Bihar Battle: Where did BJP go wrong?

Former Tamil Nadu Education Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Anbil Mahesh was arrested in connection with an alleged 100 crore rupees corruption case. He faces allegations of taking bribes to grant government approvals to private schools across Tamil Nadu. The Greater Chennai Police took him into custody shortly after the Madras High Court dismissed his anticipatory bail application. DMK leaders accused authorities of political vendetta and demanded access to him, while opposing political parties claimed further leaders facing corruption allegations would face scrutiny.

With the monsoon triggering unprecedented rainfall across Tamil Nadu, torrential downpours have hit several areas, including Chennai. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay visited the Chembarambakkam Lake to review water inflow, flood prevention measures, and administrative preparedness to avoid past catastrophic breaches. Amid forecasts of further heavy showers, questions have arisen over monsoon management, while the administration maintains that proactive steps have kept the situation under control to avert major flooding.

AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi has launched an attack on Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, suggesting the party be renamed Samajwadi Yadav Parivar. Addressing political representation, Owaisi questioned the nomination of Muslim leaders in seats like Badaun, Azamgarh, and Firozabad, while citing the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots to accuse the party of treating the community as a vote bank. The Samajwadi Party retaliated by labelling Owaisi as working on behalf of the BJP. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused previous administrations of permitting lawlessness. Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Chief Minister Adityanath's law and order governance during an interaction in Varanasi, noting enhanced security for women. In other political developments, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi received relief in a defamation case, while in Punjab, shootings in Moga and Amritsar raised major public safety concerns regarding armed extortion networks and illicit cross-border weapons ahead of state assembly polls.

A deep depression over the Bay of Bengal has intensified into Cyclone Arnob and is expected to turn into a very severe cyclonic storm before crossing the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coast. Authorities in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal have sounded alerts, with coastal districts bracing for wind speeds between 120 and 150 kilometres per hour, rough seas, and intense rainfall. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu conducted a virtual review meeting to assess ground preparations, directing state machinery, the armed forces, police officials, and National Disaster Response Force teams to remain on standby. Precautionary evacuations have commenced in vulnerable coastal regions including Kakinada, Konaseema, and Visakhapatnam, prioritising pregnant women, elderly individuals, and citizens needing medical care. Fishermen have been warned against venturing out to sea as the meteorological department forecasts landfall around 28 October, with the administration targeting zero casualties through round-the-clock monitoring and disaster preparedness.