September 25, 2026

Bengal BJP chief backs Gyanesh Kumar, says he deserves ‘at least Padma Bhushan’ NEW DELHI: West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya has come out strongly in support of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid a growing Congress-led campaign against him. Bhattacharya said that Kumar deserves “at the very least, the Padma Bhushan” for overseeing peaceful elections and changes to the electoral rolls in the state.Bhattacharya also took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, claiming that even members of his own party do not take his statements seriously.”The fact is, even the Congress party itself doesn’t heed Rahul Gandhi’s words; they don’t take him seriously… Gyanesh Kumar deserves, at the very least, the Padma Bhushan,” Bhattacharya said while speaking to reporters.Praising the conduct of elections in West Bengal, the BJP leader said voters were able to cast their ballots without fear or intimidation.”The people of West Bengal are delighted that, after so long, intimidation was kept at bay. There were no incidents of murder, and people were actually allowed to cast their votes. Furthermore, in a border state like this, Gyanesh Kumar took the initiative to remove the names of Bangladeshi infiltrators from the voter lists,” he added.Bhattacharya said the measures taken by the Election Commission had received broad public support.”The people of West Bengal have rarely witnessed an election like this. Therefore, the general public of West Bengal fully supports Gyanesh Kumar…” he said.His remarks came as Congress stepped up its protests against the Election Commission across the country, with party workers demanding Kumar’s resignation over the poll body’s functioning and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.In Delhi, the Indian Youth Congress marched from Raisina Road to Jantar Mantar, raising slogans against the CEC and demanding his resignation.The protests also spread across several states. In Patna, police used water cannons to disperse Congress workers demonstrating against Kumar. In Chandigarh, similar scenes were reported as police used water cannons against protesting Congress workers, some of whom climbed onto police vans.Congress workers also held demonstrations in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Manipur.In Shimla, Congress leaders and workers protested outside the State Election Commission office over issues concerning the Election Commission. Protesters also blackened the official board outside the office.In Manipur, Congress workers led by PCC president Okram Ibobi Singh and Congress Legislature Party leader Keisham Meghachandra Singh marched towards the chief electoral office at Lamphelpat. Protesters demanded Kumar’s arrest and prosecution and burnt an effigy of the CEC.The protest later turned tense, with demonstrators scuffling with police. Security personnel fired tear gas shells to disperse the protesters.In Jammu, heavy police deployment was reported outside the Election Commission office, while Congress MLAs in Srinagar protested inside the Legislative Assembly, carrying banners demanding Kumar’s resignation. Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesDemonstrations were also held in Lucknow, Guwahati and Kolkata.The nationwide protests are part of Congress’ campaign against the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the SIR exercise.The political confrontation has intensified following an Indian Express report that election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions and procedures related to electoral rolls and access to election databases.The Election Commission has rejected the allegations, saying decisions related to the SIR were taken unanimously and that written notes, observations and differing views were part of its internal deliberations.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorAbhishek MishraAbhishek Mishra is a Digital Content Producer at The Times of India, working with the news desk. He writes with a keen eye on foreign policy, defence developments, and the shifting currents of geopolitics-and yes, Indian politics always finds a way onto his radar too.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos‘Made In UP’ Missiles Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights: Amit Shah On BrahMosOmar Abdullah Moves Full Statehood Resolution In J&K Assembly, BJP Protest Sparks House UproarThird Bihar Harassment Case In A Week: Minor Girl Targeted In Banka, Video Surfaces’You Cannot Keep Playing’: CJP’s Dipke Challenges Opposition Over Alleged Election Rigging“Terror, Theatrics Won’t Repay Loans”: India Hits Back At Pakistan At UNHRCBJP’s ₹529 Crore Poll Spending Revealed; Bengal Alone Accounted For ₹287 Crore, EC Data ShowsAjeet Bharti Faces Arrest Heat As Delhi HC Rejects Bail In Chandrashekhar Azad CaseIIT-Bombay Death Row: Parents Question CCTV Leak, Demand CBI Probe And Action Against OfficialsAnother Sexual Assault Case from Bihar: 4 Arrested In Samastipur After Video Surfaces OnlineRahul Gandhi Demands Gyanesh Kumar’s Resignation, Alleges ‘Vote Chori’ After ECI Rift Emerges123Hot PicksWeather tomorrowBank strikeNEET PG ResultGold Rate TodayOctober 2026 School HolidaysTN programmePunjab school holidayMadurantakam bypollDr MonishCBSE Date SheetTop TrendingAsian Games Medal TallyRahul GandhiPowerball JackpotDelhi Hit and RunUP EncounterDonald TrumpPM ModiNaomi OsakaJoe ThomasSupreme Court

Vamsikrishna03 mins mins
Bengal BJP chief backs Gyanesh Kumar, says he deserves ‘at least Padma Bhushan’ NEW DELHI: West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya has come out strongly in support of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid a growing Congress-led campaign against him. Bhattacharya said that Kumar deserves “at the very least, the Padma Bhushan” for overseeing peaceful elections and changes to the electoral rolls in the state.Bhattacharya also took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, claiming that even members of his own party do not take his statements seriously.”The fact is, even the Congress party itself doesn’t heed Rahul Gandhi’s words; they don’t take him seriously… Gyanesh Kumar deserves, at the very least, the Padma Bhushan,” Bhattacharya said while speaking to reporters.Praising the conduct of elections in West Bengal, the BJP leader said voters were able to cast their ballots without fear or intimidation.”The people of West Bengal are delighted that, after so long, intimidation was kept at bay. There were no incidents of murder, and people were actually allowed to cast their votes. Furthermore, in a border state like this, Gyanesh Kumar took the initiative to remove the names of Bangladeshi infiltrators from the voter lists,” he added.Bhattacharya said the measures taken by the Election Commission had received broad public support.”The people of West Bengal have rarely witnessed an election like this. Therefore, the general public of West Bengal fully supports Gyanesh Kumar…” he said.His remarks came as Congress stepped up its protests against the Election Commission across the country, with party workers demanding Kumar’s resignation over the poll body’s functioning and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.In Delhi, the Indian Youth Congress marched from Raisina Road to Jantar Mantar, raising slogans against the CEC and demanding his resignation.The protests also spread across several states. In Patna, police used water cannons to disperse Congress workers demonstrating against Kumar. In Chandigarh, similar scenes were reported as police used water cannons against protesting Congress workers, some of whom climbed onto police vans.Congress workers also held demonstrations in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Manipur.In Shimla, Congress leaders and workers protested outside the State Election Commission office over issues concerning the Election Commission. Protesters also blackened the official board outside the office.In Manipur, Congress workers led by PCC president Okram Ibobi Singh and Congress Legislature Party leader Keisham Meghachandra Singh marched towards the chief electoral office at Lamphelpat. Protesters demanded Kumar’s arrest and prosecution and burnt an effigy of the CEC.The protest later turned tense, with demonstrators scuffling with police. Security personnel fired tear gas shells to disperse the protesters.In Jammu, heavy police deployment was reported outside the Election Commission office, while Congress MLAs in Srinagar protested inside the Legislative Assembly, carrying banners demanding Kumar’s resignation. Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesDemonstrations were also held in Lucknow, Guwahati and Kolkata.The nationwide protests are part of Congress’ campaign against the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the SIR exercise.The political confrontation has intensified following an Indian Express report that election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions and procedures related to electoral rolls and access to election databases.The Election Commission has rejected the allegations, saying decisions related to the SIR were taken unanimously and that written notes, observations and differing views were part of its internal deliberations.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorAbhishek MishraAbhishek Mishra is a Digital Content Producer at The Times of India, working with the news desk. He writes with a keen eye on foreign policy, defence developments, and the shifting currents of geopolitics-and yes, Indian politics always finds a way onto his radar too.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos‘Made In UP’ Missiles Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights: Amit Shah On BrahMosOmar Abdullah Moves Full Statehood Resolution In J&K Assembly, BJP Protest Sparks House UproarThird Bihar Harassment Case In A Week: Minor Girl Targeted In Banka, Video Surfaces’You Cannot Keep Playing’: CJP’s Dipke Challenges Opposition Over Alleged Election Rigging“Terror, Theatrics Won’t Repay Loans”: India Hits Back At Pakistan At UNHRCBJP’s ₹529 Crore Poll Spending Revealed; Bengal Alone Accounted For ₹287 Crore, EC Data ShowsAjeet Bharti Faces Arrest Heat As Delhi HC Rejects Bail In Chandrashekhar Azad CaseIIT-Bombay Death Row: Parents Question CCTV Leak, Demand CBI Probe And Action Against OfficialsAnother Sexual Assault Case from Bihar: 4 Arrested In Samastipur After Video Surfaces OnlineRahul Gandhi Demands Gyanesh Kumar’s Resignation, Alleges ‘Vote Chori’ After ECI Rift Emerges123Hot PicksWeather tomorrowBank strikeNEET PG ResultGold Rate TodayOctober 2026 School HolidaysTN programmePunjab school holidayMadurantakam bypollDr MonishCBSE Date SheetTop TrendingAsian Games Medal TallyRahul GandhiPowerball JackpotDelhi Hit and RunUP EncounterDonald TrumpPM ModiNaomi OsakaJoe ThomasSupreme Court


‘Gyanesh Kumar deserves at least Padma Bhushan’: Bengal BJP chief backs CEC
Bengal BJP chief backs Gyanesh Kumar, says he deserves ‘at least Padma Bhushan’

NEW DELHI: West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya has come out strongly in support of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid a growing Congress-led campaign against him. Bhattacharya said that Kumar deserves “at the very least, the Padma Bhushan” for overseeing peaceful elections and changes to the electoral rolls in the state.Bhattacharya also took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, claiming that even members of his own party do not take his statements seriously.“The fact is, even the Congress party itself doesn’t heed Rahul Gandhi’s words; they don’t take him seriously… Gyanesh Kumar deserves, at the very least, the Padma Bhushan,” Bhattacharya said while speaking to reporters.Praising the conduct of elections in West Bengal, the BJP leader said voters were able to cast their ballots without fear or intimidation.“The people of West Bengal are delighted that, after so long, intimidation was kept at bay. There were no incidents of murder, and people were actually allowed to cast their votes. Furthermore, in a border state like this, Gyanesh Kumar took the initiative to remove the names of Bangladeshi infiltrators from the voter lists,” he added.Bhattacharya said the measures taken by the Election Commission had received broad public support.“The people of West Bengal have rarely witnessed an election like this. Therefore, the general public of West Bengal fully supports Gyanesh Kumar…” he said.His remarks came as Congress stepped up its protests against the Election Commission across the country, with party workers demanding Kumar’s resignation over the poll body’s functioning and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.In Delhi, the Indian Youth Congress marched from Raisina Road to Jantar Mantar, raising slogans against the CEC and demanding his resignation.The protests also spread across several states. In Patna, police used water cannons to disperse Congress workers demonstrating against Kumar. In Chandigarh, similar scenes were reported as police used water cannons against protesting Congress workers, some of whom climbed onto police vans.Congress workers also held demonstrations in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Manipur.In Shimla, Congress leaders and workers protested outside the State Election Commission office over issues concerning the Election Commission. Protesters also blackened the official board outside the office.In Manipur, Congress workers led by PCC president Okram Ibobi Singh and Congress Legislature Party leader Keisham Meghachandra Singh marched towards the chief electoral office at Lamphelpat. Protesters demanded Kumar’s arrest and prosecution and burnt an effigy of the CEC.The protest later turned tense, with demonstrators scuffling with police. Security personnel fired tear gas shells to disperse the protesters.In Jammu, heavy police deployment was reported outside the Election Commission office, while Congress MLAs in Srinagar protested inside the Legislative Assembly, carrying banners demanding Kumar’s resignation.

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Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav during a visit to Raebareli. (PTI photo) NEW DELHI: Is Uttar Pradesh all set to go the Bihar way for the opposition’s INDIA bloc? Wait, we are not talking about the results yet. This is about the all-too-familiar alliance strains between INDIA bloc allies – the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in the run-up to UP assembly elections early next year.On Thursday, Akhilesh Yadav unveiled the Samajwadi Party’s ‘PDA Rath’ which he will use for a statewide campaign in the run-up to the 2027 assembly poll. While his fight is against the BJP, the first stop of his rath was Raebareli – a Congress bastion represented by the Gandhis for decades.Also, while Akhilesh targeted the BJP, he had a clear message for the Congress also.“Alliance will happen. We will also go with the alliance. Winnability will be the criteria for deciding seats. For us, it is not about seats, it is about victory. Whosoever can win can take the seat.”The BJP was quick to take digs at both allies and suggested that now Congress should start its campaign from Yadav bastion Mainpuri.This was not an isolated remark. The SP and the Congress have been engaged in a war of words over seat sharing for quite some time now. The open fight has an uncanny resemblance to how events had unfolded between the INDIA bloc allies in Bihar.INDIA bloc’s failed Bihar experimentCut to the 2025 Bihar assembly elections.INDIA bloc allies – the RJD and the Congress engaged in a continuous war of words in Bihar over seat-sharing and CM face, while the BJP-led NDA managed a smooth division of seats. What started as public posturing between INDIA bloc allies ended up in public sparring between them as the divided opposition alliance was decimated in the polls.The two parties campaigned separately for most of the time as they could not agree on seat sharing. They took out separate yatras across the state. While Rahul Gandhi undertook the “Vote Adhikar Yatra,” RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav went across the state with his “Bihar Adhikar Yatra.” Ironically, it was the success of the two yatras that boomeranged on the alliance as it made seat-sharing bitter and difficult.In the run-up to the Bihar elections, Tejashwi Yadav was confident of a sweep. The Congress was also not willing to budge, guided by its improved showing in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the state. The two parties used pressure tactics against each other. So much so that the INDIA bloc went into the elections as a divided house despite last-minute agreements and adjustments to keep the alliance intact.Uttar Pradesh appears to be headed the same way, at least as of now. We have already seen a lot of public posturing and sparring between the leaders of the INDIA bloc partners. Both the Congress and the SP have repeatedly claimed that the opposition’s fight against the BJP can be led only by their respective leaders.The SP and Congress contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls together in Uttar Pradesh and won 43 seats between them, with the SP winning 37 and the Congress six. The alliance also won the Faizabad seat, which includes Ayodhya, where the BJP won in 2019.And that is perhaps where lies the genesis of this power tussle. Both the SP and the Congress feel that it was their party and leader who played a greater role in the 2024 electoral success and hence want the advantage to flow accordingly in seat sharing for the assembly elections.Rahul or Akhilesh vs BJPOne look at the latest broadside between the two parties and we know why seat sharing between them may not be smooth.Recently, Samajwadi Party MP from Kairana Iqra Hasan and Congress MP from Saharanpur Imran Masood, both elected in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as part of the SP-Congress alliance, publicly pitched their respective party leaders to take on the BJP.”Only Rahul Gandhi is the opposition voice across the country, which unnerves the BJP. Rahul ji has done the hard work and created a favourable atmosphere. So make no mistake, nothing is possible without Rahul ji, and no one should have any doubts about this,” Masood said.Days later, Hasan responded and pitched SP chief Yadav as the key to the alliance’s prospects.”Only Akhilesh Yadav is capable of defeating the BJP. On its own, the Congress won’t be able to achieve much,” she said.Last week, Congress Uttar Pradesh in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam signalled a firm stance regarding upcoming electoral negotiations and said that any seat-sharing arrangement with the Samajwadi Party (SP) must be built on mutual respect and equal standing.Clarifying reports regarding seat distribution, Gautam claimed that formal discussions with the SP have not yet begun. While expressing open flexibility for minor adjustments, he stressed that the Congress would not compromise its organisational self-respect or dignity in any prospective deal.”We have made one thing very clear. The Congress is the country’s oldest party. It was the Congress that led the freedom struggle. Any alliance formed will be based on mutual respect; there will be equal partnership and dignity. Sure, we can show some flexibility; there might be minor adjustments, but we cannot compromise on our dignity,” the Congress leader said.The contrasting assertions come despite messages of unity from both sides of the divide. Akhilesh is riding high on SP’s Lok Sabha success in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress, which is trying hard to revive its lost electoral fortunes, does not want to compromise on its expansion plans in one of the most politically important states.The Owaisi factorThe problem is that both the parties are wooing the same social base in the state – minorities, Dalits, women, youth. Akhilesh is missing no opportunity to expand his PDA’s – Pichda Dalit and Alpsankhyak – base by making concerted attempts to include Pandits, Aadhi aabadi (women) and other social groups. The Congress is also wooing the Brahmins, the Dalits and the women in a big way.What the two bickering allies don’t realise that there are several other parties who are also reaching out to the same social base. For instance, Mayawati and Chandrashekhar Azad are also going all out to woo Dalits. Then there is Owaisi, who has already put both the parties in a Catch22 situation by offering them an alliance against the BJP. Owaisi’s proposal is like a double-edged sword for the two parties. If they accept his offer, the BJP will gun for them.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelines If they reject the offer, Owaisi will use the rejection to rally the Muslims against them.Lok Sabha gains, assembly painsThe Samjawadi Party and the Congress may do well to learn lessons from the Bihar debacle before it’s too late. Lok Sabha elections and assembly elections are two very different games and success in one does not automatically translate into success in another. There are numerous instances to show that alliances which did well in Lok Sabha elections failed in assembly elections. Maharashtra is a case in point. The Maha Vikas Aghadi of the opposition parties – Congress, Shiv Sena and the NCP did very well in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, putting the BJP on the backfoot. But a year later in 2025 – the opposition alliance was decimated by the BJP in the assembly elections. So, Akhilesh and Rahul need to decide if they want to keep on flexing muscles at each other or unite in time to pose a challenge to the BJP.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosUAPA ‘Missing’: What Allowed VanDyke, 6 Ukrainians To Leave India? The Legal Gap Explained‘Made In UP’ Missiles Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights: Amit Shah On BrahMosOmar Abdullah Moves Full Statehood Resolution In J&K Assembly, BJP Protest Sparks House UproarThird Bihar Harassment Case In A Week: Minor Girl Targeted In Banka, Video Surfaces’You Cannot Keep Playing’: CJP’s Dipke Challenges Opposition Over Alleged Election Rigging“Terror, Theatrics Won’t Repay Loans”: India Hits Back At Pakistan At UNHRCBJP’s ₹529 Crore Poll Spending Revealed; Bengal Alone Accounted For ₹287 Crore, EC Data ShowsAjeet Bharti Faces Arrest Heat As Delhi HC Rejects Bail In Chandrashekhar Azad CaseIIT-Bombay Death Row: Parents Question CCTV Leak, Demand CBI Probe And Action Against OfficialsAnother Sexual Assault Case from Bihar: 4 Arrested In Samastipur After Video Surfaces Online123Hot PicksWeather tomorrowBank strikeNEET PG ResultGold Rate TodayOctober 2026 School HolidaysTN programmePunjab school holidayMadurantakam bypollDr MonishCBSE Date SheetTop TrendingAsian Games Medal TallyRahul GandhiPowerball JackpotDelhi Hit and RunUP EncounterDonald TrumpPM ModiNaomi OsakaJoe ThomasSupreme Court

Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav during a visit to Raebareli. (PTI photo) NEW DELHI: Is Uttar Pradesh all set to go the Bihar way for the opposition’s INDIA bloc? Wait, we are not talking about the results yet. This is about the all-too-familiar alliance strains between INDIA bloc allies – the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in the run-up to UP assembly elections early next year.On Thursday, Akhilesh Yadav unveiled the Samajwadi Party’s ‘PDA Rath’ which he will use for a statewide campaign in the run-up to the 2027 assembly poll. While his fight is against the BJP, the first stop of his rath was Raebareli – a Congress bastion represented by the Gandhis for decades.Also, while Akhilesh targeted the BJP, he had a clear message for the Congress also.“Alliance will happen. We will also go with the alliance. Winnability will be the criteria for deciding seats. For us, it is not about seats, it is about victory. Whosoever can win can take the seat.”The BJP was quick to take digs at both allies and suggested that now Congress should start its campaign from Yadav bastion Mainpuri.This was not an isolated remark. The SP and the Congress have been engaged in a war of words over seat sharing for quite some time now. The open fight has an uncanny resemblance to how events had unfolded between the INDIA bloc allies in Bihar.INDIA bloc’s failed Bihar experimentCut to the 2025 Bihar assembly elections.INDIA bloc allies – the RJD and the Congress engaged in a continuous war of words in Bihar over seat-sharing and CM face, while the BJP-led NDA managed a smooth division of seats. What started as public posturing between INDIA bloc allies ended up in public sparring between them as the divided opposition alliance was decimated in the polls.The two parties campaigned separately for most of the time as they could not agree on seat sharing. They took out separate yatras across the state. While Rahul Gandhi undertook the “Vote Adhikar Yatra,” RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav went across the state with his “Bihar Adhikar Yatra.” Ironically, it was the success of the two yatras that boomeranged on the alliance as it made seat-sharing bitter and difficult.In the run-up to the Bihar elections, Tejashwi Yadav was confident of a sweep. The Congress was also not willing to budge, guided by its improved showing in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the state. The two parties used pressure tactics against each other. So much so that the INDIA bloc went into the elections as a divided house despite last-minute agreements and adjustments to keep the alliance intact.Uttar Pradesh appears to be headed the same way, at least as of now. We have already seen a lot of public posturing and sparring between the leaders of the INDIA bloc partners. Both the Congress and the SP have repeatedly claimed that the opposition’s fight against the BJP can be led only by their respective leaders.The SP and Congress contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls together in Uttar Pradesh and won 43 seats between them, with the SP winning 37 and the Congress six. The alliance also won the Faizabad seat, which includes Ayodhya, where the BJP won in 2019.And that is perhaps where lies the genesis of this power tussle. Both the SP and the Congress feel that it was their party and leader who played a greater role in the 2024 electoral success and hence want the advantage to flow accordingly in seat sharing for the assembly elections.Rahul or Akhilesh vs BJPOne look at the latest broadside between the two parties and we know why seat sharing between them may not be smooth.Recently, Samajwadi Party MP from Kairana Iqra Hasan and Congress MP from Saharanpur Imran Masood, both elected in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as part of the SP-Congress alliance, publicly pitched their respective party leaders to take on the BJP.”Only Rahul Gandhi is the opposition voice across the country, which unnerves the BJP. Rahul ji has done the hard work and created a favourable atmosphere. So make no mistake, nothing is possible without Rahul ji, and no one should have any doubts about this,” Masood said.Days later, Hasan responded and pitched SP chief Yadav as the key to the alliance’s prospects.”Only Akhilesh Yadav is capable of defeating the BJP. On its own, the Congress won’t be able to achieve much,” she said.Last week, Congress Uttar Pradesh in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam signalled a firm stance regarding upcoming electoral negotiations and said that any seat-sharing arrangement with the Samajwadi Party (SP) must be built on mutual respect and equal standing.Clarifying reports regarding seat distribution, Gautam claimed that formal discussions with the SP have not yet begun. While expressing open flexibility for minor adjustments, he stressed that the Congress would not compromise its organisational self-respect or dignity in any prospective deal.”We have made one thing very clear. The Congress is the country’s oldest party. It was the Congress that led the freedom struggle. Any alliance formed will be based on mutual respect; there will be equal partnership and dignity. Sure, we can show some flexibility; there might be minor adjustments, but we cannot compromise on our dignity,” the Congress leader said.The contrasting assertions come despite messages of unity from both sides of the divide. Akhilesh is riding high on SP’s Lok Sabha success in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress, which is trying hard to revive its lost electoral fortunes, does not want to compromise on its expansion plans in one of the most politically important states.The Owaisi factorThe problem is that both the parties are wooing the same social base in the state – minorities, Dalits, women, youth. Akhilesh is missing no opportunity to expand his PDA’s – Pichda Dalit and Alpsankhyak – base by making concerted attempts to include Pandits, Aadhi aabadi (women) and other social groups. The Congress is also wooing the Brahmins, the Dalits and the women in a big way.What the two bickering allies don’t realise that there are several other parties who are also reaching out to the same social base. For instance, Mayawati and Chandrashekhar Azad are also going all out to woo Dalits. Then there is Owaisi, who has already put both the parties in a Catch22 situation by offering them an alliance against the BJP. Owaisi’s proposal is like a double-edged sword for the two parties. If they accept his offer, the BJP will gun for them.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelines If they reject the offer, Owaisi will use the rejection to rally the Muslims against them.Lok Sabha gains, assembly painsThe Samjawadi Party and the Congress may do well to learn lessons from the Bihar debacle before it’s too late. Lok Sabha elections and assembly elections are two very different games and success in one does not automatically translate into success in another. There are numerous instances to show that alliances which did well in Lok Sabha elections failed in assembly elections. Maharashtra is a case in point. The Maha Vikas Aghadi of the opposition parties – Congress, Shiv Sena and the NCP did very well in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, putting the BJP on the backfoot. But a year later in 2025 – the opposition alliance was decimated by the BJP in the assembly elections. So, Akhilesh and Rahul need to decide if they want to keep on flexing muscles at each other or unite in time to pose a challenge to the BJP.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosUAPA ‘Missing’: What Allowed VanDyke, 6 Ukrainians To Leave India? The Legal Gap Explained‘Made In UP’ Missiles Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights: Amit Shah On BrahMosOmar Abdullah Moves Full Statehood Resolution In J&K Assembly, BJP Protest Sparks House UproarThird Bihar Harassment Case In A Week: Minor Girl Targeted In Banka, Video Surfaces’You Cannot Keep Playing’: CJP’s Dipke Challenges Opposition Over Alleged Election Rigging“Terror, Theatrics Won’t Repay Loans”: India Hits Back At Pakistan At UNHRCBJP’s ₹529 Crore Poll Spending Revealed; Bengal Alone Accounted For ₹287 Crore, EC Data ShowsAjeet Bharti Faces Arrest Heat As Delhi HC Rejects Bail In Chandrashekhar Azad CaseIIT-Bombay Death Row: Parents Question CCTV Leak, Demand CBI Probe And Action Against OfficialsAnother Sexual Assault Case from Bihar: 4 Arrested In Samastipur After Video Surfaces Online123Hot PicksWeather tomorrowBank strikeNEET PG ResultGold Rate TodayOctober 2026 School HolidaysTN programmePunjab school holidayMadurantakam bypollDr MonishCBSE Date SheetTop TrendingAsian Games Medal TallyRahul GandhiPowerball JackpotDelhi Hit and RunUP EncounterDonald TrumpPM ModiNaomi OsakaJoe ThomasSupreme Court

Vamsikrishna 0
NEW DELHI: Unease within the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over a media report concerning Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar surfaced on Friday, with three BJP allies urging the Election Commission of India (ECI) to issue a clearer response.Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Chirag Paswan was the first NDA ally to urge the ECI to dispel “misgivings in the minds of the people.”“Let me make it clear that, as part of the government, I do not intend to defend what is a constitutional body. I am also not much worried about the allegations made by the opposition, which will always take a stand that suits it politically,” Paswan told reporters in Patna.“However, if people start losing trust in the electoral system, that will not augur well for democracy. Therefore, I think the Election Commission must come out with its clarification more forcefully. It need not respond to what Rahul Gandhi and his associates are saying, but it must dispel misgivings in the minds of the people,” the Hajipur MP added.Janata Dal (United) Bihar chief and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha also called for a clarification, saying the controversy had created “confusion” among the public.”The controversy regarding the SIR has created a situation of significant confusion among the public. The matter needs to be addressed. The Election Commission should immediately issue a clarification regarding the actual situation to clear up this confusion,” Kushwaha posted on X.The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) described the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Andhra Pradesh as a “success,” while noting that a clarification from the ECI would be “beneficial”.“The exercise has been a success. Even the opposition has not been able to substantiate its concerns regarding the process in Andhra Pradesh. At the same time, the Election Commission of India is a constitutional institution entrusted with a crucial responsibility in our democracy. Therefore, whenever questions are raised by anyone, providing appropriate clarification and maintaining transparency will only help strengthen public confidence in the institution,” TDP MP Lavu Srikrishna Devarayalu said.What is the controversyThe allies’ remarks came after a report in The Indian Express said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had, on at least 14 occasions over the past 10 months, recorded objections to decisions and orders apparently issued without their knowledge or recommendation.The objections reportedly related to changes to the statutory voter registration Form 6, the process for adding and deleting names from electoral rolls, and the centralised control of the electoral roll database.The report prompted opposition parties to demand the CEC’s removal and call for the SIR exercise to be halted.The ECI, however, asserted that differences of opinion among its members were a “normal part of deliberation” and maintained that its final decisions, including those concerning the SIR, had been “unanimous”.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesAccording to the Commissionm all its official orders and directions had legal sanction, while describing the suggestions made by the two Election Commissioners as efforts to improve electoral processes. Neither Sandhu nor Joshi has publicly commented on the objections attributed to them.The BJP, meanwhile, has played down the reported differences within the Commission, saying that the exchange of views during official deliberations reflected “pure democracy”.Kumar, who became an Election Commissioner in 2024 and CEC in 2025, has repeatedly faced allegations from the Opposition that he has “favoured” the BJP.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorKaran ManralKaran Manral is a journalist at the Times of India. He covers politics, social issues, and international affairs, exploring stories that affect people’s everyday lives. He also writes explainers to make these stories easier for readers to follow.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosUAPA ‘Missing’: What Allowed VanDyke, 6 Ukrainians To Leave India? The Legal Gap Explained‘Made In UP’ Missiles Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights: Amit Shah On BrahMosOmar Abdullah Moves Full Statehood Resolution In J&K Assembly, BJP Protest Sparks House UproarThird Bihar Harassment Case In A Week: Minor Girl Targeted In Banka, Video Surfaces’You Cannot Keep Playing’: CJP’s Dipke Challenges Opposition Over Alleged Election Rigging“Terror, Theatrics Won’t Repay Loans”: India Hits Back At Pakistan At UNHRCBJP’s ₹529 Crore Poll Spending Revealed; Bengal Alone Accounted For ₹287 Crore, EC Data ShowsAjeet Bharti Faces Arrest Heat As Delhi HC Rejects Bail In Chandrashekhar Azad CaseIIT-Bombay Death Row: Parents Question CCTV Leak, Demand CBI Probe And Action Against OfficialsAnother Sexual Assault Case from Bihar: 4 Arrested In Samastipur After Video Surfaces Online123Hot PicksWeather tomorrowBank strikeNEET PG ResultGold Rate TodayOctober 2026 School HolidaysTN programmePunjab school holidayMadurantakam bypollDr MonishCBSE Date SheetTop TrendingAsian Games Medal TallyRahul GandhiPowerball JackpotDelhi Hit and RunUP EncounterDonald TrumpPM ModiNaomi OsakaJoe ThomasSupreme Court

NEW DELHI: Unease within the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over a media report concerning Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar surfaced on Friday, with three BJP allies urging the Election Commission of India (ECI) to issue a clearer response.Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Chirag Paswan was the first NDA ally to urge the ECI to dispel “misgivings in the minds of the people.”“Let me make it clear that, as part of the government, I do not intend to defend what is a constitutional body. I am also not much worried about the allegations made by the opposition, which will always take a stand that suits it politically,” Paswan told reporters in Patna.“However, if people start losing trust in the electoral system, that will not augur well for democracy. Therefore, I think the Election Commission must come out with its clarification more forcefully. It need not respond to what Rahul Gandhi and his associates are saying, but it must dispel misgivings in the minds of the people,” the Hajipur MP added.Janata Dal (United) Bihar chief and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha also called for a clarification, saying the controversy had created “confusion” among the public.”The controversy regarding the SIR has created a situation of significant confusion among the public. The matter needs to be addressed. The Election Commission should immediately issue a clarification regarding the actual situation to clear up this confusion,” Kushwaha posted on X.The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) described the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Andhra Pradesh as a “success,” while noting that a clarification from the ECI would be “beneficial”.“The exercise has been a success. Even the opposition has not been able to substantiate its concerns regarding the process in Andhra Pradesh. At the same time, the Election Commission of India is a constitutional institution entrusted with a crucial responsibility in our democracy. Therefore, whenever questions are raised by anyone, providing appropriate clarification and maintaining transparency will only help strengthen public confidence in the institution,” TDP MP Lavu Srikrishna Devarayalu said.What is the controversyThe allies’ remarks came after a report in The Indian Express said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had, on at least 14 occasions over the past 10 months, recorded objections to decisions and orders apparently issued without their knowledge or recommendation.The objections reportedly related to changes to the statutory voter registration Form 6, the process for adding and deleting names from electoral rolls, and the centralised control of the electoral roll database.The report prompted opposition parties to demand the CEC’s removal and call for the SIR exercise to be halted.The ECI, however, asserted that differences of opinion among its members were a “normal part of deliberation” and maintained that its final decisions, including those concerning the SIR, had been “unanimous”.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesAccording to the Commissionm all its official orders and directions had legal sanction, while describing the suggestions made by the two Election Commissioners as efforts to improve electoral processes. Neither Sandhu nor Joshi has publicly commented on the objections attributed to them.The BJP, meanwhile, has played down the reported differences within the Commission, saying that the exchange of views during official deliberations reflected “pure democracy”.Kumar, who became an Election Commissioner in 2024 and CEC in 2025, has repeatedly faced allegations from the Opposition that he has “favoured” the BJP.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorKaran ManralKaran Manral is a journalist at the Times of India. He covers politics, social issues, and international affairs, exploring stories that affect people’s everyday lives. He also writes explainers to make these stories easier for readers to follow.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosUAPA ‘Missing’: What Allowed VanDyke, 6 Ukrainians To Leave India? The Legal Gap Explained‘Made In UP’ Missiles Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights: Amit Shah On BrahMosOmar Abdullah Moves Full Statehood Resolution In J&K Assembly, BJP Protest Sparks House UproarThird Bihar Harassment Case In A Week: Minor Girl Targeted In Banka, Video Surfaces’You Cannot Keep Playing’: CJP’s Dipke Challenges Opposition Over Alleged Election Rigging“Terror, Theatrics Won’t Repay Loans”: India Hits Back At Pakistan At UNHRCBJP’s ₹529 Crore Poll Spending Revealed; Bengal Alone Accounted For ₹287 Crore, EC Data ShowsAjeet Bharti Faces Arrest Heat As Delhi HC Rejects Bail In Chandrashekhar Azad CaseIIT-Bombay Death Row: Parents Question CCTV Leak, Demand CBI Probe And Action Against OfficialsAnother Sexual Assault Case from Bihar: 4 Arrested In Samastipur After Video Surfaces Online123Hot PicksWeather tomorrowBank strikeNEET PG ResultGold Rate TodayOctober 2026 School HolidaysTN programmePunjab school holidayMadurantakam bypollDr MonishCBSE Date SheetTop TrendingAsian Games Medal TallyRahul GandhiPowerball JackpotDelhi Hit and RunUP EncounterDonald TrumpPM ModiNaomi OsakaJoe ThomasSupreme Court

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Current Bharat NCAP phase remains valid until Sept 30, 2027, with proposed introduction of Bharat NCAP 2.0 from Oct 2027 Bharat NCAP 2.0, planned for October 2027, will look beyond what happens when a car crashes. The proposed system will examine the entire safety chain: from how a vehicle helps avoid a collision to how well it protects occupants, pedestrians and other vulnerable road users, and what happens after an accident.Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari announced the proposed timeline at the SIAM Annual Convention in September 2026. The second phase is being planned as the first phase of Bharat New Car Assessment Programme, or Bharat NCAP, approaches the end of its current cycle.According to the ministry of road transport and highways’ draft AIS-197 Revision 1, the first phase of Bharat NCAP began on October 1, 2023 and is valid until September 30, 2027. The draft revision has been prepared as the framework for Bharat NCAP 2.0.The proposed changes could make the safety rating a much broader measure of a car’s performance, not just in a crash, but before, during and after one.About Bharat NCAPWhat is Bharat NCAP?Bharat NCAP is India’s own vehicle crash-testing and safety-rating programme. It was formally launched by the ministry of road transport and highways in August 2023 and became operational from October 1, 2023.The programme applies to type-approved passenger vehicles in the M1 category with a gross vehicle weight of less than 3.5 tonnes. It is voluntary, which means manufacturers can offer eligible vehicles for assessment.The programme is anchored by the Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT), while testing is carried out through designated agencies with the required infrastructure.At its core, Bharat NCAP gives car buyers a common safety benchmark. A vehicle must already meet mandatory regulatory requirements to be sold in India. Bharat NCAP goes a step further by putting eligible vehicles through specified tests and awarding them a rating of between one and five stars.India’s own car safety assessment programmeThe idea is fairly simple: instead of looking only at a car’s price, design or features, buyers get an additional reference point to understand how the vehicle performs in standardised safety tests.The government has also positioned the programme as a way to encourage manufacturers to improve vehicle safety and strengthen the safety standards of cars made in India.How does the current Bharat NCAP system work?The existing programme broadly assesses three areas:Adult Occupant Protection (AOP)Child Occupant Protection (COP)Safety Assist Technologies (SAT)Vehicles are subjected to prescribed crash tests and other assessments. Their performance across these parameters is then used to arrive at the overall star rating.The current framework includes a 64 kmph offset frontal impact test, a 50 kmph side movable deformable barrier test and a pole side impact test, among other checks prescribed under AIS-197.The assessment therefore goes beyond simply asking whether the passenger compartment remains intact.Adult Occupant Protection examines the risk of injury to adults in different crash conditions and seating positions. Child Occupant Protection looks at the protection offered to younger passengers, including the use and installation of child restraint systems.Safety Assist Technologies, meanwhile, covers technologies designed to help prevent crashes or reduce their severity.QuoteWhy are adult and child safety assessed separately?A car may offer different levels of protection to adults and children, so Bharat NCAP evaluates the two separately.The adult assessment focuses on occupant protection during prescribed crash scenarios, while the child assessment considers how effectively younger occupants are protected and how child restraint systems work within the vehicle.This also means that a car’s overall star rating is not simply a score from one crash test. It reflects performance across several safety parameters.For consumers, the individual scores can therefore provide more information than looking at the star rating alone.Who tests the cars?Bharat NCAP is anchored by CIRT, with testing carried out through designated testing agencies that have the required facilities.The wider automotive testing ecosystem includes agencies such as the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and the International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT).Manufacturers submit eligible vehicles for assessment under the programme. The existing framework specifies procedures around the variant selected for testing, including provisions concerning the base variant of a model.That distinction matters when reading a Bharat NCAP result. A rating should not automatically be assumed to apply to every variant of a model unless the official assessment covers those variants.Four assessments of NCAPBharat NCAP ratingsBharat NCAP ratings range from one to five stars. A higher rating indicates stronger performance under the programme’s prescribed assessment criteria.But a five-star rating is not a guarantee that occupants will escape injury in every real-world crash. NCAP testing is conducted under standardised conditions and is intended to provide a basis for comparing vehicle safety performance.It is also important to distinguish Bharat NCAP from the mandatory certification requirements for selling a vehicle in India.Bharat NCAP is voluntary and is designed to provide consumers with additional information beyond the mandatory regulatory framework. A vehicle being tested or rated under Bharat NCAP should therefore not be confused with regulatory approval.Since its launch, Bharat NCAP has increasingly become part of the safety conversation around new car launches. The ratings have also become a factor in how manufacturers present their vehicles to consumers, particularly as safety becomes a more visible consideration in the passenger-vehicle market.What do the stars represent?So, what changes with Bharat NCAP 2.0?This is where the proposed second phase takes a much wider approach.The draft AIS-197 Revision 1 divides Bharat NCAP 2.0 into five safety verticals:Safe drivingCrash avoidanceCrash protectionVulnerable road user protectionPost-crash safetyThe change is significant because the current system focuses mainly on occupant protection and safety-assist technologies, while the proposed framework looks at the complete safety chain.The draft framework uses a 100-point assessment structure, with Crash Protection accounting for 55% of the assessment. The remaining weightage covers the other safety areas.In other words, the crash itself will still be a major part of the rating, but it will no longer be the only part of the safety story.Five crash tests in the proposed new frameworkBharat NCAP 2.0 proposes expanding the Crash Protection assessment to five mandatory crash tests:64 kmph offset frontal impact against a deformable barrier50 kmph frontal impact against a full-width rigid barrier50 kmph lateral impact against a mobile deformable barrier32 kmph oblique side impact against a rigid pole50 kmph rear impact against a mobile rigid barrierAdult and child occupant protection will continue to be assessed separately.The addition of full-width frontal and rear-impact tests means the proposed system will examine crash scenarios beyond the core tests in the existing framework.That gives the second phase a wider testing footprint and allows different types of impacts to form part of the overall safety assessment.Not just about surviving crashOne of the biggest differences in Bharat NCAP 2.0 is that the programme is designed to look at what happens before a crash as well.Crash Avoidance is one of the five proposed verticals. It focuses on technologies and vehicle characteristics that can help prevent a collision or reduce its severity.Your guide to safer carsSafe Driving is another proposed category, widening the assessment beyond the vehicle’s passive protection features.Together, these categories shift the focus from simply asking, “How well does this car perform when it crashes?” to a broader question: “How does this vehicle contribute to safety across different stages of a road incident?”Bharat NCAP 2.0 also proposes a separate Vulnerable Road User Protection category. This brings pedestrians and other vulnerable road users more directly into the safety assessment.The proposed framework also asks a different question: what happens once the collision has taken place?Post-Crash Safety is one of the five proposed assessment areas. Minister Gadkari described Bharat NCAP 2.0 as covering the entire safety chain, including post-crash evacuation and care. “We are going to evaluate the entire crash chain,” Gadkari said, adding that new technologies developed globally as well as by startups would be considered under the programme.This means the assessment is intended to extend beyond the instant of impact and examine safety considerations in the period immediately after a crash.It adds another layer to the programme’s approach: avoiding the crash where possible, protecting people during the impact, and addressing safety after the collision.What does Bharat NCAP mean for car buyers?For buyers, Bharat NCAP offers an additional way to compare cars beyond mandatory safety requirements.A consumer can look at a vehicle’s overall rating as well as its adult and child protection performance and the safety technologies considered in the assessment.The rating is not meant to replace other factors involved in buying a car. Price, size, fuel efficiency, features, driving requirements and other considerations remain relevant, but the proposed 2.0 framework would expand that information further.Buyers could eventually have a broader picture of how a car performs across crash protection, crash avoidance, safe driving, vulnerable-road-user protection and post-crash safety.Bharat NCAP is one part of a much larger road-safety challenge, focusing on the structure of vehicles. Vehicle design and safety technology can influence the outcome of a crash, but they cannot address every reason why accidents happen.The ministry has identified several factors associated with road crashes, including speeding, mobile-phone use, drunken driving, wrong-side driving, lane indiscipline, jumping red lights and failure to use helmets and seat belts. Vehicle condition, road conditions and weather can also play a role.Several countries have their own NCAPSGovernment data recorded 1,68,491 road accident fatalities in 2022.Bharat NCAP therefore addresses one part of this wider equation: the safety performance of vehicles. Its proposed second phase would broaden that role by looking at what a vehicle can do to help avoid crashes, how it protects people when a crash occurs, how it protects vulnerable road users and what happens afterwards.The bottom lineThe current Bharat NCAP phase remains valid until September 30, 2027. The government has proposed introducing Bharat NCAP 2.0 from October 2027, with the draft AIS-197 Revision 1 serving as the framework for the next phase.The proposed transition would take India’s vehicle safety-rating system from a relatively focused crash and occupant-protection programme to a broader safety assessment.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesThe familiar one-to-five-star rating would remain the consumer-facing language of vehicle safety, but the assessment behind it is set to become much more comprehensive.The bigger shift is in the question Bharat NCAP is trying to answer. Instead of looking only at how a car performs when it is involved in a crash, the proposed system would examine the vehicle’s safety journey from avoiding a collision to protecting occupants and vulnerable road users, and supporting safety after the crash.That could give Indian car buyers a wider set of safety information to consider when choosing their next vehicle.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos‘Made In UP’ Missiles Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights: Amit Shah On BrahMosOmar Abdullah Moves Full Statehood Resolution In J&K Assembly, BJP Protest Sparks House UproarThird Bihar Harassment Case In A Week: Minor Girl Targeted In Banka, Video Surfaces’You Cannot Keep Playing’: CJP’s Dipke Challenges Opposition Over Alleged Election Rigging“Terror, Theatrics Won’t Repay Loans”: India Hits Back At Pakistan At UNHRCBJP’s ₹529 Crore Poll Spending Revealed; Bengal Alone Accounted For ₹287 Crore, EC Data ShowsAjeet Bharti Faces Arrest Heat As Delhi HC Rejects Bail In Chandrashekhar Azad CaseIIT-Bombay Death Row: Parents Question CCTV Leak, Demand CBI Probe And Action Against OfficialsAnother Sexual Assault Case from Bihar: 4 Arrested In Samastipur After Video Surfaces OnlineRahul Gandhi Demands Gyanesh Kumar’s Resignation, Alleges ‘Vote Chori’ After ECI Rift Emerges123Hot PicksWeather tomorrowBank strikeNEET PG ResultGold Rate TodayOctober 2026 School HolidaysTN programmePunjab school holidayMadurantakam bypollDr MonishCBSE Date SheetTop TrendingAsian Games Medal TallyRahul GandhiPowerball JackpotDelhi Hit and RunUP EncounterDonald TrumpPM ModiNaomi OsakaJoe ThomasSupreme Court

Current Bharat NCAP phase remains valid until Sept 30, 2027, with proposed introduction of Bharat NCAP 2.0 from Oct 2027 Bharat NCAP 2.0, planned for October 2027, will look beyond what happens when a car crashes. The proposed system will examine the entire safety chain: from how a vehicle helps avoid a collision to how well it protects occupants, pedestrians and other vulnerable road users, and what happens after an accident.Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari announced the proposed timeline at the SIAM Annual Convention in September 2026. The second phase is being planned as the first phase of Bharat New Car Assessment Programme, or Bharat NCAP, approaches the end of its current cycle.According to the ministry of road transport and highways’ draft AIS-197 Revision 1, the first phase of Bharat NCAP began on October 1, 2023 and is valid until September 30, 2027. The draft revision has been prepared as the framework for Bharat NCAP 2.0.The proposed changes could make the safety rating a much broader measure of a car’s performance, not just in a crash, but before, during and after one.About Bharat NCAPWhat is Bharat NCAP?Bharat NCAP is India’s own vehicle crash-testing and safety-rating programme. It was formally launched by the ministry of road transport and highways in August 2023 and became operational from October 1, 2023.The programme applies to type-approved passenger vehicles in the M1 category with a gross vehicle weight of less than 3.5 tonnes. It is voluntary, which means manufacturers can offer eligible vehicles for assessment.The programme is anchored by the Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT), while testing is carried out through designated agencies with the required infrastructure.At its core, Bharat NCAP gives car buyers a common safety benchmark. A vehicle must already meet mandatory regulatory requirements to be sold in India. Bharat NCAP goes a step further by putting eligible vehicles through specified tests and awarding them a rating of between one and five stars.India’s own car safety assessment programmeThe idea is fairly simple: instead of looking only at a car’s price, design or features, buyers get an additional reference point to understand how the vehicle performs in standardised safety tests.The government has also positioned the programme as a way to encourage manufacturers to improve vehicle safety and strengthen the safety standards of cars made in India.How does the current Bharat NCAP system work?The existing programme broadly assesses three areas:Adult Occupant Protection (AOP)Child Occupant Protection (COP)Safety Assist Technologies (SAT)Vehicles are subjected to prescribed crash tests and other assessments. Their performance across these parameters is then used to arrive at the overall star rating.The current framework includes a 64 kmph offset frontal impact test, a 50 kmph side movable deformable barrier test and a pole side impact test, among other checks prescribed under AIS-197.The assessment therefore goes beyond simply asking whether the passenger compartment remains intact.Adult Occupant Protection examines the risk of injury to adults in different crash conditions and seating positions. Child Occupant Protection looks at the protection offered to younger passengers, including the use and installation of child restraint systems.Safety Assist Technologies, meanwhile, covers technologies designed to help prevent crashes or reduce their severity.QuoteWhy are adult and child safety assessed separately?A car may offer different levels of protection to adults and children, so Bharat NCAP evaluates the two separately.The adult assessment focuses on occupant protection during prescribed crash scenarios, while the child assessment considers how effectively younger occupants are protected and how child restraint systems work within the vehicle.This also means that a car’s overall star rating is not simply a score from one crash test. It reflects performance across several safety parameters.For consumers, the individual scores can therefore provide more information than looking at the star rating alone.Who tests the cars?Bharat NCAP is anchored by CIRT, with testing carried out through designated testing agencies that have the required facilities.The wider automotive testing ecosystem includes agencies such as the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and the International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT).Manufacturers submit eligible vehicles for assessment under the programme. The existing framework specifies procedures around the variant selected for testing, including provisions concerning the base variant of a model.That distinction matters when reading a Bharat NCAP result. A rating should not automatically be assumed to apply to every variant of a model unless the official assessment covers those variants.Four assessments of NCAPBharat NCAP ratingsBharat NCAP ratings range from one to five stars. A higher rating indicates stronger performance under the programme’s prescribed assessment criteria.But a five-star rating is not a guarantee that occupants will escape injury in every real-world crash. NCAP testing is conducted under standardised conditions and is intended to provide a basis for comparing vehicle safety performance.It is also important to distinguish Bharat NCAP from the mandatory certification requirements for selling a vehicle in India.Bharat NCAP is voluntary and is designed to provide consumers with additional information beyond the mandatory regulatory framework. A vehicle being tested or rated under Bharat NCAP should therefore not be confused with regulatory approval.Since its launch, Bharat NCAP has increasingly become part of the safety conversation around new car launches. The ratings have also become a factor in how manufacturers present their vehicles to consumers, particularly as safety becomes a more visible consideration in the passenger-vehicle market.What do the stars represent?So, what changes with Bharat NCAP 2.0?This is where the proposed second phase takes a much wider approach.The draft AIS-197 Revision 1 divides Bharat NCAP 2.0 into five safety verticals:Safe drivingCrash avoidanceCrash protectionVulnerable road user protectionPost-crash safetyThe change is significant because the current system focuses mainly on occupant protection and safety-assist technologies, while the proposed framework looks at the complete safety chain.The draft framework uses a 100-point assessment structure, with Crash Protection accounting for 55% of the assessment. The remaining weightage covers the other safety areas.In other words, the crash itself will still be a major part of the rating, but it will no longer be the only part of the safety story.Five crash tests in the proposed new frameworkBharat NCAP 2.0 proposes expanding the Crash Protection assessment to five mandatory crash tests:64 kmph offset frontal impact against a deformable barrier50 kmph frontal impact against a full-width rigid barrier50 kmph lateral impact against a mobile deformable barrier32 kmph oblique side impact against a rigid pole50 kmph rear impact against a mobile rigid barrierAdult and child occupant protection will continue to be assessed separately.The addition of full-width frontal and rear-impact tests means the proposed system will examine crash scenarios beyond the core tests in the existing framework.That gives the second phase a wider testing footprint and allows different types of impacts to form part of the overall safety assessment.Not just about surviving crashOne of the biggest differences in Bharat NCAP 2.0 is that the programme is designed to look at what happens before a crash as well.Crash Avoidance is one of the five proposed verticals. It focuses on technologies and vehicle characteristics that can help prevent a collision or reduce its severity.Your guide to safer carsSafe Driving is another proposed category, widening the assessment beyond the vehicle’s passive protection features.Together, these categories shift the focus from simply asking, “How well does this car perform when it crashes?” to a broader question: “How does this vehicle contribute to safety across different stages of a road incident?”Bharat NCAP 2.0 also proposes a separate Vulnerable Road User Protection category. This brings pedestrians and other vulnerable road users more directly into the safety assessment.The proposed framework also asks a different question: what happens once the collision has taken place?Post-Crash Safety is one of the five proposed assessment areas. Minister Gadkari described Bharat NCAP 2.0 as covering the entire safety chain, including post-crash evacuation and care. “We are going to evaluate the entire crash chain,” Gadkari said, adding that new technologies developed globally as well as by startups would be considered under the programme.This means the assessment is intended to extend beyond the instant of impact and examine safety considerations in the period immediately after a crash.It adds another layer to the programme’s approach: avoiding the crash where possible, protecting people during the impact, and addressing safety after the collision.What does Bharat NCAP mean for car buyers?For buyers, Bharat NCAP offers an additional way to compare cars beyond mandatory safety requirements.A consumer can look at a vehicle’s overall rating as well as its adult and child protection performance and the safety technologies considered in the assessment.The rating is not meant to replace other factors involved in buying a car. Price, size, fuel efficiency, features, driving requirements and other considerations remain relevant, but the proposed 2.0 framework would expand that information further.Buyers could eventually have a broader picture of how a car performs across crash protection, crash avoidance, safe driving, vulnerable-road-user protection and post-crash safety.Bharat NCAP is one part of a much larger road-safety challenge, focusing on the structure of vehicles. Vehicle design and safety technology can influence the outcome of a crash, but they cannot address every reason why accidents happen.The ministry has identified several factors associated with road crashes, including speeding, mobile-phone use, drunken driving, wrong-side driving, lane indiscipline, jumping red lights and failure to use helmets and seat belts. Vehicle condition, road conditions and weather can also play a role.Several countries have their own NCAPSGovernment data recorded 1,68,491 road accident fatalities in 2022.Bharat NCAP therefore addresses one part of this wider equation: the safety performance of vehicles. Its proposed second phase would broaden that role by looking at what a vehicle can do to help avoid crashes, how it protects people when a crash occurs, how it protects vulnerable road users and what happens afterwards.The bottom lineThe current Bharat NCAP phase remains valid until September 30, 2027. The government has proposed introducing Bharat NCAP 2.0 from October 2027, with the draft AIS-197 Revision 1 serving as the framework for the next phase.The proposed transition would take India’s vehicle safety-rating system from a relatively focused crash and occupant-protection programme to a broader safety assessment.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesThe familiar one-to-five-star rating would remain the consumer-facing language of vehicle safety, but the assessment behind it is set to become much more comprehensive.The bigger shift is in the question Bharat NCAP is trying to answer. Instead of looking only at how a car performs when it is involved in a crash, the proposed system would examine the vehicle’s safety journey from avoiding a collision to protecting occupants and vulnerable road users, and supporting safety after the crash.That could give Indian car buyers a wider set of safety information to consider when choosing their next vehicle.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos‘Made In UP’ Missiles Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights: Amit Shah On BrahMosOmar Abdullah Moves Full Statehood Resolution In J&K Assembly, BJP Protest Sparks House UproarThird Bihar Harassment Case In A Week: Minor Girl Targeted In Banka, Video Surfaces’You Cannot Keep Playing’: CJP’s Dipke Challenges Opposition Over Alleged Election Rigging“Terror, Theatrics Won’t Repay Loans”: India Hits Back At Pakistan At UNHRCBJP’s ₹529 Crore Poll Spending Revealed; Bengal Alone Accounted For ₹287 Crore, EC Data ShowsAjeet Bharti Faces Arrest Heat As Delhi HC Rejects Bail In Chandrashekhar Azad CaseIIT-Bombay Death Row: Parents Question CCTV Leak, Demand CBI Probe And Action Against OfficialsAnother Sexual Assault Case from Bihar: 4 Arrested In Samastipur After Video Surfaces OnlineRahul Gandhi Demands Gyanesh Kumar’s Resignation, Alleges ‘Vote Chori’ After ECI Rift Emerges123Hot PicksWeather tomorrowBank strikeNEET PG ResultGold Rate TodayOctober 2026 School HolidaysTN programmePunjab school holidayMadurantakam bypollDr MonishCBSE Date SheetTop TrendingAsian Games Medal TallyRahul GandhiPowerball JackpotDelhi Hit and RunUP EncounterDonald TrumpPM ModiNaomi OsakaJoe ThomasSupreme Court

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Vijay targets DMK family over women remarks NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay turned his attack on the “DMK family” on Friday, taking issue of “derogatory” remarks against women and declaring that he would not let them pass.Addressing supporters ahead of the October 6 Chengalpattu assembly bypoll, TVK supremo Vijay said he had ignored remarks made against his own mother but drew the line when comments were directed at “my sisters and mothers in Tamil Nadu”.The TVK chief accused the DMK and the “DMK family” of making such remarks and alleged that DMK party head and former CM MK Stalin and his family had allowed such language.”This cannot be tolerated,” Vijay said.Vijay also alleged that Stalin and other DMK leaders had spoken in a “defamatory” manner about former Tamil Nadu chief minister Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesJayalalithaa.His remarks came as he stepped up his attack on the DMK ahead of the bypoll, while also targeting the AIADMK and BJP.Vijay accused the three rival parties of having a “secret understanding, collusion”, suggesting that they were working together on issues despite being political opponents.The TVK chief also referred to the controversy surrounding industrialist Veeramani and alleged that a complaint in a POCSO case had been buried during the previous DMK regime.”What was the deal, Tamil Nadu is asking. Stalin sir, open your mouth, joining hands with you the AIADMK is also not opening its mouth; should there be a collusion even in this issue, will you not open your mouth by having an understanding even in this matter,” he said.On the issue of crimes against women and children, Vijay said those involved should face punishment regardless of their influence.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorAbhishek MishraAbhishek Mishra is a Digital Content Producer at The Times of India, working with the news desk. He writes with a keen eye on foreign policy, defence developments, and the shifting currents of geopolitics-and yes, Indian politics always finds a way onto his radar too.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosOmar Abdullah Moves Full Statehood Resolution In J&K Assembly, BJP Protest Sparks House UproarThird Bihar Harassment Case In A Week: Minor Girl Targeted In Banka, Video Surfaces’You Cannot Keep Playing’: CJP’s Dipke Challenges Opposition Over Alleged Election Rigging“Terror, Theatrics Won’t Repay Loans”: India Hits Back At Pakistan At UNHRCBJP’s ₹529 Crore Poll Spending Revealed; Bengal Alone Accounted For ₹287 Crore, EC Data ShowsAjeet Bharti Faces Arrest Heat As Delhi HC Rejects Bail In Chandrashekhar Azad CaseIIT-Bombay Death Row: Parents Question CCTV Leak, Demand CBI Probe And Action Against OfficialsAnother Sexual Assault Case from Bihar: 4 Arrested In Samastipur After Video Surfaces OnlineRahul Gandhi Demands Gyanesh Kumar’s Resignation, Alleges ‘Vote Chori’ After ECI Rift Emerges’Justice Must Be Served’: Ladakh Marks One Year Since Deadly Leh Violence | Watch123Hot PicksWeather tomorrowBank strikeNEET PG ResultGold Rate TodayOctober 2026 School HolidaysTN programmePunjab school holidayMadurantakam bypollDr MonishCBSE Date SheetTop TrendingAsian Games Medal TallyRahul GandhiPowerball JackpotDelhi Hit and RunUP EncounterDonald TrumpPM ModiNaomi OsakaJoe ThomasSupreme Court

Vijay targets DMK family over women remarks NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay turned his attack on the “DMK family” on Friday, taking issue of “derogatory” remarks against women and declaring that he would not let them pass.Addressing supporters ahead of the October 6 Chengalpattu assembly bypoll, TVK supremo Vijay said he had ignored remarks made against his own mother but drew the line when comments were directed at “my sisters and mothers in Tamil Nadu”.The TVK chief accused the DMK and the “DMK family” of making such remarks and alleged that DMK party head and former CM MK Stalin and his family had allowed such language.”This cannot be tolerated,” Vijay said.Vijay also alleged that Stalin and other DMK leaders had spoken in a “defamatory” manner about former Tamil Nadu chief minister Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesJayalalithaa.His remarks came as he stepped up his attack on the DMK ahead of the bypoll, while also targeting the AIADMK and BJP.Vijay accused the three rival parties of having a “secret understanding, collusion”, suggesting that they were working together on issues despite being political opponents.The TVK chief also referred to the controversy surrounding industrialist Veeramani and alleged that a complaint in a POCSO case had been buried during the previous DMK regime.”What was the deal, Tamil Nadu is asking. Stalin sir, open your mouth, joining hands with you the AIADMK is also not opening its mouth; should there be a collusion even in this issue, will you not open your mouth by having an understanding even in this matter,” he said.On the issue of crimes against women and children, Vijay said those involved should face punishment regardless of their influence.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorAbhishek MishraAbhishek Mishra is a Digital Content Producer at The Times of India, working with the news desk. He writes with a keen eye on foreign policy, defence developments, and the shifting currents of geopolitics-and yes, Indian politics always finds a way onto his radar too.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosOmar Abdullah Moves Full Statehood Resolution In J&K Assembly, BJP Protest Sparks House UproarThird Bihar Harassment Case In A Week: Minor Girl Targeted In Banka, Video Surfaces’You Cannot Keep Playing’: CJP’s Dipke Challenges Opposition Over Alleged Election Rigging“Terror, Theatrics Won’t Repay Loans”: India Hits Back At Pakistan At UNHRCBJP’s ₹529 Crore Poll Spending Revealed; Bengal Alone Accounted For ₹287 Crore, EC Data ShowsAjeet Bharti Faces Arrest Heat As Delhi HC Rejects Bail In Chandrashekhar Azad CaseIIT-Bombay Death Row: Parents Question CCTV Leak, Demand CBI Probe And Action Against OfficialsAnother Sexual Assault Case from Bihar: 4 Arrested In Samastipur After Video Surfaces OnlineRahul Gandhi Demands Gyanesh Kumar’s Resignation, Alleges ‘Vote Chori’ After ECI Rift Emerges’Justice Must Be Served’: Ladakh Marks One Year Since Deadly Leh Violence | Watch123Hot PicksWeather tomorrowBank strikeNEET PG ResultGold Rate TodayOctober 2026 School HolidaysTN programmePunjab school holidayMadurantakam bypollDr MonishCBSE Date SheetTop TrendingAsian Games Medal TallyRahul GandhiPowerball JackpotDelhi Hit and RunUP EncounterDonald TrumpPM ModiNaomi OsakaJoe ThomasSupreme Court

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