Important announcements regarding seat sharing, tickets on Sunday: Bihar BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal
Patna (PTI): Bihar BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal on Saturday said that the central leadership of the party will make important announcements regarding seat sharing with NDA constituents and tickets for the upcoming assembly polls on Sunday.
Addressing a press conference here, the senior BJP leader dismissed speculations about rumblings of discontent among NDA constituents in the state.
"Everything is fine in the NDA... seat-sharing arrangements and the list of candidates will soon be decided by the party's central leadership, which will make important announcements related to seat sharing and tickets at 11 am on Sunday," Jaiswal said in a press conference here.
Earlier in the day, NDA constituent Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha also dismissed the speculations about discontent and said that talks for seat sharing have not yet concluded.
The former Union minister, in an X post, said, "Don't pay attention to rumours floating around. The talks are not yet concluded. Wait...! I don't know how the news is being circulated in the media. If someone is planting news, it's deceit, it's betrayal."
Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi had earlier said that he was "requesting and not making a claim" that his Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) be given a respectable number of seats, otherwise the party might not contest the election.
Another Union minister, Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), which had earlier settled for around 20-22 seats, is now reportedly asking for at least 25 more.
Assembly elections in the state will be held on November 6 and 11, while votes will be counted on November 14.
"It will be a humiliation for me and my party if we are not given at least 15 seats in the coming assembly polls. If we get 15, we can easily win at least 8-9 seats and will become a recognised party," Manjhi had said.
Even after 10 years of establishment, HAM remains an unrecognised party.
"I have been helping the NDA for a long time. So, I am requesting the NDA leaders and not making a claim. My party would prefer not to contest the polls, if we don't get a respectable number of seats.
“But I must make it clear that even if we don't contest polls, our party will keep working for the NDA partners in the coming polls," Manjhi said.
According to sources in the NDA, the bigger allies JD(U) and the BJP are likely to contest 102 and 101 seats, respectively.
LJP (Ram Vilas), which had earlier settled for around 20-22 seats, is now asking for at least 25 more. Senior leaders in the LJP (RV) are of the opinion that the party should get at least 45 seats, said a party leader on the condition of anonymity.
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India proposes preferential trade agreement with Mexico to deal with high tariffs
New Delhi (PTI): India has proposed a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Mexico to help domestic exporters deal with the steep tariffs announced by the South American country, a top government official said on Monday.
Mexico has decided to impose steep import tariffs - ranging from about 5 per cent to as high as 50 per cent on a wide range of goods (about 1,463 tariff lines) from countries that do not have free trade agreements with Mexico, including India, China, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said that India has engaged with the country on the issue.
"Technical level talks are on...The only fast way forward is to try to get a preferential trade agreement (PTA) because an FTA (free trade agreement) will take a lot of time. So we are trying to see what can be a good way forward," he told reporters here.
While in an FTA two trading partners either significantly reduce or eliminate import duties on maximum number of goods traded between them, in a PTA, duties are cut or removed on a limited number of products.
Trading partners of Mexico cannot file a compliant against the decision on imposing high tariffs as they are WTO (World Trade Organisation) compatible.
The duties are within their bound rates, he said, adding that their primary target was not India.
"We have proposed a PTA because its a WTO-compatible way forward... we can do a PTA and try to get concessions that are required for Indian supply chains and similarly offer them concessions where they have export interests in India," Agrawal said.
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Citing support for local production and correction of trade imbalances, Mexico has approved an increase in MFN (most favoured nation) import tariffs (5-50 per cent) with effect from January 1, 2026 on 1,455 tariff lines (or product categories) within the WTO framework, targeting non-FTA partners.
Preliminary estimates suggest that this affects India's around USD 2 billion exports to Mexico particularly -- automobile, two-wheelers, auto parts, textiles, iron and steel, plastics, leather and footwear.
The measure is also aimed at curbing Chinese imports.
India-Mexico merchandise trade totalled USD 8.74 billion in 2024, with exports USD 5.73 billion, imports USD 3.01 billion, and a trade surplus of USD 2.72 billion.
The government has been continuously and comprehensively assessing Mexico's tariff revisions since the issue emerged, engaging stakeholders, safeguarding the interests of Indian exporters, and pursuing constructive dialogue to ensure a stable trade environment benefiting businesses and consumers in both countries.
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Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai has said that Mexico's decision is a matter of concern, particularly for sectors like automobiles and auto components, machinery, electrical and electronics, organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and plastics.
"Such steep duties will erode our competitiveness and risk, disrupting supply chains that have taken years to develop," Sahai said, adding that this development also underlines the little urgency for India and Mexico to fast-track a comprehensive trade agreement.
Domestic auto component manufacturers will face enhanced cost pressures with Mexico hiking duties on Indian imports, according to industry body ACMA.
