Thiruvananthapuram, May 5 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union Minister, V. Muraleedharan, on Tuesday described his victory from the Kazhakkoottam Assembly constituency as an endorsement of “pro-people policies” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after defeating the CPI(M) leader and Minister Kadakampally Surendran by a narrow margin of 428 votes.Speaking to IANS, Muraleedharan said that his win marked a significant shift in Kerala’s political landscape, where the BJP-led ND…

New Delhi, May 5 (IANS) In a continued push towards ensuring accessible and expeditious justice, the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) will organise the second National Lok Adalat of 2026 on May 9 across the country. The nationwide initiative, to be held under the leadership of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Patron-in-Chief of NALSA, and Justice Vikram Nath, Executive Chairman, seeks to promote amicable settlement of disputes and reduce the burden on courts through participator…

Murshidabad, May 5 (IANS) Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) Chief Humayun Kabir, who sweeped through both his contested seats in the West Bengal Assembly polls, on Tuesday took a jibe at the Trinamool Congress. Referring to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Kabir said that there is only one “chief” or “post” in the Trinamool, the others in the party are just ‘lamp posts’.A day after Kabir won from both the Nowda and Rejinagar Assembly constituencies, he told IANS that he will vacate the Rejinagar se…

New Delhi, May 5 (IANS) The CBI booked an MCD junior engineer and his aide for demanding a bribe of Rs 2 lakh from a contractor constructing a building in the Walled City to overlook alleged illegal construction in the premises, an official said on Tuesday.Junior engineer Navdeep Khatri and beldar Lokesh were booked on the complaint of Aziz Ahmed, who is constructing a building in the G.B. Road area for an elderly property owner, the CBI said.In a written complaint given to the CBI on April 30, …

New Delhi, May 5 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said it will appoint three senior advocates as amici curiae to represent AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Durgesh Pathak, who have chosen to abstain from participating in proceedings linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy case. A single-judge Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma flagged the absence of representation for the three leaders during the hearing of a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) petition challenging…

Kolkata, May 5 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Tuesday hit back at outgoing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the allegation that the Bengal CEO had worked for the BJP during the Assembly polls. Agarwal asserted that he is a public servant and “not a servant of any political party”.Speaking to IANS, Agarwal said: “(Bengal) CEO has worked for the people. I have not come here to work for the BJP or any other party.””I have cleared UPSC and come here on my …

New Delhi, May 5 (IANS) Claire Mazumdar, a US-based biotech entrepreneur and CEO of a Nasdaq-listed firm, on Tuesday identified as the future successor to Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw at Biocon, marking a key step in the company’s long-term leadership transition.Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder and chairperson of Biocon, said she has formally charted a succession plan and chosen her niece Claire to eventually take over the reins of the company. She noted that as the sole owner of Biocon, it was important t…

New Delhi, May 5 (IANS) The Department of Financial Services (DFS) on Tuesday approved a revised Viability Plan 2.0 for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) for the period 2025-26 to 2027-28, aiming to strengthen financial sustainability, governance, and long-term competitiveness.The move builds on the earlier three-year viability framework implemented between FY22 and FY25, which played a key role in improving financial performance and institutionalising monitoring mechanisms across RRBs.“The framewor…

Islamabad, May 5 (IANS) Pakistan is talking peace while waging war with Afghanistan. While portraying itself as a diplomatic actor committed to talks by attending formal and informal negotiations, backing Track 1.5 processes in Istanbul and indicating openness for de-escalation, Pakistan is also using coercion and pressure to influence Afghanistan, a report has detailed. “In geopolitics, credibility is considered as currency. States may pursue complex, even contradictory policies, but when the g…

New Delhi, May 5 (IANS) A day after declaration of results, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has sent notifications constituting new Assemblies in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal to the respective state Governors and Puducherry Lieutenant Governor, an official source said on Tuesday. The terms of the Assemblies in these four states and Union Territory (UT) are ending between May 7 and June 15, 2026.The ECI’s notifications pave the way for the leaders of the victorious parties in …