Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday extended his greetings to people on Chhath Sandhya Arghya in Chhath festival.

In a post in Hindi on X, PM Modi said: “My best wishes to all of you on the holy occasion of Chhath Sandhya Arghya. May this great festival, a symbol of simplicity, restraint, determination and dedication, bring happiness, prosperity and good fortune in everyone’s life. Jai Chhathi Maiya!”

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also extended his wishes on the occasion of Chhath Puja and said Indians living in different parts of the country and abroad are celebrating the Chhath festival with great enthusiasm and faith.

“Jai Chhathi Maiyya! Happy Chhath Puja to everyone. Indians living in different parts of the country and abroad are celebrating Chhath festival with great enthusiasm and faith. I wish everyone happiness, peace and prosperity on this holy festival of Surya worship. May Chhathi Maiya keep her blessings on everyone,” Shah said in Hindi on X.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also extended his greetings to the people on Chhath Puja and expressed his hope that the festival would bring new energy and strength to everyone’s lives.

“Heartiest greetings on Chhath Puja, the great festival of sun worship and folk faith. I hope this festival brings new energy and strength in the lives of all of you,” Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.

Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav extended greetings on the occasion and prayed for everyone’s life to be filled with success, blessed with the achievement of all goals and with the constant blessing of success in life.

“Heartiest greetings to all the countrymen on the great festival of folk faith and sun worship, Chhath Puja. With folded hands, I pray to Maa that this holy festival brings happiness, peace, glory, prosperity and well-being to everyone. Jai Chhathi Maa,” he said in a post in Hindi on X.

In another post,  Yadav said: “May you have the taste of the Thekua, may you have the blessings of the Almighty God, with this auspicious wish, heartiest wishes to all the countrymen and people of Bihar on the occasion of Chhath Mahaparva, which is known as an integral part of the culture of Bihar, which shows the qualities of strength and patience of women, the whole of Bihar shines with the light of its celebration.”

Earlier on the day of Kharna, Yadav shared pictures of him celebrating the occasion with his family members including RJD chief Lal Prasad Yadav and sister and party MLA Misa Bharti.

“The Kharna Prasad prepared by the mothers and sisters observing Chhath is awaited throughout the year. Today, people went to the houses of many party workers and well-wishers and received the prasad of Chhathi Maiya,” he wrote in Hindi on X.

The four-day Chhath puja began on Tuesday with Nahay-Khay. Chhath Puja is celebrated in different parts of the country and is a major festival in Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

The festival starts with Nahay-Khay on the Chaturthi Tithi of Kartik Shukla Paksha, focusing on purification and preparation. This is followed by Kharna on Panchami Tithi, Chhath Puja on Sashti, and concludes with Usha Arghya on Saptami Tithi.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday unveiled his party’s manifesto for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, assuring free education for male students, stabilising prices of essential items and scrapping of the Dharavi redevelopment project.

Speaking on the occasion, Thackeray said he presented his party’s promises to the public about what will be done after the Maha Vikas Aghadi consists of the Congress, NCP (SP), and Shiv Sena (UBT) government comes to power and “how we will serve the people”.

“We do what we say. We have fulfilled many promises and even today whatever promises we have made, we will fulfill them after getting the blessings of the people,” he said.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) chief said most of the election promises are part of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) overall assurances, but there are some points that need special attention.

The MVA also launched its manifesto for the November 20 state Assembly polls, he said.

Thackeray assured that the way female students in the state were getting free education under a government policy, it would be implemented for male students as well if the MVA comes to power.

Thackeray said if the MVA comes to power, it will scrap cluster development of Koliwadas and Gaothans and it will be done after taking the residents into confidence. The Sena (UBT) head also said his party will work towards creating jobs. The MVA will also keep stable the prices of essential commodities, he said.

On the Dharavi redevelopment project, the former chief minister said it will be scrapped as the project will have ramifications on Mumbai.

Maharashtra and Mumbai will also have a housing policy keeping the rapid urbanisation in mind, he said.

A day after Donald Trump secured victory in the US election, PM Narendra Modi and the President elect have reaffirmed their commitment to working together to further boost ties across a range of sectors.

Issuing a statement on the phone conversation PM Modi had with US President elect Trump a day ago, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the Prime Minister highlighted that the US leader’s spectacular and resounding victory in the election reflected the deep trust of the American people in his leadership and vision.

The statement added that PM Modi warmly congratulated him on his re-election as the president of the United States of America as well as the Republican Party’s success in the Congressional elections. It further mentioned that both the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to working together to strengthen bilateral ties across technology, defence, energy, space and several other sectors.

The MEA said PM Modi and Donald Trump also echoed the importance of the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership for the benefit of the people of the two countries as well as for global peace and stability. It continued that reflecting on the positive momentum of the India-US partnership during President Trump’s first term, the Prime Minister recalled their memorable interactions, including the Howdy Modi event in Houston in September 2019 and the Namaste Trump event in Ahmedabad during President Trump’s visit to India in February 2020.

Earlier on Wednesday, PM Modi took to X to share that he had a great conversation with his friend Donald Trump. He added that they are looking forward to working closely together once again to further strengthen India-US relations across technology, defence, energy, space and multiple other sectors.

Donald Trump, 78, won the race to the White House to become the 47th President of the US, trouncing his Democratic rival Kamala Harris. He had earlier served as the 45th President of the US, after his first victory in the election in 2016.