The high-profile battle for Bihar has begun. Voting for 121 seats across 18 districts took place today in Phase 1 of the Assembly elections which saw a voter turnout of 60.13%, with official figures available till 5 pm.
Several political heavyweights, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his deputy Samrat Choudhary and key NDA ally Chirag Paswan cast their ballots.
Opposition’s chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav turned up to vote along with his parents - former Bihar chief ministers Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi. Hilariously, in a post on X, Lalu Yadav declared that “the roti should keep turning on the tawa, or else it would burn”. Clearly calling for a change of guard in the state.
Staying with Bihar polls, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sinha’s convoy was attacked on the day of polling in Lakhisarai. A group of people reportedly hurled slippers and pelted stones at the convoy, trying to stop it from entering the village.
Assam CIC resigns over brother’s links to Zubeen case
Onto the latest in the Zubeen Garg case. Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, Assam’s Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), resigned on Thursday citing “moral grounds”.
This after the commission received several RTI applications regarding his younger brother - Shyamkanu Mahanta’s activities.
Remember Shyamkanu is one of the men arrested in connection with the death of Assam’s favourite singer. He was the organiser of the Northeast Festival of Singapore, on the sidelines of which Garg was found dead.
Zohran Mamdani names an all-women transition team
From the US, New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has named an all-women team to lead his transition effort. The 34-year-old democratic socialist introduced the team led by Elana Leopold as its executive director.
Typhoon Kalmaegi claims 114 lives in the Philippines
Shifting focus - at least 114 people have been killed in the Philippines after Typhoon Kalmaegi ripped through the Southeast Asian nation.
Worryingly, the storm is now barrelling towards central Vietnam with increasing windspeeds. Thousands of people who live in coastal communities have been asked to evacuate ahead of its arrival, which is expected to bring waves of up to 8 m (26 ft).
That’s all for now folks. Download the app or log on to Hook.online for more news updates.
