Overview
- Arif Mohammad Khan said all arrangements for the first phase of Bihar’s assembly elections are complete and voting will begin on Thursday.
- He described the elections as a celebration of democracy, stressing that ultimate authority resides with voters rather than those in office.
- Leadership, he said, is earned through the ballot and not lineage, citing President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as examples of open political mobility.
- Reflecting on Kashmir’s suffering since the 1947 partition, he said there is a broad wish for peace and the restoration of statehood, including from the prime minister.
- He cautioned that structural steps such as restoring statehood depend on stability and a collective commitment to uphold the rule of law uniformly across the region.