SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard 1ST CASE HACKING USING AI UNCOVERED Researchers have uncovered the first reported use of artificial intelligence to direct a hacking campaign in a largely automated fashion. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9 VOTE SWING BJP saw positive swing of 0.28% votes vis-a-vis 2020; for JD(U), it was 3.55%. Vote share of Chirag’s party dropped by 0.81% BJP :89 +15 JD(U) :85 +42 LJP(RV) :19 +18 Oth :9 +5  NEW DELHI  J8.00 NDA: 202  PAGES 12 MGB: 35 RJD : 25 -50 CONG : 06 -13 LEFT : 03 -14 OTH : 1 VOTE SWING RJD lost 50 seats while registering a negative vote swing of -0.5%; Cong lost -0.87% votes as compared to 2022; Left’s share dipped by -0.3% The Congress party has become ‘Muslimleegi Seat difference compared to 2020 Bihar polls Seat difference compared to 2020 Bihar polls Maowadi Congress’ or TOTAL SEATS: 243 MAJORITY: 122 MMC. It will witness NDA GETS THREE-FOURTHS MAJORITY; BJP SINGLE-LARGEST PARTY WITH ABOUT 90% STRIKE RATE; JD(U) CLOSE BEHIND; a big split soon NiMo LANDSLIDE BICKERING INDIA BLOC SWEPT AWAY; RJD SUFFERS HEAVY DRUBBING; SECOND-WORST PERFORMANCE BY CONGRESS — Narendra Modi, prime minister The NDA has achieved a massive majority by demonstrating complete unity. I thank all NDA partners. Bihar will progress even further and will be included in the category of the most developed states in the country — Nitish Kumar, chief minister R A M A S H A N K A R @ Patna T HE ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) scored a victory for ages in the Bihar Assembly election on Friday , securing a commanding three-fourths majority While the . NDA bagged 202 seats in the 243-member assembly, the RJD-Congress combine was not even close, garnering a meagre 35 seats. The drubbing pushed the alliance to the periphery of Bihar’s political landscape. The BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 89 seats, while JD(U) won 85, LJP(RV) 19, HAM 5, and RLM 4. The opposition Mahagathbandhan suffered a crushing defeat: RJD won 25 seats, Congress 6, CPI(ML) 2, and CPM 1. The BJP and JD(U) contested 101 seats each, while LJP(RV) fielded candidates in 28. Hyderabad MP Asasuddin Owaisi’s party — All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) — maintained its stronghold in Muslim dominated Bihar’s Seemanchal region, winning five of the 23 seats it contested in this region. AIMIM’s vote share has also increased from 1.3 per cent in 2020 to 1.85 per cent in 2025. For the Congress, this election is befuddling. It marked its second-worst performance in Bihar’s electoral history just short of , 2010 when it won four seats in another NDA landside year. This year’s election recorded a historic voter turnout of 66.91%— the highest since 1951. Women voters led with 71.6% participation, outpacing men (62.8%). Historically rising turnout has triggered government change , thrice in Bihar: 1967 (+7%, Congress ousted), 1980 (+6.8%), and 1990 (+5.7%, Congress again removed). But in 2025, the NDA defied that trend, delivering a blow to the Mahagathbandhan since there was no anti-incumbency against the Nitish government. CM Nitish Kumar reinforced his political relevance through bold policies, including women’s reservation laws and welfare schemes for economically backward classes. Despite concerns over age and health, Nitish passed the test of endurance and public trust. JD(U) retained strong support among Kurmi-Kushwaha communities, EBCs, women, and Dalits. Women voters were decisively consolidated via initiatives like Mahila Rojgar Yojana. Unlike 2020, when Chirag Paswan’s LJP(RV) dented JD(U)’s vote share, the 2025 polls saw complete NDA cohesion. A primarily development narrative saw the NDA storm traditional Mahagathbandhan strongholds in Magadh and Shahabad, while boosting gains in Muslim-majority Seemanchal and Kosi. It further solidified in Mithilanchal, Champaran, and Tirhut. The NDA was able to breach Muslim-dominated seats, fracturing the opposition. AIMIM and Jan Suraaj Party split votes, cracking RJD’s MY (Muslim-Yadav) base. Yadavs stayed loyal to RJD, but many Muslims shifted to Nitish Kumar’s JD(U). At the other end of the spectrum, the Congress hit rock bottom, winning just 6 of 61 seats—down from 19 of 70 in 2020. “The people of Bihar have taken the state by storm,” PM Narendra Modi told jubilant supporters in Delhi. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, set to take oath for a record 10th time, thanked voters and attributed the victory to people’s trust and the Centre’s support. MORE REPORTS ON PAGE 7 & 8 This result is truly surprising. We could not achieve victory in a poll that was not fair from the beginning. The Congress and the INDIA bloc will review this result and make efforts to save democracy even more effective — Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader Was it an election in Bihar as the outcome shows? No joblessness? Pain of migration fiction? Health and education doesn’t matter? Issues raised by @yadavtejashwi would remain core Bihari concern forever JD(U) members pose alongside a flex board of Nitish Kumar, in Patna on Friday | PTI PM Narendra Modi waves at supporters at BJP headquarters in New Delhi | SHEKHAR YADAV 10th term gift to man of the moment, Nitish Modi attributes it to new M-Y—Mahila and Youth R A M A S H A N K A R @ Patna R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi WHEN the dust settles after Bihar’s high-voltage election, a singular truth will remain etched on the political map of the state: Nitish Kumar, the war veteran, still reigns supreme. At 74, the Janata Dal (United) chief is poised to take oath as chief minister for an unprecedented tenth time, steering the National Democratic Alliance to a gargantuan victory . Few leaders in modern India embody political survival like Nitish. Once taunted for shifting alliances at whim, Kumar has defied labels and fatigue alike, remaking himself to stay in tune with the state’s political nous. His Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana was a masterstroke, transferring `10,000 each to 1.4 crore women before the polls. The strategy clicked—women voters outnumbered men by 8.8%, sealing the NDA’s fate across even the Muslimmajority Seemanchal belt. Nitish’s campaign, built on welfare and welfare again, left little room for anti-incumbency Pensions up, electricity free up to 125 . units, and the promise of one crore new jobs—all wrapped in the familiar pledges of development and dignity “People have bha. rosa (faith) in Modi and Nitish,” said BJP’s Vinod Tawade. Outside the JD(U) office, one banner makes the mood unmistakable: “Tiger abhi zinda hai” (the tiger lives on.) PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Friday termed the NDA win in Bihar as a vote for pro-people governance and said BJP’s victory march will follow the flow of Ganga from Bihar to Bengal. Addressing workers at BJP headquarters in New Delhi in the evening, PM Modi said the mandate reflects public endorsement of development-focused governance, leaving no room for divisive strategies. He credited Bihar’s youth for voting decisively for the NDA. In a scathing attack on the Congress— which was reduced to its worst-ever tally — Modi accused the party of self-destruction through appeasement. Interestingly he predicted an imminent split in the Congress, , warning allies that “it ruins partners”, citing the RJD’s fate. Mocking Rahul Gandhi’s campaign antics, Modi said, “Some ‘naamdars’ are drowning themselves and their allies.” Opening his address with an invocation, “Jai Chhathi Maiya,” he condemned Congress’s alleged insult to the Bihari festival Chatth. Honouring Mithilanchal’s strong mandate for BJP, he wore a Mithila-painted gamchha (towel) and was garlanded with makhana. The PM unveiled a new “M-Y” formula—Mahila and Youth, and called the verdict a democratic triumph, assuring rapid progress under Nitish Kumar’s leadership. Blast at J&K police stn tied to terror F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar BLAST DURING SAMPLING A massive explosion took place Officials said the blast occurred inside the Nowgam police sta- while personnel were handling tion on the outskirts of Srinagar the explosive material that had late on Friday night amid height- been brought from Faridabad. ened security in the Valley after The material was part of 360 kg the busting of a militant module of explosives recovered from Dr Muzammil Ganaie’s house. linked to the Delhi blast. Initial reports said eight personnel were injured in the blast. The deafening sound of the They were reportedly extract- blast, which took place at around ing samples from a massive 11.45 pm, shook the entire cache of explosives recently Nowgam area. It damaged the seized in connection with window and glass panes of the ‘white-collar’ terror many residential houses. module case. Officials said Sources said a large RED they fear some casualquantity of the exploFORT ties because the explosive material, possibly ATTACK sion was very powerful ammonium nitrate, and a number of policeconfiscated during the men were present in the station investigation into the inat the time of the blast. Several ter-state terror network was vehicles parked at the police sta- kept in the police station. tion also caught fire. “The sampling of the seized Sources said it could probably explosive material was going on. be an accidental blast but sabo- It has been taking place for the tage angle is being looked into. last three days. And during the It was in the Nowgam police sampling process, the massive station where the FIR on JeM blast took place in the police staposters was registered; subse- tion at night,” they said. quent investigation led to bustIt is not immediately known ing an inter-state ‘white-collar’ how much quantity of explosive terror network comprising med- material was present in the poical professionals. lice station during the blast. @ New Delhi Red Fort bomber Dr Nabi’s Pulwama house demolished F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar SECURITY forces on Friday blew up the house of Dr Umar Nabi, the alleged suicide bomber who drove explosive laden i20 car that exploded near Red Fort on Monday killing 13 people and , injuring many . Sources said Dr Nabi’s house at Quil village in Pulwama in south Kashmir was demolished early Friday adding the demoli, tion was to send a message against terrorists. The house was razed to rubble in a controlled explosion. Some adjacent houses suffered minor damage in the controlled explosion. The family members were taken out of the house before the demolition. Dr Umar, who emerged as a key figure in the inter-state white-collar terror network, exploded his i20 car near Red Fort after his aides were detained and security agencies were zeroing in on him. This is the second time this year that security forces have blown up houses of terrorists in the Valley After the April 22 Pa. halgam terror attack, security forces demolished houses of at least 10 terrorists in the Valley . BIG WINNERS Tejashwi Samrat Vijay Sinha Yadav (RJD) Choudhary (BJP) Raghopur (BJP) Tarapur Lakhisarai 14,532 45,843 24,940 TOP LOSERS Mohd. Tej Pratap Shatrughan Shahnawaz Yadav (JJD) Yadav (RJD) (RJD) Baisi Mahua Chapra 8,456 24,940 2,592 V I C T O R Y/ D E F E A T M A R G I N INSIDE SOPS TO WOMEN, BJP’S WINNING MANTRA | P7 SC relies on ocular proof over med records, upholds Pocso conviction S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y Debris of the house demolished in Quil village in Pulwama | PTI — Manoj Kumar Jha, RJD leader THE Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the conviction of a man found guilty of aggravated sexual assault on a fouryear-old girl, holding that the consistent testimony of the child’s parents was enough to sustain the verdict even in the absence of medical evidence or eyewitnesses. A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria said the courts had rightly relied on the clear and cogent testimony of the survivor’s family . Leniency plea rejected The SC bench also dismissed the appellant’s plea for leniency. His lawyers argued that there was no suggestion or evidence of penetration, and therefore, the conviction and sentence were unjustified. The bench disagreed. “It is well settled that the medical evidence will take a backseat and even if [it does] not corroborate with the ocular evidence, where the ocular evidence is consistent and cogent, the latter would be allowed to prevail,” the bench said. The judges noted that the girl’s behaviour in court spoke for itself. When she saw the accused, Rajesh Kumar Jaldhari, she broke down in fear. The bench said this reaction was an important indicator of what she had gone through. “The sequence of events in recording of evidence of the survivor was tale-telling,” it said, adding her mother’s consistent evidence established the commission of the offence. Jaldhari appealed for acquittal, arguing there were no medical findings to support the charge. The SC rejected it. EXPRESS READ B’desh NSA to attend Colombo security talks HC summons jail chief over dancing video Sukhoi-30 MKI to get advanced jammer pods Bangladesh’s National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman will travel to New Delhi next week to attend the seventh NSA-level meeting of the Colombo Security Conclave, scheduled for November 19–20, and chaired by NSA Ajit Doval. The Jharkhand High Court has taken suo moto cognizance over the video of high-profile inmates, accused in the liquor and GST scam, dancing inside the Birsa Munda jail in Ranchi. The court has asked the chief to be present in the court. The Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft will see enhanced capabilities as the defence ministry moves to acquire selfprotection jammer pods. The ministry intends to procure 100 sets of the pods along with associated equipment.