Two independent MLCs from Bihar, Bansidhar Brijwasi and Rahul Raj, have switched to the BJP, and JDU, its NDA partner in the state, has expressed unease. State JDU chief Umesh Kushwaha pointed to BJP leaders who were expelled and then taken back within 15 days.
Both seats were contested by JDU as part of the alliance. The BJP maintains that the pair only offered support and never formally joined.
A planned joint press meet by Abhishek Jha and Anand Pushkar on Monday was called off after talks with JDU leaders and CM Samrat Choudhary.
An FIR has been filed against Congress MLA Bhushan Bara in Jharkhand under the POCSO and Juvenile Justice Acts over a rape allegation, Hatia DSP Niraj Kumar said on Friday.
Bara, who represents the 70-Simdega seat, has dismissed the charges as a fabricated conspiracy by his political opponents. BJP leaders and workers protested in Ranchi the same day and demanded his arrest without delay.
Seema Sharma, president of the Jharkhand BJP Mahila Morcha, wants him removed from office, and Ranchi City BJP chief Varun Kumar Sahu has warned of continued protests if he is not arrested.
NCP (SP) national working president Supriya Sule says no merger proposal has reached her. Speaking in New Delhi, she said any chance of the two factions coming back together ended when her cousin Ajit Pawar died.
NCP Maharashtra chief Sunil Tatkare has also dismissed the speculation. Sule called a recent meeting of senior leaders with Amit Shah an internal matter.
She said merger talks did take place while Ajit Pawar was alive, and a video of one such meeting in Baramati is already public.
Telangana Labour Minister Vivek Venkatswamy has attacked the BJP and BRS over their opposition to the Bharat Summit 2026, saying the opposition has little left to offer.
Damodar Rao Aveli of the TPCC added that the state government, not Congress, is organising the event, and accused both parties of petty stunts.
The two-day summit runs November 13 and 14 in Hyderabad, with about 1,000 delegates from India and around 70 nations. It also marks 80 years of Indian independence and Jawaharlal Nehru's 137th birth anniversary.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked 50 years of Prashanti Kutiram, the Bengaluru campus of S-VYASA University. He also honoured H.V. Sheshadri, a former RSS general secretary, on his 100th birth anniversary.
Modi kicked off work on a new administrative block at the university and released six of Sheshadri's books. He also said yoga is spreading worldwide, citing Saudi Arabia's move to recognise it as a sport.
He cited a World Bank report saying nearly 50 crore Indians have left extreme poverty in 12 to 13 years. He urged the university to draft a 25-year roadmap for Viksit Bharat.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Bengaluru on Friday that India's initiatives have made yoga popular worldwide. He spoke at the golden jubilee of Prashanti Kutiram, a centre run by S-VYASA.
Saudi Arabia has recognised yoga as a sport and signed an agreement with India's AYUSH ministry to promote it. India has also signed memoranda of understanding with 28 countries on Ayurveda cooperation.
The government has also set up a National Turmeric Board and introduced an e-AYUSH visa for foreigners seeking treatment in India.
