Tamil Nadu Fisherfolk Protest Against Proposed New Secretariat At Pattinampakkam

A breakfast event organised for Dasara mahouts and kavadis in Mysuru triggered internal friction within the Karnataka Congress after district in-charge Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah arrived late. Scheduled by the district administration for 8:45 am, the delay left attendees and their families waiting for over an hour. Miffed by the delay, Congress MLA Tanveer Sait walked out of the venue, questioning why mahouts and kavadis were made to wait during the festival. Yathindra Siddaramaiah later arrived and served breakfast, stating that shifting to a new home had caused the delay.

Tensions between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party have escalated over seat sharing in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. Congress Uttar Pradesh in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam asserted that the party is preparing for all 403 seats and seeks to contest at least 150 seats, demanding an equal share in the alliance. The Samajwadi Party, however, is reportedly willing to offer only 85 to 90 seats and has asked the Congress to provide candidate lists and ground reports. The dispute also involves constituencies in the traditional bastions of Raebareli and Amethi. Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav opted to skip a crucial INDIA bloc meeting, prompting Congress MP Imran Masood to state that Yadav must show a bigger heart to lead the alliance in Uttar Pradesh. The Samajwadi Party played down talk of a split, stating that top leadership will finalise seat decisions.

The Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer has flagged key limitations in the Election Commission of India's ECINet software and sought five critical changes. In a letter dated September 24, the state electoral officer highlighted that while Electoral Registration Officers have statutory discretionary powers, the portal lacks functionality to exercise them. The sought changes include granting officers the option to exempt voters from personal hearings, accepting equivalent documents beyond the thirteen listed notices to accommodate groups like tribals and sex workers, and offering greater flexibility to resolve logical discrepancies. Opposition parties had previously flagged similar technical constraints restricting registration powers.

On the Business Today Show, host Sakshi Batra covers key corporate, financial, and market developments. Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata submitted a strategic restructuring proposal to merge Tata Electronics, System Solutions, and Tata Consulting Engineers into Tata Sons to retain its unlisted status and avoid NBFC classification. On Dalal Street, the Nifty slipped below 22,700 during the expiry session amid rising Brent crude oil prices and a weakening rupee past 96 against the US dollar. Expert Chakri Lokapriya, Managing Partner at RSB LLP, highlights slowing growth, rising yields, and imported inflation as primary challenges, advising caution while noting stability in power and select pharma counters. The US exempted Indian pharma exporters from proposed 100 percent tariffs across key speciality drugs, driving resilience in stocks like Sun Pharma and Dr. Reddy's. Additionally, Essar Group announced an 18-billion-dollar steel plant in Iowa, while OpenAI halted training on its GPT-6.1 Astra model over AI security and rogue behavior concerns.