Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit Odisha on July 11, as part of the Congress party's national campaign.

The Congress leader is likely to attend a public rally titled 'Save the Constitution' to be held at the Baramunda Ground in Bhubaneswar.

The rally will also be attended by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge and party General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal.

Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Bhakta Charan Das on Tuesday shared the update, confirming the high-level participation.

Ahead of the visit, the Congress party convened an important meeting of its expanded Political Affairs Committee at the Congress Bhavan in Bhubaneswar.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has initiated a fresh round of meetings with recognised state political parties as part of its ongoing consultations ahead of upcoming electoral exercises, including the crucial Bihar Assembly elections later this year and West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry Assembly elections next year.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi on Tuesday had an interaction with a delegation from Trinamool Congress led by the party’s authorised representative-Chandrima Bhattacharya, Kalyan Banerjee, Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas and Prakash Chik Baraik and received their suggestions at the poll panel's headquarters in New Delhi.

Ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, the Bihar Cabinet cleared 24 proposals, including the launch of the Chief Minister Artist Pension Scheme to support senior and distinguished artistes of the state facing a livelihood crisis.

Eligible artistes will receive a pension of Rs 3,000 per month under this scheme.

Sharing details on Tuesday, S. Siddhartha, Additional Chief Secretary of the Cabinet Secretariat, informed that under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Cabinet approved the Chief Minister Guru Shishya Parampara Yojana to promote traditional methods and skills, with administrative approval of Rs 1.11 crore for 2025-26.

Under the centrally-sponsored National Mission on Natural Farming Scheme, administrative approval of Rs 36.35 crore was granted for the financial year 2025-26.

Bangladeshi interim government's Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has sought US support for the country's democratic transition and reaffirmed that elections would be held "in the early part of next year" during his conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

During a telephone conversation on Monday, Rubio and Yunus discussed the ongoing reform process, transition to democracy, the upcoming general election, and aid for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

Yunus assured Rubio that the ongoing dialogue between his government and political parties would result in much-needed reforms of the country's political system.

"The 15-minute discussion was warm, cordial, and constructive, reflecting the strong bilateral engagement between the two nations. Secretary Rubio expressed support for Bangladesh's reform agenda and its move to hold elections early next year," the Bangladesh Chief Advisor posted on X.

Senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has raised sharp questions on the Election Commission’s move to revise the voter list ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, alleging it is creating confusion among voters.

Speaking to reporters at Patna Airport, Gehlot said: “Before the Bihar polls, the Election Commission is adopting new tricks. What is the need to take such steps just before the elections?”

Gehlot questioned the urgency and transparency of the voter list revision of nearly 8 crore voters within 25 days, stating that people are confused about the requirement of documents such as birth certificates.

Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey has challenged Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav to an open debate, asking him to present data on appointments made during his (Tejashwi's) tenure as the state Health Minister.

Pandey accused Tejashwi of trying to claim credit for recruitment efforts that were carried out under the leadership and direction of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

"Whatever positive work has been done today, the credit for it goes to Chief Minister Nitish, not Tejashwi Yadav," Pandey stated.

Pandey's remarks came during a programme at Bapu Auditorium, Patna, where 21,391 people were given appointment letters for the post of constables.

The Health Minister highlighted that in just the last month, over 9,000 appointments were made in the Health Department, with similar large-scale recruitment underway in the Education, Home, and other departments.

Ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav filed his nomination on Monday for the post of the National President of the party for a record 13th-consecutive term.

He was accompanied by his son and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Tejashwi Yadav, wife Rabri Devi, daughter Misa Bharti, and several senior party leaders.

A large number of party workers gathered at the RJD state headquarters in Patna, where chants of “Lalu Yadav Zindabad” echoed both inside and outside the office, creating a festive and emotional atmosphere.

Speaking to the media, Tejashwi Yadav expressed joy over his father's re-nomination.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) staged a protest demonstration in Bihar’s Patna on Tuesday, and promised that the party will contest all 243 seats in the upcoming Assembly elections.

AAP leaders, led by Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, held a sit-in protest at Gardanibagh, Patna, raising issues concerning the treatment of Bihari migrants in Delhi and alleged injustices under BJP rule.

Addressing the media persons in Patna, Sanjay Singh launched a scathing attack on the BJP, accusing it of demolishing homes, huts, and shops of Bihari families who have been living in Delhi for decades.

The BJP’s Kanad Purkayastha and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) veteran Birendra Prasad Baishya have been elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Assam, an election official confirmed on Friday.

With no Opposition parties fielding candidates, the two National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominees were declared elected on Thursday, the last day for filing nominations.

The Rajya Sabha elections were originally scheduled for June 19.

This marks the parliamentary debut of Kanad Purkayastha, who currently serves as the BJP’s state secretary.

Seeking the re-introduction of paper ballots, Bahujan Samaj Party National President Mayawati on Thursday blamed the alleged manipulation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for her party’s recent diminishing electoral success.

“Most of the Opposition parties, including our party, want that all the small and big elections in the country should be conducted through ballot papers like before. But this is not possible under the current government,” said Mayawati, in her address to media persons.

Looking to revitalise her party cadre in the backdrop of recent electoral reverses, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said, “A change of regime is on the cards in the country and this will surely bring back ballot papers. Therefore, BSP workers need not feel disheartened and should remain focussed on strengthening the organisation.”

Having announced the candidate for the bypolls to the Kaliganj Assembly constituency in the Nadia district of West Bengal, Trinamool Congress is now considering fielding a candidate in the Nilambur seat in Kerala.

Party insiders said that in case Trinamool Congress decides to field a candidate in Nilambur, the choice would be the two-time Left Democratic Front candidate P.V. Anvar, who has moved away from the Left and is currently associated with Mamata Banerjee's party.

In October last year, Anvar severed his ties with the Left Front Democratic Front and floated a new political party christened Democratic Movement of Kerala. Later, the new political outfit merged with Trinamool Congress and Anvar also resigned from the chair of the legislator.

Foreign nationals, mainly Bangladeshis, enrolled in the voters' list in West Bengal with forged documents, are being tracked, police said on Wednesday.

Sources said the investigating officials have received some specific names of such foreign nationals whose fake Indian identity documents, including Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) cards, AADHAAR cards, and even Indian passports, were arranged by Azad Mullick, a Pakistani citizen recently arrested by the officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Kolkata.

Azad, a Pakistani citizen, first arranged Bangladeshi citizenship for himself and subsequently Indian citizenship, using forged documents.

Investigation revealed that Mullick was enrolled as a voter of Dum Dum-Uttar Assembly constituency in North 24 Parganas district, which is again one of the seven Assembly constituencies under Dum Dum Lok Sabha constituency.

In a simple ceremony, Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan on Tuesday administered the oath of office and secrecy to veteran NCP leader and Samata Parishad founder Chhagan Bhujbal as a minister in CM Devendra Fadnavis's cabinet.

The swearing-in took place in the presence of Chief Minister Fadnavis, Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, ministers, government officers and party leaders, including NCP working president Praful Patel and state chief Sunil Tatkare.

After the ceremony, Bhujbal said, “I thank Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, both the Deputy Chief Ministers, as well as Sunil Tatkare, Praful Patel. I also thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Along with this, I also thank all the people, activists and office-bearers of my constituency of Yeola-Lasalgaon, all the office-bearers and activists of Samata Parishad. I also thank all those who have shown love and affection to me till now.”

In the backdrop of Operation Sindoor and rising tensions between India and Pakistan, the Karnataka government has moved to curb the spread of false and provocative content online.

The state Home Ministry is holding a high-level meeting with the Internal Security Division (ISD) and the Department of Information Technology to formulate a response.

Home Minister G. Parameshwara, speaking to the media in Bengaluru, said, “I have convened a meeting with the ISD regarding the growing spread of fake news in the state. IT Minister Priyank Kharge will also be participating.”

Parameshwara expressed concern over the circulation of misleading and inflammatory content on social media.

"Old videos are being reposted, provocative content is being shared, and false narratives are being pushed. The meeting will focus on identifying technical measures to counter this trend," he added.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to have a dialogue with all political parties soon on the issue of the caste census.

Kharge shared the letter on his X handle on Tuesday.

In the May 5 letter, Kharge has put forth his three suggestions for the PM’s consideration on the issue of caste census.

The first point says the design of the census questionnaire is crucial. “The Union Home Ministry must draw upon the Telangana model - both the methodology adopted for finalizing the questionnaire, as well the final set of questions asked.”

The second point says, “Whatever the results of the caste census will be, it is abundantly clear that the arbitrarily imposed 50% ceiling on reservations for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and OBCs must be removed by a Constitutional amendment.”

Sumit Jain has been re-elected as the Indian Deaf Cricket Association (IDCA) president for 2025–2029 term in the internal elections conducted here at the India Habitat Centre, where the new executive committee was elected to lead the organisation's efforts in promoting deaf cricket all over India and overseas.

Sumit Jain, who is also Vice President and member of the Differently-Abled Cricket Committee of BCCI (DCCI), established IDCA in 2020 with a one-point agenda - to establish a dedicated forum for hearing-impaired cricketers in India. In all these years, IDCA has emerged as a strong national organisation advocating the cause of inclusive sport and has achieved recognition as a member of the Deaf International Cricket Council (DICC) and works closely with the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Federal elections voting is underway in Australia as millions cast their votes, along with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.

PM Albanese of the left-leaning Australian Labor Party has cast his vote in Grayndler in Sydney.

When asked whether he would win the booth, he said, "Marrickville West is my local hood. If we don't win this booth, we're in real trouble."

Albanese is hoping to make history by becoming the first Prime Minister in 21 years to win consecutive elections.

"Voting for lower taxes, stronger Medicare, affordable housing and 20 per cent off your student debt. Voting Labor," Albanese posted on X after casting his vote.

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the latest Newspoll, published in The Australian, will give Albanese a reason to be optimistic, putting Labor ahead of the Liberal-National coalition (52.5 - 47.5 per cent after preferences).

Raebareli MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday visited his parliamentary constituency for the first time after General Elections and took stock of development projects and interacted with residents and party workers.

While attending the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committees (DISHA), LoP Gandhi discussed future plans with 78 departments’ officials, who had assembled at the collectorate’s Bachat Bhawan with updates on the agenda discussed earlier.

A party worker said Tuesday’s meeting focussed on implementation of Centre-funded programmes.

LoP Gandhi also inaugurated a solar project and EV charging facility, unveiled a statue, interacted with local residents and energised party workers in his parliamentary constituency.

On his second visit to the constituency this year – the last one was in February – LoP Gandhi unveiled a statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at the Civil Lines area in Bachhrawan, said a party leader.

Three contenders of the Democratic Party (DP) for South Korean presidential elections are set to hold their second public debate on Wednesday, four days before the party plans to pick its candidate for the June 3 presidential election.

The debate will bring together former DP leader Lee Jae-myung, Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Dong-yeon and Kim Kyung-soo, a former South Gyeongsang Province governor.

During the 90-minute debate, the candidates will present their visions in key areas, including politics, the economy, diplomacy, security and social policy.

Lee, who declared his presidential bid earlier this month and is leading opinion polls for the presidential election, recently won two regional primaries by a large margin, news agency reported.

Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who is on a US visit, has raised serious concerns over the integrity of India’s electoral process, alleging voter fraud and accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of being compromised.

Addressing members of the Indian diaspora in Boston during his visit to the United States, Gandhi cited discrepancies in the voter turnout figures during the Maharashtra Assembly elections as a key example.

“More people voted in the Maharashtra Assembly elections than there are registered voters,” Gandhi claimed.

“The Election Commission gave us a figure at 5.30 in the evening. Then, between 5.30 and 7.30 p.m., 65 lakh additional votes were cast. That is physically impossible to manage in just two hours.”

Google on Wednesday said that it removed 247.4 million ads in India last year, while suspending 2.9 million advertiser accounts in the country.

The top policy violations were financial services, trademark, abusing the ad network, personalised ads and gambling/games, the tech giant said in its ‘2024 Ads Safety Report’.

2024 was a major year for global elections, including in India. “As part of this effort, we continued to expand our identity verification and transparency requirements for election advertisers to new countries,” said the company.

In the past year alone, Google verified more than 8,900 new election advertisers and removed 10.7 million election ads from unverified accounts globally.

These measures, which include “paid for by” disclosures and a public transparency report of all election ads, help ensure users around the world are able to identify election ads and know who paid for election ads they see.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has raised concern over the lack of clear directives from the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government regarding the parliamentary election date. The party also claimed that the government was deliberately delaying the elections.

BNP alleged that the interim government's failure to provide a roadmap for the upcoming national elections has also created doubt among the public, as local media reported on Thursday.

While the interim government has announced that the election may be held between December 2025 and June 2026, BNP wants the election to be held by December 2025.

Meanwhile, demanding a swift announcement of the election roadmap, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir will lead a delegation to meet with Chief Advisor Yunus on April 16, reports.

Ahead of the upcoming civic body elections, former Indian cricketer Kedar Jadhav on Tuesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of state unit chief and Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and former minister and state executive president Ravindra Chavan.

By joining the BJP, which leads the Mahayuti government in the state, Jadhav is set to start his new innings.

Bawankule said that it was a great moment to welcome a former cricketer, Kedar Jadhav, into the party fold.

Ahead of Bihar Assembly elections, the poster war between the ruling Janata Dal-United and Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has intensified with the rivals now exchanging punches over the Waqf Amendment Bill's passage in Parliament.

On Saturday, a poster in Hindi appeared on Patna streets questioning Lalu Prasad Yadav's alleged double standards on the Waqf issue.

The poster referred to the RJD leader’s 2010 Lok Sabha speech in which he had strongly advocated for a stricter law to check Waqf properties’ mismanagement.

Contrasting that with his current opposition to the Waqf Amendment Bill, the poster asked: “Who is the real Girgit (chameleon)?”

The term “chameleon” was earlier used by supporters of Lalu Prasad Yadav to target Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the latter’s alleged shifting political stance.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann presented its 4th Budget today named  'Badlda Punjab Budget 2025-26'. Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema termed it as a visionary blueprint aimed at transforming Punjab into a vibrant, prosperous, and equitable state.

Addressing the media after his Budget speech, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema launched a scathing attack on the previous governments for their failures and mismanagement, which plunged Punjab into financial and social turmoil. "The Akali Dal and Congress regimes systematically destroyed Punjab's economy and society with corruption, drugs, poor policies, and lack of vision. They left us a state riddled with drugs, unemployment, and crumbling infrastructure. In just three years, we have reversed this decline and set Punjab on a path of progress," said Cheema.

Haryana's Public Works and Public Health Engineering Minister Sh. Ranbir Gangwa has said that there will be no compromise on quality in government work.

The Nitish Kumar government is set to present the Bihar Budget 2025-26 on Monday, with Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Samrat Choudhary tabling it in the Assembly.

This will be the government's last budget before the upcoming Assembly elections in Bihar.

The state government is likely to focus on key voter groups: women, farmers, and youth and is expected to include special schemes targeting rural areas, the unemployed, and the economically weaker sections. New programmes for self-help groups, subsidies for entrepreneurs, direct benefit transfers, special incentives for irrigation, crop insurance, input subsidies, subsidies for industrial investment to address rising unemployment, expansion of rural roads, housing projects, and electrification would be the key highlights of this budget.

The Nitish Kumar government is expected to give special focus on education and youth to increase scholarships, skill development programmes, and job-oriented training.

With Bihar heading towards Assembly elections, this budget could see populist measures aimed at boosting the NDA’s appeal.

Haryana Energy, Transport, and Labour Minister, Anil Vij, expressed pride in Haryana’s daughter being appointed as the Chief Minister of Delhi. He said that the people of Haryana are also celebrating this achievement, as another daughter of the state has reached this prestigious position. Minister Vij also recalled that Haryana’s daughter, Sushma Swaraj, had previously held the same role. He extended his heartfelt congratulations to Rekha Gupta on her appointment as the Chief Minister of Delhi.

Haryana State Election Commissioner, Sh. Dhanpat Singh said that a meeting with representatives of political parties will be held on 24th February, Monday, at 12:00 PM at the Nirvachan Sadan in Panchkula in view of the upcoming Municipal Elections.

During the Delhi Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured that if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power, the Yamuna River would be cleaned. Staying true to that commitment, the cleanup work has already begun, even before the formal establishment of the new government. On Sunday, in the heart of the national capital, advanced machines such as trash skimmers, weed harvesters, and dredging utility crafts were deployed to initiate the cleaning process.

The Assam government has decided to file a police case against Pakistani national Ali Sheikh, citing his close professional association with Elizabeth Gogoi, the wife of Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi. This connection has fueled speculations about potential links between the Pakistani national and the Congress leader.

Haryana's Public Works and Public Health and Engineering Minister Sh. Ranbir Gangwa said the state government has given respect to Deprived Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes. Whether it is about making provisions for reservation or giving jobs on merit, the government has given a clear message that only those youth who study and work hard will progress.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed confidence on Thursday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will emerge victorious in Delhi and form the government.

After securing control over five municipal corporations in Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party today elected its mayor in the Bathinda Municipal Corporation as well. AAP councillor Padamjit Mehta has been elected as the Mayor of Bathinda Municipal Corporation.

Voting for the by-election in the Milkipur Assembly seat, located in Ayodhya, began at 7 AM today and witnessed a moderate turnout in the initial hours. According to the Election Commission, the voter turnout reached 29.86% by 11 AM.