National Conference (NC) leader and MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, who has crossed swords with J&K CM Omar Abdullah on the reservation issue, said on Saturday that he cannot let the agitating students feel alone and will join their protests.

Talking to reporters here, Ruhullah Mehdi said: "If the government fails to take students into confidence over the pending decision on the reservation issue, I will not hesitate to join their protest."

Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday sought suggestions from partymen on a proposed agitation against the "discontinuation of MGNREGA" and directed early preparations for Assembly elections in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Bengal, and other states in April-May 2026.

Addressing the Congress Working Committee (CWC) at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters at Indira Bhawan in New Delhi, Kharge said a nationwide movement, 'MGNREGA Action Plan', is needed to oppose the government decision to "discontinue" the rural job scheme.

In a significant development, it has come to light that Amit Kumar Mandal, a Booth Level Officer (BLO) from Katwa in the East Burdwan district, had gone missing after taking out a loan of Rs 50 lakh.

This loan may have contributed to his disappearance, and there are no connections to "pressure" from the Special Intensive Review (SIR) work.

According to the police, the BLO went missing after taking a loan of Rs 50 lakh. The police have informed the Election Commission about the investigation into the BLO's disappearance, sources said on Saturday.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday paid obeisance at the historic Gurdwara Sri Fatehgarh Sahib, paying homage to Mata Gujri and the younger Sahibzadas -- Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh for the supreme sacrifice.

Highlighting the significance of the days of Shaheedi Sabha, CM Mann said all of Punjab observed these days as “Days of Mourning” as it was during this period that the tyrant rulers bricked alive the younger Sahibzadas of Dashmesh Pitaah.

J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday rebuffed the senior National Conference (NC) leader and MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi on the reservation issue in government jobs and professional colleges in J&K.

In his strongest reaction to the MP's statements on reservation, Abdullah said: "I am not afraid of anyone’s threats, nor will I take any wrong decision under pressure. I don’t know what you think of yourself."

The Chief Minister said matters like the reservation policy cannot be settled through intimidation or street pressure and must be addressed within the constitutional and legal framework after proper consultation with all the stakeholders.

The Delhi Assembly's Winter Session will begin on January 5, 2026, with Lt Governor (L-G) V.K. Saxena issuing the summoning order for the sitting, an official said on Friday.

In the order, the L-G said: "In exercise of the powers conferred upon me by Section 6(1) of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 (Central Act No. 1 of 1992), I hereby summon the Fourth Session (Winter Session) of the Eighth Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi to meet at the Assembly Hall, Old Secretariat, Delhi-110054, on Monday, January 5, 2026, at 2.00 p.m."

The AAP-ruled Punjab government has been providing free 600 units of electricity to every household per billing cycle since 2022, enabling 90 per cent of them to avail the facility, besides releasing Rs 968 crore for crop loss in monsoon floods, reducing the cost of doorsteps delivery of services from Rs 120 to just Rs 50, clearing dues 

Domicile certificates issued by the West Bengal government after July 2025, which will be provided as identity documents during the hearing sessions on claims and objections on the draft voters' list in West Bengal starting from Saturday, will be under the special scanner of the Election Commission of India.

The Commission had already directed the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal to ensure that the District Magistrates, also the District Electoral Officers and their subordinate electoral officers to check the authenticity of the domicile certificates that are furnished as identity documents for the "unmapped" voters, those not having links with the 2002 voters' list be it through "self mapping" or through "progeny mapping".

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday paid tributes to Bharat Ratna late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, describing him as a visionary statesman, and announced to name at least one public place in each of 87 Urban Local Bodies after the late leader, as his life symbolised integrity, democratic values, and people-centric governance.

The Chief Minister, while remembering former Prime Minister Vajpayee, said he was not only steadfast in his thoughts but also unwavering in his values and principles.

He emphasised that though governments may come and go, "Atal-ji always remained firm in his ideals".

The Election Commission of India has initiated action against nearly 10 lakh voters in Tamil Nadu for failing to provide accurate or complete information during the recently concluded Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Notices have been issued seeking explanations and additional documents to ensure that eligible voters are not excluded from the final voter list. The SIR process in Tamil Nadu commenced on November 4 and concluded on December 14.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday inaugurated 45 out of the proposed 100 ‘Atal Canteens’ in the national capital on the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The initiative aims to provide affordable and nutritious meals to people at highly subsidised rates.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, BJP leaders Ashish Sood and Tarvinder Singh Marwah, who were seen having food at the Atal Canteen to mark the occasion.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed a two-level verification to confirm the authenticity of the supporting identity documents of voters during the hearing session on claims and objections on the draft voters’ list starting from December 27.

The “unmapped” voters, who are the ones not having any link with the 2002 voters’ list either through “self mapping” or through “progeny mapping”, will be summoned for hearing sessions. They will have to furnish any one of the 13 identity documents as specified by the ECI to retain their names in the final voters’ list.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy, Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar, and other dignitaries have expressed shock and condoled the deaths of nine people in the bus tragedy in Karnataka's Chitradurga.

CM Siddaramaiah has stated that a thorough investigation will be conducted regarding the incident.

Siddaramaiah said on Thursday, "Hearing the horrifying news of the accident between a lorry and a bus near Chitradurga, in which several passengers were burned alive, was deeply distressing. Tragically, the journey of people travelling to their hometowns during the Christmas holidays ended in such a disaster."

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has advised the micro-observers appointed to supervise the hearing sessions to be especially vigilant about the mismatches in dates of birth (DOBs) in its records and supporting documents furnished by the voters concerned.

Clear instructions were given to the micro-observers during a training programme on Wednesday about their roles in the hearing sessions.

Explaining the matter in detail, sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said that during the hearing sessions, instances might surface where there might be mismatches between the dates of birth that are in the records of the Commission, with those mentioned in the supporting identity documents provided by the voters during the hearing sessions.

In a move aimed at ensuring a transparent and grievance-free voter list revision, the Election Commission has appointed four Electoral Roll Observers to oversee the Intensive Electoral Roll Revision (IER) - 2026 across Kerala’s 14 districts, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Dr Rathan U. Kelkar said on Wednesday.

The initiative seeks to ensure that no eligible voter is excluded and that all deficiencies are addressed before the final publication of the electoral rolls.

The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) on Tuesday announced the list of 40 star campaigners for the polling to the 29 municipal corporations, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The list, submitted to the State Election Commission, features a blend of national heavyweights and prominent state leaders to spearhead the party's campaign.

The Congress party's move comes when it has decided to go solo in Mumbai, strongly opposing the "inclusion" of Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in the Maha Vikas Aghadi.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab’s Chief Spokesperson and MLA Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), stating that BJP’s hatred towards Punjab, Punjabi culture and its great heritage has once again come out to the front.

Aam Aadmi Party MP Malvinder Singh Kang on Tuesday strongly condemned the Bharatiya Janata Party for gravely hurting Sikh religious sentiments by circulating a social media post portraying Sri Guru Sahib and the Sahibzadas in the form of cartoons, calling it a shameful, insensitive and deliberate act.

Each Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) will daily handle 150 cases of hearings on claims and objections to the draft voters' list in West Bengal from Saturday, as per the target set by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The daily target had been fixed keeping in mind the schedule of the second and third stages of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal so that the hearing session could be concluded within a reasonable period facilitating the process of the meeting the deadline for publishing the final voters' list on February 14 next year, sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal said.

Three India-Bangladesh bordering districts of West Bengal, namely Murshidabad, South 24 Parganas, and North 24 Parganas, have recorded the maximum number of doubtful voters whose weird family tree data have been detected in 'progeny mapping' during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Insiders from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, stated that of the 1.36 crore doubtful cases detected in progeny mapping, the highest number -- at around 4.08 lakh -- has been recorded in the minority-dominated and India-Bangladesh bordering Murshidabad district.

After more than one-and-a-half month of door-to-door Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Madhya Pradesh, the Election Commission of India (ECI) will release the draft electoral roll of voters for the state on Tuesday, election officials said on Monday.

The official sources in the Chief Electoral Office (CEO) here in Madhya Pradesh told that, preliminary assessment suggesting that the names of nearly 41.8 lakh voters, that is, about 7.2 per cent of the electorate, are likely to be deleted from the SIR.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has made it clear that academic qualification certificates issued by individual educational institutions, including schools and colleges, will not be recognised as valid identity documents or age proof during the hearing sessions on the claims and objections to the draft voters’ list in West Bengal, which will start this week.

The ECI has made it clear that academic qualification certificates issued by registered education boards or education councils, or universities, will be honoured as valid identity documents or age proofs in the hearing sessions, insiders from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) have said.

Declaring that the era of aviation being a playground only for the wealthy is over, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann on Saturday outlined an ambitious roadmap to position Punjab as a major hub of the aviation industry in the coming years. Interacting with aircraft engineers and trainees at the Patiala Flying Club, the Chief Minister said the Punjab Government is building a robust aviation ecosystem by providing quality, affordable and world-class training aligned with industry needs, enabling children of farmers, shopkeepers and teachers to dream of careers once considered out of reach. 

Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday mounted a sharp attack on the PM Narendra Modi-led government, accusing it of systematically running a "bulldozer" over the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and undermining the rights of rural poor, farmers and landless workers, terming it an “assault on rural livelihoods”.

The office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal has sought the permission of the Election Commission of India (ECO) to allow assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) to assist the electoral registration officers (EROs) during the hearing sessions on the claims and objections on the draft voters’ list which was published on December 16.

Initially, it was decided that 10 EROs would handle the hearing session for each of the 294 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal. However, insiders from the CEO’s office pointed out that, considering the huge number of voters in each constituency who would be summoned for hearings, there is consideration to allow AEROs to assist the EROs in those sessions.

The Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab on Friday said it would convene a special session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha next month against the Centre’s “attempt to hit the livelihoods of the poor by replacing the MGNREGA scheme”.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said, “The BJP government at the Centre is trying to hit the livelihoods of the poor by replacing the MGNREGA scheme. A special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha will be called in the second week of January to raise the voice of Punjabis against this oppression.”

In the draft voters’ list, published on December 16, the number of applications for new enrolment is negligible compared to the number of voters excluded from the previous list as of October 2025.

Sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, have said that the number of applications for new voters’ enrolment during the first stage of their enrolment has been 3,24,800 compared to the massive figure of 58,20,899 excluded voters from the earlier list.

In a tumultuous session marked by loud protests and sloganeering from Opposition benches, the Lok Sabha passed the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 (VB-G RAM-G Bill) via voice vote on Thursday.

The winter session of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly is unlikely to take place within the current calendar year due to the pressure from the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the upcoming festive season, sources said on Thursday.

The second phase of the SIR exercise began on Tuesday with the publication of the draft voters’ list.

The Election Commission of India (ECI), from Thursday, will start sending notices for hearing on the claims and objections on the draft voters’ list in West Bengal, thus marking the end of the first stage of the three-part Special Intensive Exercise (SIR), which started from November 4.

The draft list was published on Tuesday. Sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said that to begin with, the ECI will send notices to the “unmapped” voters, which means those voters who have no connection with the voters' list for 2002, either through “self-mapping” or through ”progeny mapping".

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday met Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi in Delhi and presented her the Telangana Rising 2047 Vision Document.

The Chief Minister briefed Sonia Gandhi on the details of the Telangana Rising Global Summit-2025, which was held on December 8 and 9 at the upcoming Bharat Future City.

He also told her about the welfare schemes being implemented by the Congress government for the past two years, the measures being taken for the state's development, and future plans, according to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

The Lok Sabha witnessed sharp protests on Tuesday as the government introduced the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, aimed at replacing the iconic Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor led the opposition charge, terming the bill a "deeply regrettable and retrograde step" that undermines the welfare of India's most vulnerable rural citizens.

 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab strongly condemned the Union government’s move to dismantle the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and replace it with the so-called Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin (VB-G RAM G), calling it a “well-planned deception” aimed at weakening the rights, dignity, and livelihood security of rural labourers across the country.

Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot has welcomed the decision of Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court in the National Herald case, calling it a clear victory of truth over 'misuse' of power.

He said that by rejecting the Enforcement Directorate’s complaint against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the court has made it unequivocally clear that no case of money laundering under the PMLA is made out.

“We have maintained from the very beginning that this was a false and fabricated case, deliberately created by the Modi government with the sole intention of tarnishing the image of the Gandhi family,” Gehlot said.

The draft voters’ list in West Bengal, marking the end of the first stage of the three-stage Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive in the state, was published on Tuesday.

At the same time, the Election Commission has also published a separate list of the excluded voters from the previous list as of October 2005. This includes deceased voters, shifted voters, untraceable voters, duplicate voters, and voters found suitable for exclusion for other reasons.