermine the Constitution,” he declared. Echoing Hooda’s sentiments, Congress state president Rao Narendra Singh said Rahul Gandhi’s disclosures revealed the “truth of machine manipulation.” “In the assembly polls, Congress received 39.5% votes against the BJP’s 39.9%. Yet, despite leading in 73 postal ballot seats, Congress was denied power. In the Lok Sabha polls, Congress got 47.6% votes — two and a half percent more than the BJP. This is a direct assault on Dr B R Ambedkar’s Constitution,” Rao said, vowing to take the battle to the streets to defend democracy and the people’s mandate. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
BSP plans to woo Dalit-Muslim with public meeting in Noida
Lucknow: Two months into holding a state-level rally in Lucknow on Oct 9 and creating political waves, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has now set its eyes on specific combinations of voters and regions where these combinations dominate politics. The party will start with an outreach of Muslim-Dalit (M-D) voters in west UP and may hold a public meeting in Noida on Dec 6 to tap into the vote base. Sources in the party said that party national president Mayawati will be the chief guest at the event. Senior party leaders on Wednesday visited the Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida for inspection. Though some of them whom TOI contacted did not divulge much, they agreed that the planning is underway, thus lending credence to the information shared by insiders that the event has been designed to specifically reach out to Dalit and Muslim voters. Party cadres and supporters from eight divisions of west UP may be present at the gathering. They will get directions from Mayawati on how to bring back the voters that the party lost in the region after 2012, since when its downfall in UP began. The Dalit and Muslim bhaichara committees, which the party formed to woo Muslims and Dalits in UP to its side, are also relevant in west UP. Jatav, the most dominant sub-caste of Dalits, and BSP’s core voters, are also concentrated in west UP. Evidence of this was the 2019 Lok Sabha elections when BSP contested in alliance with the Samajwadi Party in UP and won 10 seats. Four of these seats were in west UP, which were Nagina, Saharanpur, Amroha, and Bijnor. Each has a formidable combination of Dalit and Muslim voters. The party has scheduled the event for Dec 6 as it is the death anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar and one of the three annual events observed by the party nationally. The other two occasions are the birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar on April 14, and death anniversary of BSP founder Kanshiram on Oct 9. Beginning Dec 6, there may be a series of public meetings by the party in different regions of UP. These events will help the party analyse possibilities in different regions. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Congress’s youth push in Gujarat, Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Mr. Trustworthy’ given major responsibility, could see BJP’s stronghold crumble
Gujarat Politics News: Gujarat Assembly elections will be held in 2027, but these elections will be a direct test of Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, as Rahul Gandhi had declared the BJP’s defeat in Gujarat after the Lok Sabha elections. Now, the Congress leadership has deployed Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Mr. Trustworthy’, B.V. Srinivas, to PM Modi’s home state of Gujarat. Ahmedabad/New Delhi: Ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, the Congress has announced the deployment of Srinivas B.V. in the politically crucial state of Gujarat. As the Youth Congress President, Srinivas B.V. earned the title of ‘Oxygen Man’ by helping people extensively during the COVID-19 pandemic. Srinivas B.V. has been appointed the new co-in-charge by the Congress. Mukul Wasnik is the state in-charge. Srinivas B.V.’s appointment in Gujarat has sparked debate about whether Rahul Gandhi will intensify his Mission Gujarat campaign after the Bihar election results, as the AAP has been the focus of more attention in Gujarat than the Congress in recent months. Kejriwal, during his Gujarat visit, launched a scathing attack, saying that the Congress and BJP are husband and wife. It’s unclear who is the husband and who is the wife in this relationship, but there’s certainly collusion. Kejriwal asked why AAP MLAs go to jail, not Congress MLAs. AAP is in the news more than Congress. In Gujarat, Congress appointed Amit Chavda as the state chief in place of Shakti Singh Gohil. In his second term, Amit Chavda isn’t garnering the attention he expected. AAP leaders are in the news more than Congress. Leaders like Gopal Italia, Chatur Vasava, Isudan Gadhvi, Raju Karpada, and Praveen Ram have built their own fan followings, while Congress appears to be fragmented. Now, it remains to be seen what Srinivas BV, former head of the Congress Youth Wing, can do as co-in-charge, as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s reputation is at stake in Gujarat. It’s believed in political circles that the party is concerned about the attention AAP is receiving. Punjab is also due to have elections in 2027 before Gujarat. Therefore, the party has carefully deployed Srinivas BV to the Gujarat front. Rahul has challenged the BJP. After assuming the position of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, he challenged the BJP to defeat the BJP in Gujarat. Therefore, even though the Gujarat elections are still far away, they are considered very important. Last month, the BJP conducted a major cabinet reshuffle in Gujarat, but the Congress was unable to claim any anti-incumbency against the government. Therefore, Usha Naidu, who was posted in Gujarat, has been sent to Madhya Pradesh. In the last Gujarat elections, the Congress was reduced to 17 seats. The party’s MLA strength has now dwindled to 12. Five more MLAs have joined the BJP. The AAP, which had five MLAs, has been expelled from the party. Consequently, it has four MLAs, while the BJP has 161 MLAs in the 182-member assembly. BV Srinivas is a former cricketer. He hails from Karnataka. Written by: Achalendra Katiyar About the Author Achalendra Kumar Katiyar works for Navbharat Times Online. He began his career with DLA in 2008. During his 17-year career, he has worked for iNext, Aaj Samaj, and Dainik Hindustan. He closely monitors developments in western states, including Gujarat and Maharashtra. He has a keen understanding of politics. Courtesy: Hindi News
BJP alleges vote theft worth eight crore in the Youth Congress elections
MP Youth Congress Election: The BJP has alleged vote theft in the Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress elections. Minister Vishwas Sarang has stated that eight crore votes were stolen in the election, and that Rahul Gandhi is solely responsible for this. Bhopal: The election for the Youth Congress President has been held in Madhya Pradesh. Yash Ghanghoria, son of a senior Congress leader, has become the Youth Congress President. The BJP has made a serious allegation regarding this. Minister Vishwas Sarang has alleged that Abhishek Parmar, son of a farmer, was defeated by vote theft. He said that 1.5 million youth were registered in MP. A fee of 50 rupees was charged for this. Eight crore rupees collected Vishwas Sarang said that adding up this total, it comes to seven and a half crore rupees. The hard-earned money of the parents of the youth was collected. There was also a fee for contesting the elections, which amounted to one crore rupees. He further stated that eight and a half lakh votes were held or rejected in the Youth Congress elections. Vishwas Sarang alleged that Rahul Gandhi stole these votes. Congress votes were stolen. Vote Theft Within Congress Citing some examples, the minister said that youth between the ages of 18 and 35 could participate in the Youth Congress elections. Santosh Singh, a 44-year-old resident of Vidisha district, has committed this act of vote theft. Similarly, Anjum Khan, whose membership is listed as 36 years old according to her voter card, questioned whether this vote theft occurred within Congress. Will Rahul Gandhi answer for this? Rahul Gandhi Making False Allegations Rahul Gandhi is leading a campaign to create news by making false allegations against the democratic system in the country. He said that ever since Rahul Gandhi became the face of the party, Congress has been losing elections. Rahul Gandhi is making baseless allegations to save face. He is making false allegations of vote theft, which he has been unable to prove anywhere. Curated by: Muneshwar Kumar About the Author Muneshwar Kumar is Principal Correspondent at Navbharat Times Online. He has 14 years of experience in journalism. He has a special interest in politics, crime, current affairs, and off-beat news in Madhya Pradesh. He also has experience reporting on the ground for several elections. He has been with Navbharat Times Online since 2020. Courtesy: Hindi News
‘Live murder of democracy’: Rahul Gandhi reiterates ‘vote chori’ charge; cites CCTV footage destruction, multiple voting by BJP workers
NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that democracy in India is being “murdered live,” reiterating his allegations of electoral manipulation against the Election Commission (EC) and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “Millions of BJP workers are roaming freely across states, casting votes multiple times. To cover up this theft, all evidence is being erased. The BJP and the Election Commission are openly stealing votes — the murder of democracy is unfolding live,”Rahul Gandhi wrote on X. Rahul Gandhi X post He shared the post along with a news report quoting the poll panel’s submission before the Delhi high court that CCTV footage from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the capital stands destroyed and is no longer with the district election officers. The Raebareli MP and leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha also quote-tweeted a Congress post that highlighted an alleged instance of voting across three states — most recently in Bihar — by an X user. The grand old party argued that these actions violate the “one person, one vote” principle and are a clear examples of “vote chori” (vote theft), a phrase Gandhi has popularised in his ongoing attacks on the BJP and the EC. Since August, Gandhi has held three press conferences alleging that votes are being “stolen” in collusion between the BJP and the EC. His most recent interaction with the media on this came on November 5, a day before the first phase of polling in Bihar, which covered 121 assembly constituencies. The second and final round, for the remaining 122 seats, took place on Tuesday, with the counting for all 243 constituencies scheduled for Friday. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Dalit, Tribal Women Lose Strongholds as NMC’s 2025 Reservation Draw Reshapes Nagpur’s Civic Map
Nagpur’s civic map has been redrawn once again, with the 2025 Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) reservation draw overturning long-standing caste and gender alignments. While 76 of 151 total seats remain reserved for women, the latest reshuffle has dealt a major blow to Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) women leaders who had emerged as powerful local voices since 2017. In the last civic election, 15 seats were reserved for SC (women), giving dalit women a stronghold across north and east Nagpur. But in the new 2025 chart, half of those wards have been rotated to SC (open) or General (women), forcing several sitting corporators out of their constituencies. Among the worst hit are Sneha Nikose (Prabhag 9A, Congress), whose ward is now open, and Shakuntala Parve (Prabhag 20A, BJP), who also loses her SC (women) seat. Veteran corporators like Kanta Rarokar (23A, BJP), Usha Palat (31A), Minakshi Telgote (36A), and Ujwala Bankar (38A) face similar displacements, as their wards shift out of the women’s quota. The change has fractured traditional dalit clusters in Prabhags 5, 7, and 20, once known as SC-ST belts, now replaced by OBC and General category seats. For the first time in two terms, no single SC (women) cluster remains intact in the city’s northern zone — a major setback for grassroots dalit women leadership. In contrast, ST (women) seats remain relatively stable, retaining six of the total 12 ST positions. Congress corporator Asha Uikey (8A) and Jyoti Bhisikar (21A) are expected to retain influence, while the conversion of Prabhag 34B to ST (women) has opened new opportunities for emerging tribal leaders from east Nagpur. Overall, SC representation remains at 30 seats and ST at 12, but the internal balance has shifted sharply. Political observers see this as the end of an era where dalit women leaders enjoyed secure, cluster-based representation. The 2025 elections, they say, will test whether the social and political capital these women built through years of grassroots work can endure beyond the protective boundaries of reservation. Written by TLN Team Courtesy : The Live Nagpur Note: This news is originally published on https:/thelivenagpur.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Bihar exit polls: Looking back at past predictions across states; how close were they to actual results?
NEW DELHI: With the final phase of the Bihar assembly elections wrapping up on Tuesday evening, all eyes now turn to the exit polls — the political prelude to the much-anticipated counting day. The high-stakes battle, primarily between the ruling NDA alliance and the opposition Mahagathbandhan, also marks the debut of Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj, which has campaigned vigorously on promises of change. As Bihar waits for the first projections to roll in, here’s a look at how exit polls fared in five major elections held in the recent past — Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, and the Lok Sabha — and whether the predictions matched the final results. Maharashtra: Predictions underplayed a landslide Exit polls: Pollsters had predicted an edge for the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance (BJP, Ajit Pawar’s NCP, and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena), projecting between 150 and 170 seats in the 288-member assembly. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was expected to secure 110 to 130 seats, while smaller parties were forecast to win 8 to 10. Results: The Mahayuti performed far beyond expectations, sweeping 235 of the 288 seats, handing a decisive victory to the BJP-led alliance. The scale of the win exceeded most projections, showing a clear miss for the exit polls. Delhi: Exit polls broadly accurate, with minor deviations Exit polls: Surveys predicted a strong lead for the BJP, while some overestimated AAP’s performance. Results: The final tally stood at BJP 48, AAP 22, and Congress 0. Pollster P-Marq proved most accurate, predicting AAP at 26 and BJP at 44, a deviation of just four seats per party. Poll Diary also closely matched the outcome, forecasting AAP’s 22 seats precisely and coming within two seats for BJP. Haryana: Exit polls misread the tide completely Exit polls: Predictions gave Congress a clear upper hand with 44 to 64 seats, while the BJP was expected to manage 15 to 32 seats. Results: The BJP stunned pollsters and opponents alike, winning 48 seats, an all-time best for the party in Haryana. The Congress managed 37, nine short of the majority mark. The outcome sharply contrasted with exit poll estimates, making Haryana one of the biggest misses for psephologists in recent elections. Jharkhand: Exit polls drowned in a political downpour Exit polls: Most surveys predicted a neck-and-neck contest between the NDA and the INDIA bloc, giving around 38 seats to the JMM-led coalition and 40 to the BJP-led alliance. Results: When the results were declared on November 23, the INDIA bloc led by Hemant Soren’s JMM swept 50 of 81 seats, a resounding mandate. The exit polls, almost unanimously, failed to anticipate the scale of the INDIA bloc’s win. Lok Sabha 2024: ‘400 paar’ predictions fall flat Exit polls: Predictions for the 2024 general elections had painted a landslide for the BJP-led NDA, with some pollsters going as far as forecasting “400-paar”. Results: The NDA won 293 seats, well below the forecast, while the BJP managed 240 seats, 63 fewer than in 2019 — losing its solo majority for the first time since 2014. The INDIA bloc, led by Congress, surprised observers with 235 seats, underlining the extent of the exit poll miscalculations. What to expect in Bihar As Bihar’s 2025 verdict inches closer, the spotlight is now on the exit polls — whether they will capture the pulse of the voter or once again misfire, as in several recent elections. With Nitish Kumar seeking to defend his legacy and Tejashwi Yadav attempting to unseat him, the political stage is set for another fascinating test. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights