The principal rival fronts in Bihar have finally announced incumbent Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav as their respective chief ministerial candidates after weeks of speculation and haggling. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), around the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Janata Dal (United) axis, and the Mahagatbandhan, or Grand Alliance, around the Indian National Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) axis, are caught in their internal games of one-upmanship.
In a holiday-season flavored but hard-sounding telephone conversation, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was called by former US President Donald Trump earlier this week, wishing him Diwali greetings and discussing some serious matters like how the two nations trade and why India imports oil from Russia.
After months of uncertainty and prolonged seat-sharing talks, the Opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc on Thursday announced RJD leader and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, a move seen as a last-ditch effort to project unity and end internal squabbles ahead of the polls.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing “surprise and shock” at the Centre’s unilateral appointment of an interlocutor for the “issues relating to Gurkhas in Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars regions of West Bengal”.
The Kerala government has officially enrolled in the Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme of the Central government after almost two years of opposition to the scheme alignment with the National Education Policy ( NEP 2020 ).
The acceptance of diversity and the importance of asking “difficult questions” are enduring memories of India for Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, who began her first official visit to India on Thursday (October 16, 2025) with a walk down memory lane to her alma mater, Delhi University’s Hindu College.
In a sweeping move ahead of the anticipated Cabinet reshuffle, all Ministers in the Bhupendra Patel-led Gujarat government tendered their resignations on Thursday (October 16, 2025), clearing the way for a new team to be sworn today. The existing council of Ministers, which had 17 members, is likely to be expanded to 22 or 23, with several new faces expected to join the Cabinet. Nearly half of the current Ministers may be replaced in what is being described as one of the most significant reshuffles of Mr. Patel’s tenure.
In the state visit of Indian President Narendra Modi to Mongolia, the countries signed ten significant agreements updating a 70-year history of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The agreements were signed following the delegation-level discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House, with a strengthened strategic coverage of the countries in the energy, defence, cultural, and digital sectors.
Ahmedabad is set to host the Commonwealth Games in 2030. As reported by this newspaper, Amdavad (also known as Ahmedabad) is the venue submitted by India and the one Commonwealth Sport executive board has recommended to the house for approval next month. India hosted the same Games in 2010.
RJD president Lalu Prasad gave away party tickets to candidates favoured by him, unfazed by inability of the INDIA bloc, helmed in Bihar by the Rashtriya Janata Dal, to formally announce a plan for seat-sharing.
