NDA sitting pretty seats 243 Target 122 Polls suggest exit of Oppn aspirations AS the high-stakes Bihar assembly election came to a close on Tuesday, pollsters were unanimous in predicting the National Democratic Alliance’s return to power with a convincing majority If the predic. tions stand, it will be a huge setback for the Opposition’s Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance), which was trying to win the politically crucial state after a gap of 20 years. The poll of exit polls projected the NDA comprising Janata Trump says levy cut soon; India waits for US word Dal United JD (U), the BJP and the LJP(RV) , will cross the majority mark by securing 148 seats, giving the RJD-led grand alliance just 88 seats, less than the 110 seats it won in the 2020 election. The majority mark for the 243-seat assembly is 122. Election strategist Prashant Kishore’s Jan Suraaj Party which was hyped to play , a crucial role in this election, may end up with a poor showing, as per exit polls. The Bihar polls were conducted in two phases on November 6 and 11, and the results will be out on November 14. The results will also Chanakya Strategies 130-138 A day after US President Donald Trump said that Washington is ‘pretty close’ to signing a trade deal with India, which would also pave the way for lowering tariffs on Indian goods, sources in Delhi said the trade talks have been so comprehensive that another round of negotiations may not be necessary . Commerce ministry officials said New Delhi is awaiting a response from Washington on the bilateral trade agreement talks. “They (US) h ave t o g e t back to us. India’s negotiations have been the most comprehensive and WTO-compliant as com pared to any US President Donald Trump other country. Ne gotiations have been done cautiously and carefully keeping the sensitive , sectors in mind.” The ministry’s update came a day after Trump said the deal would soon be sealed, which would enhance the bilateral relations, boost US energy exports and promote investments in key US sectors. According to US media reports, Trump also signalled that the tariffs on Indian goods would be lowered. “The tariffs on India are really high because of the Russian oil [imports], but they have now substantially reduced Russian oil [imports], so we will be bringing the tariffs down,” Trump was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said that while India wants a fair trade deal with the US, it won’t compromise on the interests of farmers and the dairy sector. 100-108 0-0  3-5 73-91 0-3  5-7 DV Research 137-152 83-98 2-4  1-8 JVC 135-150 88-103 0-1  3-6 Matrize 147-167 70-90 0-2  2-8 P-Marq 142-162 80-98 1-4  0-3 Peoples Insight 133-148 87-102 0-2  3-6 TIF Research 145-163 76-95 0  3-6 Peoples Pulse 133-159 75-101 0-5  2-8 148 90 1 5 CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ set the tone for the upcoming assembly elections in Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu next year as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls has already begun in these states. Bihar is the first state to go to polls after the SIR exercise. Exit poll projections are made by election survey agencies based on interviews of voters as they come out after casting their votes. These may vary widely from the actual results. Illustration: sourav roy l Intercepted letter from Nowgam proves key link l Suspects may be ‘linked’ to Faridabad terror module: l Jaish hand evident, say officials Blast probe handed over to NIA Umar Mohammad Nabi, Pulwama doctor in the photo: pti M u ke s h R a n j a n , F aya z W a n i & N a m i ta B a j pa i THE investigation into the deadly car blast near Delhi’s Red Fort on November 10 that killed 12 people was on Tuesday formally handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), following high-level security meetings chaired by home minister Amit Shah. Security agencies, working in coordination with state police across J&K, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, launched extensive search operations on Tuesday and found multiple leads linked to the banned Pakistanbased Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit. Preliminary investigations revealed incriminating JeM internal communications that suggest ‘revenge’ as the motive for internal disloyalty. An intercepted letter recovered in J&K’s Nowgam, believed to have originated from the Pakistan-based outfit, threatens punishment for ‘betrayals’ within JeM, exhibiting rhetoric consistent with earlier internal directives. Senior intelligence officials suggest that factional pressure and infighting within JeM could have precipitated the Delhi blast, following counter-insurgency activity in Kashmir. Umar Mohammad Nabi Car track Charred remains of vehicles on Tuesday, following the deadly blast near Red Fort Metro Station the previous night that killed 12 people in New Delhi; and a forensic official collects samples from the site a day after the explosion | Shekhar yadav The police registered a case headlined ‘bomb blast’ invoking sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosive Substances Act, after forensics teams began analysing specimens from the site and vehicle to match those from the deceased. Investigators are scrutinising CCTV footage and digital devices and matching DNA samples to ascertain the identity of the car’s occupants. Early findings indicate the use of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil as the explosive material, and a possible operational link to the Faridabad module, from which Booker Prize to Hungarian-British author David Szalay Szalay’s novel Flesh won the prize (£50,000 and a trophy), beating Indian author Kiran Desai’s The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny | P11 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar/Nuapada Voters line up at a booth in Nuapada to exercise their franchise, on Tuesday | Express from the state headquarters to ensure free, fair and transparent election. Polling began at 7 am and was completed at 5 pm in 311 polling stations across the constituency. Voting was wrapped up one hour early in 47 sensitive booths. Gopalan said all the eight helicopters carrying polling personnel to the district headquarters town have returned. Counting of votes will be held on November 14. The bypoll was necessitated following the death of sitting BJD MLA and former minister Rajendra Dholakia. The ruling middle of the ‘car bomb’ N i t i n R a w at @ New Delhi Record 81.63% polling in Nuapada; all eyes on November 14 result now The Nuapada by-election on Tuesday witnessed a record polling of nearly 82 per cent, keeping the ruling BJP and opposition BJD and Congress on tenterhooks till counting on November 14. The polling passed off smoothly across the constituency barring minor incidents of lapses. According to latest reports from the office of the chief electoral officer, the constituency has recorded 81.63 per cent polling and the figure may increase after the final tabulation. CEO RS Gopalan said, voting was completed peacefully across the 358 polling stations including sensitive and sakhi booths. However, violation of vote secrecy was noticed in two booths following which the presiding officers Dhananjay Mallick and Sandeep Kumar Swain were suspended. In both the cases, the companion of one elderly voter each allegedly voted on the latter’s behalf. The CEO said polling process was continuously monitored JSP OTH 145-160 @ New Delhi/Srinagar/Lucknow PUS H PITA D E Y @ New Delhi MGB Dainik Bhaskar Poll of Polls SAMBALPUR l wednesday l november 12, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l CITY EDITION PR E E T H A N AIR @ New Delhi Source NDA BJP has fielded Jay Dholakia, son of Rajendra, from the seat while the BJD had nominated former minister Snehangini Chhuria. Congress has fielded Ghasiram Majhi, a local tribal leader. The election will be an acid test for the three main contenders BJP BJD and Congress. The , BJP has lot at stake as the result will reflect on its performance in the last 17 moths of being in power in the state. This will also be the first test of popularity of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and his government.  Continued on P7 350 kg of explosives and a cache of weapons were seized. Several individuals associated with the accused doctors from Kashmir, notably Dr Umar Nabi and Dr Muzammil Ganaie and Dr Adeel Ahmed, have been detained for questioning in coordinated raids in Pulwama, Srinagar, Faridabad, and parts of western Uttar Pradesh. In UP ATS teams car, ried out raids in Saharanpur, Lucknow and Muzaffarnagar, detaining individuals connected to the JeM module. In Srinagar, at least eight persons including father, mother and two brothers of Dr Umar Nabi, who is suspected of driving the car that exploded,were detained. Security has been ramped up at sensitive locations, including Ayodhya. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, currently in Thimpu on an official visit, said: “The conspirators will not be spared.” India hit out at Pakistan for attempting to link New Delhi to the terrorist attack in Islamabad on Tuesday, calling the charge “baseless, unfounded, and a predictable tactic.” Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif alleged India’s role in a suicide bombing that killed 12 people in Islamabad. Odisha govt to adopt multi-year budget ceiling to push devpt H e m a n t K u m a r R o u t @ Bhubaneswar In a major fiscal reform aimed at steering Odisha towards achieving its vision of a developed state by 2036, the state government has decided to prepare the annual budget in a multi-year ceiling format, enabling departments to plan and execute long-term projects with assured fund predictability . In a circular issued on Tuesday the Fi, nance department has made it clear that departments will be given spending limits not only for the budget year but also for the subsequent two years to ensure continuity in planning and implementation. Although preparation of the 2026-27 annual budget will follow the same principles adopted for 2025-26, including macrofiscal forecasting and early communication of departmental expenditure limits, departments will have to rigorously scrutinise and prioritise proposals within the prescribed ceilings. “Flexibility will be allowed within broad expenditure categories, but proposals exceeding ceilings will not be entertained. The departments will also be communicated with a multi-year ceiling for next three years - budget year (Y), Y+1 and Y+2, so that they would have predictability in fund flow for multi-year project planning,” Continued on P7 the circular read.  e x p r e s s r ea d Centre notifies CBI probe into SI recruitment exam scam Bhubaneswar: Amid allegations of multistate nexus behind the police sub-inspector recruitment scam, the Centre on Tuesday handed over investigation of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The decision was taken after the state government requested the Centre to ask CBI to probe the fraud. A notification was issued by the central government in this regard on the day | P5 Umar’s i20 first spotted outside Asian hospital in Faridabad around 7.30 am on Monday Car entered Delhi after crossing the Badarpur toll plaza at 8.13 am Seen near a petrol pump in the Okhla Industrial Area at 8.20 am At 3.19 pm, car entered parking lot near the Red Fort complex, stayed there for 3 hrs Exited at 6.22 pm, drove toward Red Fort; blast at 6.52 pm A day after the Red Fort blast, which killed 12 people and injured more than 20, investigators are focusing on Umar Mohammad Nabi, a Pulwama-born medical professional suspected to have been behind the wheel of the white Hyundai i20 that exploded near Gate No. 1 of the Lal Qila Metro Station. According to officials familiar with the probe, Umar is suspected to have links with the radicalised white-collar module busted in Faridabad, in a joint operation by the J&K Police and Haryana’s Special Task Force. The operation led to the arrest of eight individuals, including three doctors, and the seizure of 2,900 kg of explosive-making material from multiple locations in Haryana. Umar, a resident of Koil village in Pulwama, was allegedly in touch with members of the same Faridabad module, according to sources. CCTV footage shows a man with a mask at the wheel of the car before the blast. Tracing the ownership of the i20 provided the breakthrough that led investigators to the Faridabad module. The car was initially registered in the name of Salman. He sold it to Devender, who later sold it to Taariq, based in Pulwama. While tracking Taariq, investigators found the white i20 was with Nabi. The police said specialised teams, including crime units, are collecting forensic evidence from the site. Raids have been carried out across the National Capital Region, with security checks in Daryaganj, Paharganj, railway stations, airports, and bus terminals. Investigators said the Pulwama-Faridabad connection is the key line of inquiry .