‘Mayawati was the best for farmers,' says BKU leader Rakesh Tikait
Tikait, who was in Sultanpur to attend a private programme, said, 'Those who are from outside will have problems, those who are from there (Bihar) will have no problems.' On Yogi Adityanath's eight years as chief minister of the state, Tikait said, 'Mayawati was the number one Chief Minister for farmers… she did a better job for the sugarcane farmers.' The Election Commission of India on June 24 ordered a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, with an aim to weed out fake names on the electoral rolls.
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Hindustan Times
24 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
EC junks Tejashwi Yadav's claim that his name missing from draft Bihar electoral rolls
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday firmly refuted Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav's claim that his name was missing from the draft electoral rolls, calling the allegation 'baseless' and releasing documentary proof showing his voter details intact. Leader of Opposition and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav addressing during Nai Parivar Adhikar Mahasammelan at S.K. Memorial hall in Patna, Bihar.(HT Photo) Yadav, who is the Leader of Opposition in Bihar, had earlier in the day claimed at a press conference that he was unable to find his name in the rolls published as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process ahead of the assembly polls. Connecting his phone to a large screen, he demonstrated an online search for his EPIC number that returned 'no records found.' 'Now look! I am myself not registered as a voter. This disqualifies me from contesting elections. Perhaps, I cease to be treated as a citizen and stand deprived of the right to live in this house,' Yadav said. The Election Commission responded by releasing a copy of the draft rolls showing Yadav's name, photograph, and details at serial number 416. Officials confirmed that the EPIC number Yadav used to contest elections in 2015 and 2020 — RAB0456228 — remains valid and is reflected in the latest electoral roll published on August 1. In contrast, a second EPIC number used by Yadav in his search — RAB2916120 — was found to be invalid. 'More than ten years of records have been checked. There is no trace of this second EPIC number. It is likely it was never issued officially, and we are now looking into whether it is forged,' an ECI source said. Yadav also alleged that the booth-level officer who visited his residence failed to provide a receipt after collecting his filled-up form. 'I had even clicked a picture while submitting it,' he said, adding that such lapses raise serious questions about the integrity of the process. Highlighting the importance of digital access, he remarked, 'Would you expect someone living outside Bihar to physically verify their name in the rolls? If someone like me is affected, what chance does a common citizen have? Even an IAS couple has reportedly found their names missing.'
Hindustan Times
24 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
India ramps up US energy imports as Trump pushes balanced trade
Washington: India has dramatically increased its energy purchases from the US since Donald Trump returned to office in January, with crude oil imports surging 51% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to data cited by people aware of the trade specifics between the two nations. The surge follows a February agreement between Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington, where both leaders committed to expanding energy cooperation. (PTI) The energy buying spree reflects New Delhi's commitment to rebalance trade ties with Washington, a key demand of the Trump administration. Liquefied natural gas imports have nearly doubled from $1.41 billion in FY2023-24 to $2.46 billion in FY2024-25. The surge follows a February agreement between Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington, where both leaders committed to expanding energy cooperation. India pledged to boost American energy imports to $25 billion from $15 billion in 2024, while bilateral trade is targeted to more than double from $200 billion to $500 billion by 2030. 'The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to increase energy trade, as part of efforts to ensure energy security, and to establish the United States as a leading supplier of crude oil and petroleum products and liquefied natural gas to India,' the joint statement said. The momentum has accelerated significantly. Indian crude purchases from America jumped 114% to $3.7 billion in the first quarter of FY2025-26 from $1.73 billion in the same period the previous year. In July alone, imports rose 23% month-on-month, pushing America's share of India's total crude imports from 3% to 8%. 'This trend is increasing further from July this year. So, in July 2025 India imported 23% more crude oil from the US compared to June 2025,' said one of the people who analysed the data. 'Also, in India's overall crude imports, while the US share was earlier only 3%, in July that share increased to 8%.' American LNG has emerged as particularly attractive to Indian companies. 'Buying LNG from America is a very attractive proposition for many Indian companies,' said Prashant Vashisht, senior vice president at ratings agency ICRA. 'Firstly, US LNG, which is priced based on the Henry Hub benchmark, is very competitive price-wise compared to other sources. Second, a large number of LNG projects are coming online in the United States, which will mean that more Indian companies will look closely at the American market for tying up long-term contracts.' The timing aligns with America's plans to rapidly expand oil and gas exports. Trump reversed the Biden administration's pause on processing LNG export licences soon after taking office. The US Energy Information Administration expects North America's LNG export capacity to double by 2028, with America providing most of the increase. India's growing appetite for American energy comes as the country is poised to become the world's largest driver of oil demand growth. The International Energy Agency estimates India will surpass China as the major driver of global oil demand growth by 2030, with LNG demand expected to jump 78% to reach 64 billion cubic metres annually. 'Additional long-term LNG contracts worth tens of billions of dollars are being discussed. Indian oil and gas majors are in discussions with their US counterparts for long-term purchase of US oil and gas,' another person familiar with the matter said. 'India considers the US as among the most reliable partners for India's energy security.' However, energy ties remain a point of contention, particularly regarding India's continued purchases of Russian crude oil. The Trump administration has pressed New Delhi to reconsider its energy relationship with Moscow to pressure President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Indian Express
24 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Voter deletions in Bihar draft rolls: 4 lakhs in Patna district to 26,256 in Sheikhpura
Bihar's draft electoral rolls published by the Election Commission (EC) as part of its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise shows that more than 65 lakh voters have been dropped, which include about 22 lakh deceased, 7 lakh enrolled at multiple places, and 36 lakh electors who have either migrated permanently or were untraceable. Of the existing 7.89 crore voters as on June 24, 2025, when the EC announced the countrywide SIR starting with Bihar, 7.24 crore voters submitted their enumeration forms, according to the poll body. An analysis of the poll-bound state's draft electoral rolls indicates that the top 10 districts reporting maximum number of deletion of voters include Patna (3,95,500 voters), Madhubani (3,52,545), East Champaran (3,16,793), Gopalganj (3,10,363), Samastipur (2,83,955), Muzaffarpur (2,82,845), Saran (2,73,223), Gaya (2,45,663), Vaishali (2,25,953), and Darbhanga (2,03,315). The 10 districts which have seen lowest voter deletions include Sheikhpura (26,256), Sheohar (28,166), Arwal (30,180), Lakhisarai (48,824) Jahanabad (53,089), Kaimur (73,940), Munger (74,916), Khagaria (79,551), Buxar (87,645), and Jamui (91,882). 'Those who have grievances can approach electoral officers for any claims and objections to be submitted between August 1 and September 1,' said an EC official. The Muslim-dominated Seemanchal region in east Bihar has seen 2,73,920 voters deleted from Purnea district, 1,58,072 from Araria, 1,45,668 from Kishanganj, and 1,84,254 from Katihar. The AIMIM's Bihar spokesperson Adil Hasan Azad told The Indian Express: 'We have been creating awareness among the Seemanchal voters about the SIR process. The booth level agents (BLAs) of the Opposition parties have been also active on ground. Voters of this region have applied for residential certificates in bigger number than other places as many people did not have other documents out of the 11 sought by the EC for the SIR (for those whose names were not on the 2003 voters' list).' The RJD-led Opposition Mahagathbandhan said they would closely track the SIR's second phase of claims and objections to see if it has followed 'due process of voter deletions'. RJD leader and Buxar MP Sudhakar Singh said: 'We have serious doubts on EC's pruning of electoral rolls. We will soon get the numbers of claims and objections from voters, which could be overwhelming. Our BLAs are on the job.' CPI (ML) Liberation office secretary Kumar Parvez told The Indian Express: 'We are holding public hearings. We are also getting calls from some migrants who have not shifted permanently. By mid-August, we would get to know whether the EC has deleted a significant number of genuine voters as well.' The Mahagathbandhan has slammed the EC for not sharing the list of the 65 lakh deleted voters. Several electors have complained about their names being excluded from the draft rolls despite submitting their enumeration forms. As the EC has increased the number of booths, many voters have been shifted to booths different from their exiting ones, leading to their scramble in search of their names in the rolls. A section of them are also meeting their booth level officers (BLOs) to check the physical list. Kumar Parvez said, 'EC did not agree to share with us the list of dead and permanently shifted. It is humongous task for BLAs to cross-check voters in each booth on basis of draft rolls. The EC has put the onus on us. Those left out from the rolls would have a harrowing time during the claims and objection period'. RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari echoed his views, saying 'We are going to hold jan sunvai (public hearing) soon to compile voters' grievances'. RJD leader and Leader of the Opposition (LoP), Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, while addressing a press conference in Patna Saturday, claimed that he could not find his name in the rolls by using his voter card (EPIC) number. Subsequently, the Patna district administration issued a statement, pointing out that his name is listed as a voter 'in polling station no. 204 in Bihar Animal Science University's Library Building (in the Digha Assembly segment), at serial number 416', which, it added, was previously listed 'in polling station no. 171 in Bihar Animal Science University's Library Building, at serial number 481'. EC sources said, 'Tejaswi Prasad Yadav used electoral roll with EPIC no. RAB0456228 for filing his nomination papers on affidavit in 2020. His name is there in the draft electoral rolls… His baseless argument that his name was removed has already been refuted.' EC sources also said, 'He (Tejashwi) was having this EPIC number even in the electoral roll in 2015… The other EPIC number RAB2916120 (cited by Tejashwi) has been found to be non-existing. More than ten years old records have been checked. No records have been found for the second EPIC number yet. It is highly likely that the second EPIC was never made through official channel. Further inquiries are on to understand the reality of the second EPIC number, whether that is a forged document.'
