J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Monday that there is no comparison between the senior National Conference (NC) leader and MP Mian Altaf Ahmad and Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, while asserting that both his party leaders are like “earth and sky.”

Omar told a press conference in Srinagar today that there is no comparison between Mian Altaf Ahmad and Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, as the difference in the stature of the two NC leaders is like that of the earth and the sky.

He said that he treats Mian Altaf with deep respect and considers him a senior colleague whose advice he values immensely.

The issue of alleged cross-voting during the recent Rajya Sabha elections and the detention of Doda MLA, Mehraj Malik, caused uproar in the J&K Assembly on Monday with the ruling National Conference (NC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs accusing each other.

The issue of cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections came up during the question hour in the J&K Assembly. Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary accused the BJP of ‘stealing’ four votes in the recent Rajya Sabha elections.

“Yesterday, you stole four votes. If I start speaking, no one will remain seated here. Let us allow a secret to remain a secret,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.

His remarks sparked a heated exchange between the two sides, with NC legislators retaliating by calling BJP members “vote chor” (vote stealers).

Just ahead of the Tarn Taran by-election, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD, Badal) suffered a major setback as its leader and sitting Sarpanch Jashandeep Singh, along with many of his supporters, joined the Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday.

Cabinet Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, in the presence of Working President Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi, Sarwan Singh Dhun, and State General Secretary Harchand Singh Barsat, formally inducted Jashandeep Singh and his associates, Panch Avtar Singh, Panch Davinder Singh, Panch Pargat Singh, Panch Darshan Singh, Panch Narinder Pal Kaur, Baljit Kaur, and Kanwar Jagdeep Singh Ladda Chhichrewal, into the Aam Aadmi Party.

Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar assured all newly joined leaders that they would be given due respect and recognition within the party. Attacking opposition parties, Bhullar said that the Akali Dal, Congress, and BJP only indulge in “politics of mudslinging,” whereas the Aam Aadmi Party practices the politics of work and performance.” He highlighted that under AAP’s 600 units free electricity guarantee, 82% of households in Punjab are now receiving zero electricity bills, and that more than 881 Mohalla Clinics are functioning, providing free medicines, treatment, and diagnostic tests to the public. He further added that the AAP government has provided over 56,000 government jobs to youth purely on merit.

The Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday embarked on a series of events to mark the 350th martyrdom day of Guru Tegh Bahadur after performing ‘ardas’ at Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib here.

Cabinet ministers comprising Aman Arora, Harjot Bains, Harbhajan ETO, Tarunpreet Sondh, Gurmeet Khudian, Barinder Kumar Goyal, Hardeep Mundian and Balbir Singh, Lok Sabha Members of Parliament Raj Kumar Chabbewal, Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjeet Singh Sahni and MLA Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal joined the people in offering ‘ardas’.

The office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, will introduce a two-tier daily electoral administration system in the state immediately after the notification for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state is issued.

After the notification is issued, an officer in the rank of additional CEO will hold daily interactions with the district magistrates, who are also the district electoral officers, reviewing the daily progress in the revision exercise in the respective districts.

Similarly, a couple of officers in the rank of joint CEO will hold interactions with the electoral registration officers (EROs) reviewing the progress of the revision exercise in areas under the jurisdiction of the EROs.

Acting on the directives of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), over 400 personnel of the Tripura State Rifles (TSR) will be deployed to assist in maintaining security during the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, officials said here on Saturday.

A senior official of the Tripura Home Department said that over 400 jawans of the TSR, led by Commandant Jyotishman Daschoudhuri, left for Bihar by a special train on Friday night and are expected to reach Patna on Sunday night or Monday morning.

Five Assistant Commandants have also accompanied the TSR personnel.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday extended greetings to the people of the state and the nation on the first day of Chhath Puja, praying to Lord 'Bhaskar' (Sun) for the progress, happiness, peace, and prosperity of the state.

CM Nitish took to the social media platform 'X' and wrote, "Greetings and best wishes to the people of the state and the country on the occasion of Chhath, the four-day grand festival of folk faith. This grand festival of folk faith is a festival of self-discipline, in which people offer oblations to the setting and rising Sun God with a pure conscience and a clean mind. On the occasion of the great festival of Chhath, we pray to Lord Bhaskar for the progress, happiness, peace, and prosperity of the state."

Punjab Cabinet Ministers Sanjeev Arora and Gurmeet Singh Khudian on Friday paid a courtesy visit to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy in Hyderabad and formally extended an invitation to him to participate in the commemorative events marking the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur.

The event is scheduled to take place from November 20 at Anandpur Sahib, a historic city of spiritual and cultural importance in Sikh tradition.

The ministers highlighted the importance of this occasion as a symbol of sacrifice, spiritual strength, and unity, emphasising its significance in promoting harmony and understanding across different communities.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday directed that all polling stations in Bihar’s upcoming assembly elections and the eight-assembly constituency bye-elections be equipped with Assured Minimum Facilities (AMFs) and voter assistance measures to ensure a seamless and dignified voting experience for all electors.

Announcing this in a press note, the ECI said the directive aims to provide a voter-friendly environment and uphold accessibility standards across all polling stations.

“AMF include drinking water, a waiting shed, a toilet with water facility, adequate lighting, a ramp of proper gradient for PwD electors, a standard voting compartment, and proper signage,” the ECI said.

Haryana is taking steps to establish itself as the leading hub for electronics manufacturing by actively seeking to attract investments under the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) of the Union government.

The state will soon announce a slew of incentives under its Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) Policy, which aims to offer a wide range of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to attract investment.

In this direction, Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi on Friday chaired a high-level meeting here to review strategies for setting up electronic component manufacturing plants in the state and to accelerate the growth of the electronics component manufacturing ecosystem.

The Rajya Sabha election in Jammu and Kashmir ended peacefully on Friday as 86 MLAs cast their votes, while the detained Doda MLA Mehraj Malik voted through a postal ballot, and Peoples Conference (PC) MLA, Sajad Lone, abstained from the voting process.

The voting took place at the Legislative Assembly complex in Srinagar.

In total 90-member strong J&K Assembly, two seats, Nagrota and Budgam, are going to bypolls on November 11 after these fell vacant.

The result for all four Rajya Sabha seats will be declared after 4 p.m.

 After the withdrawal deadline for the second phase of nominations ended, a total of 70 candidates have taken back their nominations for the upcoming Bihar Assembly Election 2025, according to data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday.

The deadline ended at 5 p.m. on Thursday. For the second phase, nominations were filed for 122 Assembly seats across 18 districts.

A total of 1,761 candidates had submitted their nomination papers, out of which 389 nominations were rejected during scrutiny.

The nine-day autumn session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly will begin on Thursday and is likely to witness fireworks from the opposition

The session will start with obituary references on the first day, and business will be conducted on six working days.

The session is expected to be stormy as the opposition BJP, PDP, Awami Ittehad party, together with some allies of the Omar Abdullah-headed government, gear up to seek accountability from the government on electoral promises, statehood restoration, reservation rules, etc.

In a heartfelt gesture of honour and support, the Chhattisgarh government has appointed Sneha Giripunje, wife of the late Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Akash Rao Giripunje, as Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) on compassionate grounds.

She has been conditionally posted to the Chandrakhuri Police Training Academy, with nine stipulations attached to her appointment.

The official order was issued recently.

Jammu and Kashmir Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and senior BJP leader Sunil Sharma said on Tuesday that the BJP will not form a government with the National Conference (NC) under any circumstances.

Sharma was reacting to a recent statement made by J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, in which he said that the BJP is ‘punishing the people of J&K by delaying statehood because they are not in power here’.

The Chief Minister had also said that he would rather give up power than form the government with the BJP under any pressure.

Countering the Chief Minister’s statement, Sunil Sharma told reporters, “We will not form a government with the National Conference under any circumstances. We are not going to form a government on any condition.”

Punjab BJP Working President Ashwani Sharma, on Tuesday, expressed gratitude to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for sending 1,000 quintals seeds to farmers affected by floods in the state.

Welcoming this decision of the Uttar Pradesh government, Sharma said that when devastating floods hit Punjab, submerging fields and leaving farmers without seeds, CM Adityanath took a compassionate step driven by concern for their plight.

Under a sense of social responsibility and humanitarian spirit, the Uttar Pradesh government decided to send 1,000 quintals of high-quality wheat seeds to help Punjab's farmers.

These seeds will be distributed free of cost, enabling affected farmers to resume cultivation and rebuild their livelihoods.

Speaker of J&K legislative assembly, Abdul Rahim Rather, on Tuesday admitted a private resolution by a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MLA seeking a one-time exemption for electricity tariff outstandings to consumers.

The resolution was submitted by PDP MLA from Kupwara, Mir Fayaz.

The resolution submitted by MLA will now move to the next stage and be subjected to the ballot procedure in the upcoming Assembly session.

The initiative aims to provide much-needed relief to households burdened by rising power costs and frequent billing disputes.

The resolution aims at one-time waiving off all outstanding dues with the consumers.

Ahead of Bihar election, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday issued a notification regarding the pre-certification of print advertisements for the pre-poll period and the polling day.

Deputy Director of the ECI, P. Pawan, said in a statement, "The ECI has announced the schedule for the General Election to the Legislative Assembly of Bihar, 2025, and the by-elections for eight Assembly constituencies. The dates of polling have been fixed for November 6 and November 11."

"In order to ensure a fair campaign environment, no political party, candidate, organisation, or person shall publish any advertisement in print media on the poll day and the preceding day unless the contents are pre-certified by the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) at the State or District level," the ECI added.

The government on Saturday said that the benefits of recent GST cuts, which came into force from September 22, have been extended to consumers in the festive season, as consumption is one of the key engines for growth.

Addressing the media here, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Railways and Electronics and IT Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said recent GST reforms have brought about a positive trend in terms of consumption.

“Tax reductions have not only happened for the festive season. These reductions mean more collections, so better fiscal room to give something back. Demand will sustain even after the festive season,” said FM Sitharaman.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Saturday, had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi opposing the decision of the Union government to appoint former Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA) and ex-Director General of the Border Security Force, Pankaj Kumar Singh, as an interlocutor for the tripartite talks over a permanent political solution to the longstanding demand for a separate Gorkhaland statehood, forking out the hills of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Kurseong, and the parts of the plans in the Terai and Dooars regions in north Bengal.

"I am surprised and shocked to know that the Union government has appointed retired IPS officer Pankaj Kumar Singh as an interlocutor to hold discussions on the issues relating to Gorkhas in Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars regions of West Bengal," the letter said.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) Vice-President, Omar Abdullah, said on Saturday that his party will nominate its candidate for the by-election in Budgam Assembly seat on Monday.

Two assembly seats of Nagrota in the Jammu division and Budgam in the Valley fell vacant after the incumbent BJP MLA from Nagrota, Devender Singh Rana passed away on October 31 last year and the NC MLA, Omar Abdullah, resigned from the Budgam seat after winning it during the 2024 Assembly elections.

Omar Abdullah had won the 2024 Assembly elections from two constituencies, Ganderbal and Budgam.

The Chief Minister has decided to represent the Ganderbal seat in the 90-member Assembly and relinquish the Budgam seat.

&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, on Saturday, emphasised the importance of integrating patient care with patient safety in the premier health institutions.

Omar Abdullah inaugurated the National Conference on Patient Safety at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC), Srinagar, emphasising the urgent need to integrate patient care with patient safety to build a robust and responsive healthcare delivery system in Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing the inaugural session, the Chief Minister said that quality healthcare is incomplete without ensuring patient safety, stressing that every healthcare institution must prioritise safety protocols, continuous monitoring, and capacity building of medical staff.

The ECI on Saturday announced a paid holiday for employed electors on the two polling days for the Bihar Assembly elections and warned employers of a penalty if they deduct wages of their staff for absence on November 6 and 11.

“The Commission has directed the State governments to issue necessary instructions to all concerned for strict compliance with these provisions and to ensure that all electors are able to exercise their franchise freely and conveniently,” said the Election Commission of India (ECI) in a circular.

As per the ECI’s schedule, by-elections to eight Assembly Constituencies in seven states will also be held on November 11.

A day ahead of the final date for filing nominations for the first phase of Bihar Assembly elections, there appears to be a pall of uncertainty over seat-sharing agreements, leading to the chances of “friendly fights” in a few constituencies.

Among Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) partners, with principal components like the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RJD), Congress, and the Left clawing for a lion’s share, smaller partners are worried about their own prospects. The Bihar Legislative Assembly comprises 243 seats.

Meanwhile, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is also witnessing some crosswinds with allies like Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) vying for particular seats.

As the campaigning gathers pace in the run-up to the Bihar Assembly elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday allotted digital vouchers to both national and state parties for free telecast time on the two leading national broadcasters – Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR).

The digital vouchers facilitate political parties (national parties and recognised state parties) to use limited ‘free time’ on the state-owned television and radio channels for campaigning and expanding reach to the masses on their respective poll promises.

The digital time vouchers have been issued to all national and state political parties in Bihar for the Legislative Assembly elections, under Section 39A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

The Election Commission of India has directed the immediate replacement of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) for 79 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal as their selections have violated the ECI-mandated criteria.

A communication on this count has already been sent to the West Bengal government to nominate names of those state government officers who match the criteria for being selected as EROs.

As per the ECI-mandated criteria, West Bengal Civil Service (Executive) cadre officials in the ranks of sub-divisional magistrates, sub-divisional officers and rural development officers can only be considered for selection as EROs.

In a move to ensure inclusive and barrier-free participation in the upcoming high-stakes Bihar Assembly elections and bye-elections in eight Assembly Constituencies, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday issued comprehensive guidelines aimed at making the voting process accessible for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).

According to the ECI, the polling in Bihar will feature a total of 90,712 polling stations, each equipped with facilities tailored to support PwD electors and senior citizens.

“Additionally, in another initiative, 292 Polling Stations will be exclusively managed by Persons with Disabilities,” the poll panel said in its press note.

Renowned folk and devotional singer Maithili Thakur, celebrated for her contributions to Maithili culture, has been fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as its candidate from the Alinagar Assembly constituency in Darbhanga district for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

The 25-year-old singer from Benipatti in Madhubani district, who joined the BJP on Tuesday in the presence of state party president Dilip Jaiswal, replaces incumbent BJP MLA Mishrilal Yadav, whose ticket was dropped amid reports of his dissatisfaction with the party’s internal dynamics.

Thakur’s nomination marks a strategic move by the BJP to leverage her popularity among youth and cultural enthusiasts to bolster its appeal in the Mithilanchal region, where Alinagar has emerged as a key battleground seat.

Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday launched an attack on the BJP, urging the people of Bihar to vote the saffron party out of power in the November Assembly polls.

Addressing a press conference here, Akhilesh Yadav said: "We have defeated the BJP in Awadh in Uttar Pradesh. Now it is the turn of the people of Bihar to defeat it in Magadh."

Accusing the BJP of pushing Bihar into unemployment and inflation, the SP chief appealed to voters to support candidates from socialist and alliance parties.

After the nine-day stalemate over the post-mortem of senior Haryana cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Y. Puran Kumar, who allegedly died by suicide, the body was cremated with the consent of his wife and IAS officer Amneet P. Kumar.

The impasses ended with the Haryana government's assurance to the family of a fair and impartial probe, besides a commitment that action will be taken against “erring” officials.

Puran Kumar’s family members, his colleagues, comprising O.P. Singh, who has been given the additional charge of Director General of Police by replacing Shatrujeet Kapur, bureaucrats, politicians and scores of sympathisers attended the funeral here.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) issued a directive to enforcement agencies on Wednesday to prevent the influence of money in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

It also mentioned that Expenditure Observers have been deployed to monitor the election process.

The ECI also mentioned that since the announcement of elections on October 6, a total seizure of Rs 33.97 crore worth of cash, liquor, drugs and freebies has been done by different Enforcement Agencies.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced on Tuesday that the government has decided to waive off the late payment surcharge for domestic water consumers, adding that a 100 per cent discount will be available on the payment of outstanding bills till January 31, 2026.

“Today, the ‘Late Payment Surcharge Waiver Scheme’ and the ‘Unauthorised Connection Regularisation Scheme’ were launched. Both these schemes have brought significant relief to the residents of Delhi and will make the water management system more public-friendly and transparent,” she said.

In a post on X, CM Gupta said, “The government has reduced the penalty for unauthorised domestic consumers from Rs 25,000 to just Rs 1,000, while for commercial connections, it has been reduced from Rs 61,000 to Rs 5,000. This step will also pave the way for connecting millions of consumers to future schemes and an uninterrupted water supply.”

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday announced the completion of the first randomisation process of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units for the second phase of the upcoming General Elections in Bihar.

The procedure was carried out on October 13, 2025, after the First Level Checking (FLC) of all machines across the 20 districts scheduled to vote in this phase.

According to the ECI, “the First Randomisation was done through EVM Management System (EMS) by the DEOs in the presence of the representatives of National and State Recognised Political Parties.”

After National Conference (NC) MP and senior party leader, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi stirred the hornet’s nest by deciding to stay away from the election campaign in his native Budgam Assembly constituency, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday avoided answering the related questions.

“I don’t know anything about it”, the CM said while parrying a question about Ruhullah’s statement.

Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi is an influential Shia Muslim leader of Budgam and wields considerable influence among the people because of his family’s religious background in Budgam.

Hours after Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapur was sent on leave amid the controversy surrounding IPS officer Y. Puran Kumar’s suicide, Om Parkash Singh was given additional charge of the Director General of Police.

The government had sent State DGP Kapur on leave amid the demand of Kumar's family for action against him and other officers for harassing him (Puran Kumar).

A 1992-batch IPS officer, Om Parkash Singh, is presently posted as the Managing Director, Haryana Police Housing Corporation, Panchkula, DGP Haryana Narcotics Control Bureau (HSNCB) and Director of Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Madhuban.

“The Governor of Haryana is pleased to assign the additional charge of DGP, Haryana, to Om Prakash Singh, IPS (1992 RR), during the leave period of Shatrujeet Singh Kapur,” stated an order issued by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sumita Mishra Singh.