Sapphire news

The BJP’s Central Election Committee (CEC) released its first list of 71 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly election on Tuesday (October 14, 2025), with more than half belonging to disadvantaged communities. Only nine are women. Two members of the Bihar Legislative Council — the State’s Upper House, whose members are elected indirectly — are … Read more

As Bihar prepares for phase one of Assembly polls on November 6, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has warned that bulk SMSes and audio messages during the 48-hour ‘silence period’ which starts before the conclusion of voting, is prohibited. In a note issued on October 9 outlining campaigning restrictions, the poll authority said, political … Read more

The EC on directed political parties to get advertisements pre-certified. | Photo Credit: PTI Ahead of the Bihar Assembly election, the Election Commission of India (EC) on Tuesday (October 14, 2025) directed political parties to get advertisements pre-certified and asked candidates to inform the poll body about their “authentic” social media accounts while filing nominations. … Read more

As Bihar prepares for phase one of Assembly polls on November 6, the Election Commission has warned that bulk SMSes and audio messages during the 48-hour ‘silence period’ which starts before the conclusion of voting, is prohibited.  In a note issued on October 9 outlining campaigning restrictions, the poll authority said, political advertisements on any … Read more

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav asked the leaders to return the party symbols given to some of the leaders to file nomination papers. File | Photo Credit: PTI With the last minute hiccups in seat sharing formula finalisation between two contesting blocs ruling NDA and Opposition mahagthbandhan (grand alliance) in poll-bound Bihar are yet to be … Read more

The seat-sharing among the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners for the Bihar election has sent out a clear message, the Janata Dal (United) is no longer the senior partner in Bihar and that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is now an equal. Both parties are contesting on 101 seats each in the 243-member Assembly this … Read more

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar interacts during the inauguration and lays the foundation stone for 22 development projects worth ₹1,333 crore at the Baliram Higher Secondary School campus at Sakra block, in Muzaffarpur on Monday, October 13, 2025. | Photo Credit: ANI After the results of the Bihar Assembly election of 2020 were declared, Prime … Read more

Janata Dal (United) supporters, wearing masks of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, hold EVM replicas in Patna on October 12, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI On October 6, 2025, the day the Election Commission of India declared dates for the Assembly elections in Bihar, various players, including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief J.P. Nadda and … Read more

The ECI said randomisation of electronic voting machines (EVM) for the first phase, to be held on November 6, had been completed. File image for representation. | Photo Credit: ANI The Election Commission (EC) on Monday (October 13, 2025) issued a notification for the second phase of Assembly elections in Bihar to be held on November … Read more

The Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD), led by Tej Pratap Yadav, older son of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, on Monday (October 13, 2025) announced the names of 21 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly election. On May 25, Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav expelled from the RJD Mr. Tej Pratap Yadav, the incumbent … Read more

Jan Suraaj Party chief Prashant Kishor. File | Photo Credit: ANI A day after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) announced the seat-sharing plan among its allies for the upcoming Bihar Assembly election, the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP), founded by former poll strategist Prashant Kishor, on Monday (October 13, 2025) declared a second list of 65 … Read more

Deadlock continues: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi along with other leaders of the grand alliance during a rally in Patna in July. | Photo Credit: ANI The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagatbandhan (grand alliance) failed to announce its seat-sharing formula for the upcoming Bihar Assembly election on Monday (October 13, 2025), despite at least two rounds … Read more

CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya on Monday (October 13, 2025) said that decks have been cleared for the party to contest at least 18 seats in the Bihar polls, while negotiations were underway for a few more constituencies. Mr. Bhattacharya said that the party, which is a constituent of the Opposition Mahagathbandhan, will begin … Read more

Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) national general secretary Arvind Rajbhar. Photo: X/@arvindrajbhar07 In a move seemingly driven by disappointment over not being allocated a seat in the upcoming Bihar polls, the SBSP, a member of the NDA, announced on Monday (October 13, 2025) that it will contest 153 seats in the State. Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj … Read more

The seat-sharing arrangement within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the upcoming Bihar Assembly election was finalised on Sunday evening after a series of meetings among senior alliance leaders in New Delhi. Janata Dal (United) working president Sanjay Jha and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) election in-charge Vinod Tawde shared the details on social media platform … Read more

On the table: The Congress and the RJD have not yet settled the division of seats between themselves. File | Photo Credit: PTI The Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) leaders will meet in Delhi to finalise the seat-sharing deal for the Bihar Assembly election on Monday (October 13, 2025). Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul … Read more

The Assembly election in Bihar — being held in two phases, November 6 and 11, with results to be declared on November 14 — is a high-stakes battle for all players. An in-depth look at the state of play in the State shows that each big party is grappling with its own issues, both internally … Read more

Unemployment has consistently emerged as one of the most pressing political issues in Bihar. In the last two Assembly elections, jobs and livelihood were among the top concerns. In 2015, post-poll surveys conducted by Lokniti-CSDS showed that ‘unemployment/jobs’ was the most important issue for 9.1% of voters. By 2020, this percentage rose to nearly 21.0%, … Read more

RJD chief Lalu Prasad with party leader Tejashwi Yadav. File | Photo Credit: PTI Seat-sharing woes may continue to plague the INDIA bloc in Bihar for some time, with RJD president Lalu Prasad, along with son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, leaving for Delhi on Sunday (October 12, 2025). The party, which recently “authorised” Mr. … Read more

Our host traveled to Bihar on the day polls were announced, speaking with Jan Suraj founder Prashant Kishor and leaders across party lines. This episode dives into two key unknowns shaping the race: Nitish Kumar’s health and the emerging influence of Jan Suraj. Don’t miss this early assessment of Bihar’s political landscape. Published – October … Read more

Jan Suraaj Party chief Prashant Kishor greets people during the ‘Bihar Badlav Yatra’ at Raghopur ahead of the Bihar Assembly election, in Vaishali on October 11, 2025. | Photo Credit: ANI FIR was lodged on Sunday (October 12, 2025) for alleged violation of the model code of conduct (MCC), in force in poll-bound Bihar, during … Read more

Tejashwi Yadav along with former JD-(U) MP Santosh Kushwaha, LJP (RV) leader Ajay Kushwaha, JD- (U) MP Girdhari Yadav’s son Chanakya Prakash Ranjan and former JD-(U) MLA Rahul Sharma taking the membership of RJD in Patna on Friday.  | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly election, prominent faces of ruling parties on … Read more

Independent MP Pappu Yadav. File | Photo Credit: ANI A case was filed against Bihar MP Pappu Yadav for allegedly violating the model code of conduct after he distributed money among the flood-affected people in Vaishali district, officials said on Friday (October 10, 2025). The case was registered against Mr. Yadav, the Independent MP from … Read more

An artist gives final touches to a voter awareness mural in Patna. File. | Photo Credit: ANI The Election Commission of India (ECI) kickstarted the Bihar Assembly election process on Friday (October 10, 2025) by issuing a notification for Phase 1 polling in 121 constituencies on November 6. The poll body said that it has … Read more

Ticket-seekers demonstrate outside RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s residence in Patna on October 10, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Friday (October 10, 2025) authorised party supremo Lalu Prasad to take the final decision on selection of candidates for the upcoming Assembly election in Bihar. The election to the 243-member Assembly … Read more

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is willing to contest at least 12 Assembly seats in the upcoming Bihar polls as an ally of the INDIA bloc, a party leader said on Friday (October 10, 2025). The final decision on the number of seats where the party will field candidates will be made only after a … Read more

A general view of Election Commission of India, Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi. Image for the purpose of representation only. | Photo Credit: Aman Raj The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed political parties to refrain from misusing artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools to create deepfakes that distort information or spread misinformation on social media … Read more

The BJP spokesperson demanded that Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav should apologise, questioning if the Congress leader was guided by a “foreign remote control”. File | Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma The BJP claimed on Thursday (October 9, 2025) that not a single appeal filed by the RJD and Congress in Bihar against … Read more