INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is flush with cash, giving his bloc a massive advantage over the main opposition Congress party as he seeks to win a second term in India's general election.
Opaque campaign financing in the world's largest democracy makes it tricky to get a full picture of money in politics here.
But current and former BJP supporters, opposition politicians, businessmen and activists interviewed say Modi has an unprecedented advantage, thanks to support from businesses and expectations he will be the winner.
Staggered voting in the general election is currently in progress across India, with results to be declared on May 23.
The BJP war chest has allowed it to unleash a massive amount of advertising on social media and send Modi and party officials crisscrossing India to campaign.
The ruling party has showered money on Facebook and Google advertisements, spending six times more than Congress since February, according to data from the two firms. Modi merchandise abounds, as do Modi marketing sites.
The money puts the BJP in an extraordinarily powerful position, even over logistical issues like how to get its leaders to election rallies.
A Congress official said the BJP had the funds to reserve most of India's fleet of helicopters for hire for 90 days, making it difficult for opponents to get hold of them.
"We have never ever seen an election with such disparity. Financially, we cannot compete with them," said another veteran Congress politician, who asked to remain anonymous.
He and another high-ranking Congress official said they expected the BJP to outspend them by a factor of ten. A third Congress source estimated the disparity at twice that.
Two BJP officials declined to provide an estimate of spending, but one said the "BJP definitely has a big war chest and has more funds at its disposal than the Congress."
Congress has received far fewer funds because of a perception it is unlikely to win the election, political strategists said. The opposition party has been hampered by its inability to forge a national alliance to take on Modi and has struggled to capitalise on discontent against the BJP over a lack of jobs and distressed farm incomes.
Modi has been topping polls as India's most popular politician, well ahead of Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
Money has become critical in elections given the country's 1.3 billion population, its voting over 39 days and the sheer complexity of the electorate, in terms of region, religion, language, and caste.
A tradition of doling out freebies to sway voters only adds to costs. Authorities say they have seized goods and cash worth about $456 million since March 26.
"This war chest gives the BJP significant advantages," said Milan Vaishnav, director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's South Asia programme.
"Money is useful for wooing voters but also for keeping networks of party workers and influencers well lubricated."
Parliamentary candidates' expenditure is capped at up to Rs 7m, but the limit is widely flouted, and political parties are allowed to spend freely.
The New Delhi-based Centre for Media Studies (CMS) estimates almost $8.6 billion will be spent on this year's vote, roughly twice the 2014 election.
The figure would surpass OpenSecrets.org's estimate that $6.5bn was spent in the 2016 US presidential and congressional elections.
Recent reforms under Modi may have fueled the spending spree: Companies can fund parties anonymously through new 'electoral bonds' and they no longer face a donations cap.
Activists say that gives corporations too much sway and obscures ties between politicians and businessmen. About 95 per cent of electoral bonds snapped up in a first tranche offering last year went to the BJP, according to data reviewed through a Right To Information request and BJP filings.
When asked whether the BJP had a financial advantage, party spokesman Anil Baluni said "it is not an unfair advantage."
"I guess maybe the BJP does believe in taking maximum donations by cheque or through bonds... We are the largest political party in the country," Baluni added.
He said he did not have information on the provenance of funds or the uses.
Pawan Khera, a Congress spokesman, said this was "turning out to be the most unequal election," but did not provide specifics.
Modi was elected in 2014 as a darling of the business community. His star has dimmed somewhat, in part due to fallout from a shock 2016 decision to scrap then circulating high-value bank notes, but with some businesses wary of a fragile opposition coalition coming to power, Modi retains backers.
"Modi has made business easier," said businessman Sunil Alagh, who heads consulting firm SKA Advisors and sits on several boards.
Still, business titans tend to give to several parties to hedge their bets, politicians and executives say. Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest man and the boss of the Reliance Industries conglomerate, hails from Modi's home state of Gujarat and his family has praised the prime minister publicly.
Ambani even splashed Modi's face on advertisements for the Reliance Jio telecoms launch in 2016.
But last month, Mumbai-based Ambani endorsed Congress candidate Milind Deora, appearing in a video saying "Milind is the man for South Bombay." Deora's politician father was a close friend of the Ambanis.
Under the electoral bond scheme announced by finance minister Arun Jaitley last year, individuals and companies can anonymously buy as many bonds as they wish to in denominations ranging from 1,000 rupees to Rs 10m and deposit them in a party account at the State Bank of India (SBI).
"The electoral bond scheme .... envisages total clean money and substantial transparency," Jaitley said in a Facebook post.
Activists say the opposite is true.
"If you do not know the donor and you do not know who the money is given to, where is the transparency? Dubious donations are now legitimised," said Jagdeep Chhokar, a founder of the Delhi-based Association for Democratic Reforms.
When reporters visited SBI branches during bond sales in Delhi and Mumbai this year, a handful of men who described themselves as politicians or company representatives were waiting to open bank accounts or buy bonds. SBI officials declined to provide details on the sales.
BRITISH police said they arrested five people on Saturday (30) after masked men tried to force their way into a hotel used by asylum-seekers, a day after the government won a court ruling on the use of another hotel to house migrants.
Two groups of anti-asylum protesters marched to the Crowne Plaza Hotel near Heathrow Airport before some demonstrators tried to break in, London's Metropolitan Police force said.
Two police officers suffered minor injuries, it said.
"We understand strength of feeling on these issues, but where peaceful protest crosses the line into criminality, including injuries to our officers, we will take immediate action," commander Adam Slonecki said in a statement.
In Scotland, protesters also demonstrated against the use of a hotel in the town of Falkirk, where asylum seekers are believed to be housed.
In a separate incident, three men were arrested late on Friday (29) outside another hotel used to house asylum-seekers in Epping in east London.
"The overwhelming majority of people in Epping tonight clearly wanted their voices to be heard and they did that safely and without the need for a police response," said assistant chief constable Glen Pavelin of Essex police.
"However, the right to protest does not include a right to commit crime and tonight a small number of people were arrested. Two officers sustained injuries which are thankfully not serious," he added.
The local authority in Epping is expected to decide on Monday (1) whether to challenge the appeals court decision in the Supreme Court.
At least 13 other councils are also considering pressing ahead with legal action over the use of asylum hotels in their areas, The Times daily reported.
The protests in Epping have spread to other parts of Britain, amid growing frustration at the continued arrival of small boats packed with migrants across the English Channel from France.
The government of prime minister Keir Starmer on Friday won a court ruling that overturned a previous court decision that asylum-seekers would have to be evicted from the hotel in Epping where a resident was charged with sexual assault.
Earlier, Starmer promised to "smash the gangs" enabling migrants to make the journey.
The prime minister posted on X on Saturday: "I am clear: we will not reward illegal entry. If you cross the Channel unlawfully, you will be detained and sent back."
But critics pointed out that more irregular migrants have arrived since the start of January 2025 than in the same period last year.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch backed Tory-run councils to pursue legal action against migrant hotels.
"Keir Starmer has shown that he puts the rights of illegal immigrants above the rights of British people who just want to feel safe in their towns and communities," Badenoch posted on X.
Concern about immigration has risen to the top of the political agenda in Britain after an increase in migrants using small boats to reach the country.
More than 32,000 migrants were being housed in around 200 hotels across the country at the end of June, according to government figures.
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INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed his support for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine during a telephone conversation with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Modi's office said.
Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address on Saturday (30), said Modi supported Ukraine's call for a ceasefire in the war with Russia and hoped that notion would be heard at the forthcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in China.
Modi's office, in a statement, said Zelenskiy shared the Indian prime minister's perspective on recent developments related to Ukraine, while Modi stressed India's support for efforts aimed at the earliest restoration of peace.
"The leaders also reviewed progress in the India-Ukraine bilateral partnership and discussed ways to further enhance cooperation in all areas of mutual interest," it said.
"I have just spoken with Indian prime minister Modi about precisely what is going on. Russia is continuing the war, continuing to kill," Zelenskiy said.
"It is important that the prime minister of India supports the idea that a ceasefire is needed and would be a clear signal that Russia is ready for diplomacy. We are counting on this being heard at the meeting in China."
The statement from Modi's office made no mention of a call for a ceasefire.
Ukraine, backed by European countries, has long called for a ceasefire in hostilities as an important initial step to resolving the conflict.
US president Donald Trump initially urged Russia to agree to a ceasefire, but since his talks this month with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska has said that a ceasefire is not a vital element in moving towards a solution.
Speaking earlier on Saturday after overnight attacks on southeastern Ukraine, Zelenskiy said Moscow had used preparation time for a meeting of leaders of both countries to launch new attacks on his country.
On Friday (29), Zelenskiy brought up Trump's deadline for deciding on new measures against Russia if Putin fails to commit to a one-on-one meeting with the Ukrainian leader.
(Reuters)
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India's prime minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Chinese president Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, China, August 31, 2025. India's Press Information Bureau/Handout via REUTERS
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi said New Delhi was committed to improving ties with Beijing in a key meeting with China's president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a regional security forum on Sunday (31).
Modi is in China for the first time in seven years to attend a two-day meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, along with Russian president Vladimir Putin and other leaders from Central, South and Southeast Asia and the Middle East in a show of Global South solidarity.
"We are committed to progressing our relations based on mutual respect, trust and sensitivities," Modi told Xi during the meeting, according to a video clip posted on the Indian leader's official X account.
The bilateral meeting took place five days after Washington imposed punishing 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods due to New Delhi's purchases of Russian oil. Analysts say Xi and Modi are looking to present a united front against Western pressure.
Modi said an atmosphere of "peace and stability" has been created on their disputed Himalayan border, the site of a prolonged military standoff after deadly troop clashes in 2020, which froze most areas of cooperation between the nuclear-armed strategic rivals.
He added that an agreement had been reached between both nations regarding border management, without giving details.
Both leaders had a breakthrough meeting in Russia last year after reaching a border patrol agreement, setting off a tentative thaw in ties that has accelerated in recent weeks as New Delhi seeks to hedge against renewed tariff threats from Washington.
Direct flights between both nations, which have been suspended since 2020, are "being resumed", Modi added, without providing a timeframe.
China had agreed to lift export curbs on rare earths, fertilisers and tunnel boring machines this month during a key visit to India by China's foreign minister Wang Yi.
China opposes Washington's steep tariffs on India and will "firmly stand with India," Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong said this month.
For decades, Washington painstakingly cultivated ties with New Delhi in the hope that it would act as a regional counterweight to Beijing.
In recent months, China has allowed Indian pilgrims to visit Buddhist sites in Tibet, and both countries have lifted reciprocal tourist visa restrictions.
"Both India and China are engaged in what is likely to be a lengthy and fraught process of defining a new equilibrium in the relationship," said Manoj Kewalramani, a Sino-Indian relations expert at the Takshashila Institution think tank in Bengaluru.
(Reuters)
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Bashir retired from the force while under investigation but will still face misconduct proceedings. (Photo credit: West Yorkshire Police)
A FORMER West Yorkshire Police officer has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison after being convicted of misconduct in a public office.
Wasim Bashir, 55, who worked as a detective constable in Bradford District, was found guilty of one count of misconduct in a public office for forming a sexual relationship with a female victim of crime. He was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday, 29 August.
Bashir retired from the force while under investigation but will still face misconduct proceedings.
The charge related to an incident of abuse of position for a sexual purpose, with Bashir engaging in a sexual relationship with a woman who had reported to West Yorkshire Police that she had been the victim of a sexual offence. He was involved in investigating her case.
The conviction followed an investigation by West Yorkshire Police’s Counter Corruption Unit under the direction of the Independent Office for Police Conduct. During the trial, the judge directed the jury to find Bashir not guilty of a second count of misconduct in a public office.
Detective Superintendent Natalie Dawson, Deputy Head of West Yorkshire Police’s Professional Standards Directorate, said: “For a police officer to pursue a sexual relationship with a vulnerable woman who had come forward to report being victim of a sexual offence is nothing short of abhorrent.
“I want to reassure victims of crime and the wider public that this former officer is not representative of our organisation. One of the Force’s key purposes is to protect vulnerable people, and our officers and staff work tirelessly to protect people from harm and to safeguard victims.
“Former DC Bashir has retired from the organisation, but we will still continue with misconduct proceedings with a view to him being banned from gaining any further employment in the policing profession.”
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Protesters calling for the closure of The Bell Hotel, which was housing asylum seekers, gather outside the council offices in Epping on August 8, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)
Court of Appeal has overturned injunction blocking use of Epping hotel for asylum seekers.
Judges say human rights obligations outweigh local safety concerns.
At least 13 councils preparing legal action despite ruling.
Protests outside the Bell Hotel lead to arrests and police injuries.
MORE than a dozen councils are moving ahead with legal challenges against the use of hotels for asylum seekers despite the Home Office winning an appeal in the Court of Appeal.
Judges ruled that meeting the human rights of asylum seekers by providing accommodation outweighed local safety concerns.
The injunction was secured by Epping Forest District Council after protests following the alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl by an Ethiopian asylum seeker.
The man has been charged and denies wrongdoing. A full hearing on the planning dispute over the Bell Hotel will take place in October.
At least 13 councils are preparing similar legal action, The Times reported, including Labour-run Wirral, Stevenage, Tamworth and Rushmoor. Epping Forest Council said it may appeal to the Supreme Court.
Asylum minister Dame Angela Eagle said the government remained committed to ending hotel use by 2029 and argued the appeal was needed to move migrants “in a controlled and orderly way”.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch criticised the government for prioritising “the rights of illegal immigrants above the rights of British people” and urged councils to continue legal action.
Reform leader Nigel Farage said the government had used the European Convention on Human Rights “against the people of Epping”.
Councils including Broxbourne and Spelthorne confirmed they were pressing ahead with enforcement action on planning grounds.
Protests outside the Bell Hotel on Friday led to the arrest of three men, while two police officers sustained minor injuries.