Dr Abdul Salam, BJP’s Muslim candidate, faces challenges in Malappuram. During an interaction with voters in a remote village near Pulikkal, he recounted his bitter experience after attending Eid Namaz at Madin Masjid in Malappuram town. Salam, a popular academic and former VC of Calicut University, faces challenges not just from his own community but also from his party’s disorganized machinery in Malappuram, he says.

Rahul Narwekar, Maharashtra assembly speaker, expressed unwavering support for Geeta Gawli, backed by BJP in BMC polls, to become the Mumbai mayor. Narwekar’s dedication to the ABS family, led by Arun Gawli, was emphasized.

In 2023, as many as 26 students took their lives, making it the highest toll ever, with an average of more than two student suicides every month in Kota.