Sapphire news

Congress has not confirmed RJD ally Tejashwi Yadav as mahagathbandhan’s CM face; BJP has not confirmed CM and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar as NDA’s choice. File | Photo Credit: PTI Ahead of the first phase of the Bihar Assembly election on November 6, there is still utter confusion among both the main political blocs in … Read more

AIMIM Chief and MP Asaduddin Owaisi. File | Photo Credit: ANI The Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM, which had vowed to contest “100 seats” in the Bihar polls upon being spurned by the INDIA bloc, on Sunday (October 19, 2025) announced 25 candidates, including two non-Muslims. The list, which includes the name of Akhtarul Iman, the State … Read more

Madan Sah was hopeful of a ticket from Madhuban, where he was the runner-up in 2020, losing to the BJP candidate by a small margin. Photo: X/@lkoabhishek High drama unfolded outside RJD president Lalu Prasad’s residence on Sunday (October 19, 2025) when an aspirant broke down, tore off his clothes and started rolling down the … Read more

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary (extreme right) and Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Tejashwi Yadav (in white) | Photo Credit: File photo Dynasts continue to dominate Bihar’s political landscape, with a considerable number of candidates being either sons, daughters, wives or close relatives of established politicians. Experts say … Read more

In the run-up to the Bihar Assembly election, dissent grew within the Indian National Democratic, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc on Sunday over the distribution of tickets to contest. Sitting Congress MLA from Kasba, Mohammad Afaque Alam, upon being denied a ticket, levelled a serious allegation against the Bihar Congress in-charge Krishna Allavaru, Bihar Pradesh Congress … Read more

Earlier, the Congress had released its first list of 48 candidates. Till now, it has fielded 53 candidates. File. | Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI The Congress Election Committee (CEC) on Saturday (October 18, 2025) released its second list comprising five candidates for the Bihar Assembly election. The party has named Shashwat Kedar Pandey for the … Read more

Migrants at Patna junction rush to catch trains home. Most of them live in the northeastern and northwestern border districts of Bihar. | Photo Credit: Amarnath Tewary As Bihari migrants start returning home ahead of the two major festivals of Diwali (the festival of lights) and Chhath (the offering to the sun deity), the big … Read more

Union Home Minister Amit Shah waves to the crowd during a public meeting ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, in Saran on October 17, 2025. Photo: X/@AmitShah via ANI Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday (October 18, 2025) expressed hope that the NDA will retain power in Bihar, spurning the Rashtriya Janata Dal-helmed INDIA … Read more

Neglected in ticket distribution, a group of Congress leaders in Bihar on Saturday (October 18, 2025) accused State Congress in-charge Krishna Allavaru and Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president Rajesh Ram of selling tickets. Addressing a press conference, a group of party functionaries, including a sitting MLA and a former MLA, said party president Mallikarjun … Read more

Prashant Kishor, 48, political strategist-turned-leader of the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP), is a public figure about whom much is known and seen, yet with every new assignment or stage in his career, something more is revealed. As an unknown wag once said, “why pay money to have your family tree traced; go into politics and … Read more

The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar faced a major jolt on Saturday (October 18, 2025) after the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) candidate Seema Singh’s nomination papers were rejected during the scrutiny process in the Marhaura Assembly seat ahead of next month’s election. Her candidature was rejected due to discrepancies found in her … Read more

Union Home Minister Amit Shah meets Union Minister Chirag Paswan regarding the preparation of the Bihar Legislative Assembly elections, in Patna on October 18, 2025. | Photo Credit: ANI Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Saturday (October 18, 2025) thanked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) and the BJP for “showing a big heart” in accommodating … Read more

A meeting of the Multi-Departmental Committee on Election Intelligence, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, was held in New Delhi on October 17, 2025. | Photo Credit: ANI Ahead of the upcoming Assembly election in Bihar, the Election Commission on Friday (October 17, 2025) … Read more

CPI (ML) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya. File | Photo Credit: PTI CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya has claimed that the Jan Suraaj Party, founded by strategist-politician Prashant Kishor, has greater traction among migrants from Bihar than among people living in the State. In an interview with PTI here, the Left leader, who said … Read more

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday (October 17, 2025) criticised the Opposition in Bihar for giving Assembly election ticket to Osama Shahab, son of don-turned-politician late Mohammad Shahabuddin who once ruled Siwan during the RJD’s rule of 15 years (1990-2005). The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is fielding … Read more

The Congress declared former MLA Rishi Mishra, who had quit the party three years ago to join the RJD, as its candidate from Jale constituency in Darbhanga district. | Photo Credit: Twitter/@Rishi_Mithila The Congress on Friday (October 17, 2025) declared former MLA Rishi Mishra, who had quit the party three years ago to join the … Read more

Muslims account for 17.7% of Bihar’s population, spiking to more than 40% in northern border districts, but as the Assembly election approaches, they are hard to spot among the candidate lists of political parties. So far, no political party has announced more than four Muslim candidates for the State’s 243 Assembly constituencies, apart from the … Read more

Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav, Bihar Congress In-charge Krishna Allavaru, CPI-ML General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani and others during ‘India Alliance Samvad’ program, in Patna, on May 4, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI Even as nominations for the first phase of the Bihar Assembly election … Read more

The Congress has released its first list of 48 candidates for the Bihar polls. File | Photo Credit: PTI The Congress on Thursday (October 16, 2025) released its first list of 48 candidates for Bihar polls, retaining Bihar Congress State President Rajesh Ram from Kutumba and CLP Shakeel Ahmed Khan from Kadwa assembly seat. The … Read more

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai. File | Photo Credit: PTI Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Thursday (October 16, 2025) asserted that the NDA will return to power with a thumping majority in Bihar after the assembly polls. Mr. Sai, who arrived in Patna to participate in the nomination filing of several BJP … Read more

After prolonged negotiations, the Mahagatbandhan managed to settle the seat division between the allies by late Thursday (October 16, 2025), hours before the final deadline for filing nominations for the first phase of the Bihar Assembly election. A formal announcement is awaited. Thursday (October 16, 2025) saw hectic parleys between the allies, with Mukesh Sahani’s … Read more

The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Thursday (October 16, 2025) completed the announcement of its candidates for all 243 constituencies ahead of the Bihar Assembly election. On Thursday, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) announced its second and final list of 44 candidates while the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Upendra Kushwaha’s … Read more

BJP has fielded Satish Kumar Yadav from Raghopur Assembly seat. File | Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj The BJP on Wednesday (October 15, 2025) evening released its third list of 18 candidates for Bihar polls, fielding Bina Devi from Kochadhaman seat and Sangeeta Kumari from Mohania, which is reserved for the Scheduled Castes. In the … Read more

Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav. File | Photo Credit: ANI Bihar Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, and the State’s Leader of Opposition have at least one thing in common – their love for guns. Bihar Assembly election LIVE All three have filed their nomination papers for the first phase of the … Read more

Janshakti Janta Dal leader Tej Pratap Yadav speaks to the gathering as he files his nomination from Mahua Assembly ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections. (X/@TejYadav14) A day after his younger brother and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav filed his nomination papers from the Raghopur seat in Vaishali district in the presence of … Read more

Young voters beholding the Madhubani paintings done for voter’s awareness for ongoing parliamentary elections on walls of Art wing of A.N. College, Patna on May 10, 2019. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu “Andha kya mange, aankho ki roshni. Berojgar yuva kya mange, naukri—aur kya? (What a blind person needs is eye sight. What an … Read more