NEETU’S STORY: IMPACT OF MAHILA SHIKSHAN KENDRAS IN BIHAR [1]      In Dakshini Gaon village in Udwant Nagar Thana area, Bhojpur, Paramsheela Devi hugs her seventeen year old daughter, Neetu Kumari, who has just passed her Secondary examinations with a first division. ‘She’s the most educated one in my family, and this is because she went to the Mahila Shikshan Kendra training centre in 2004. We were too poor to afford to send her to middle school, but when she returned, she was able to tutor other children in the village. She used her earnings to complete school. She also does... 

Fifty two percent voting in overall Assembly Polls   Over 52 per cent polling has been reported in the overall assembly elections in Bihar for 243 seats. Briefing media, the Chief Election Commissioner S. Y. Qureshi said that 52.43 votes were polled in all the six phases. He said that in today’s sixth and final phase nearly 51 per cent votes were polled.   Qureshi said that elections have been by and large very peaceful. He said that the incidents of violence in these elections were much less than in the previous elections. He said that only 25 incidents were reported in all the... 

POLL ROUNDUP        In Bihar, campaigning has reached  to a new high for the sixth and final phase of elections in 26 Assembly constituencies on Saturday with political parties fielding  their star campaigners  BOY DIES IN ACCIDENT AT LALU RALLY  A 12-year-old boy died when a makeshift platform collapsed on him as a crowd gathered to wave at RJD chief Lalu Prasad who took off in a helicopter after addressing an election meeting at Kochas in Bihar’s Rohtas district on Wednesday.  DGP Neelmani said that soon after Lalu Prasad concluded his speech and boarded the helicopter,... 

  DOCTOR ARRESTED FOR INCEST-RAPE  Hazaribagh (Jharkhand): A government doctor B P Singh was on Tuesday arrested on the charge of raping his daughter and was sent to judicial custody.   “The FIR was filed by Singh’s daughter. He was arrested and produced before the chief judicial magistrate who sent him to judicial custody,” district superintendent of police Pankaj Kamboj said.   Singh was picked up from his residence here after the girl, a student of Inter Science Class, went to the SP’s residence and told him about the incident, Kamboj said.   The victim alleged that... 

By 1 pm : Over 40 percent votes, no major incidents Over 40 per cent of the voters had cast their votes by 1 pm  in the 35 constituencies in Bihar where polling is taking place amidst tight security, reports Prasar Bharati. This is the fifth and penultimate phase of voting in the elections to the 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly. In all, 81.26 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the 35 constituencies that are located in the eight districts of Sheikhpura, Nalanda, Patna, Bhojpur, Arwal, Jehanabad, Gaya and Nawada. Polling is going on peacefully and no major incident... 

 Obama pretext to showcase Naxal might   Patna: Obama visits in Delhi and the Maoists blow up railway tracks in Bihar, one of India’s poorest states, in yet another show of senseless violence in the name of the ‘people’. The actual motive is to send a strong signal to the Bihar government that this  phase of elections are going to be anything but peaceful. The violence in Bihar came ahead of assembly polls in 35 constituencies in drought-hit districts Tuesday. Almost a third of the constituencies are in Maoist-affected areas. Describing as inadequate the security arrangement in... 

Election Roundup In Bihar,election fever in the state is in full swing. The campaigning comes to an end on Sunday. The fifth phase of elections will be held in 35 assembly constituencies on November 9. Out of 35 of these, 12 constituencies are naxal-infested. Stalwarts of different political parties including Senior BJP leader Lal Krishna Adwani, JD ( U) President Sharad Yadav, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, LJP President Ram Vilash Paswan, State congress chief Mehboob ALI Qaiser and left leaders addressed a series of election meetings in different parts of the constituencies . According to... 

Round up Bihar’s top cop has voting hassles Director general of police (police training) Abhyanand today faced embarrassment when he was denied permission to vote as his name did not figure on the voter’s list, media sources reported. “I really felt embarrassed,” Abhyanand told reporters after being disallowed to cast his vote at a booth at Patel Nagar under Digha assembly constituency in Patna. Abhyanand said when he along with his family members with EPICs went to the booth, they discovered that their names had been deleted from the voter’s list. “It... 

Bihar Congress leader says ‘conspiracy’  Begusarai: The Congress was in for a rude shock as hotel rooms of two congress leaders, Bihar youth congress president Lalan Kumar and Sagar Raika were raided in Begusarai on Thursday, a media channel reported. The two leaders have been detained and Rs 6.40 lakh were found from their respective hotel rooms. The Congress leaders have claimed that it was the party money and was meant to be spent for party elections. The Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to address a rally in Begusarai. Congress Secretary Sagar Raika and the party’s... 

54 percent voters, largely peaceful poll PATNA: Over one crore electors have probably decided the fate of six state ministers and the leader of the opposition  in the third phase of the Bihar poll that ended today. State Chief Electoral Officer Sudhir Kumar Rakesh said 58 per cent polling was recorded in West Champaran, 57 per cent in East Champaran, 51 per cent in Gopalgunj, 52 per cent in Siwan, 50 per cent in Saran and 54 per cent in Vaishali districts. Except for a few stray incidents, and the boycott of four polling booths, polling passed off peacefully in 48 constituencies figuring...