Washington: Third time lucky is an apt phrase to describe the remarkable rise of Joe Biden, a veteran in US politics for around five decades, from being one of the youngest senators in history to the oldest American president.

The 77-year-old six-term Democratic senator, who triumphed over incumbent Republican President Donald Trump in Tuesday's presidential election, ran twice unsuccessfully for president - in 1988 and 2008.

The presidential dreams that the veteran leader from Delaware had harbored since childhood seemed all but over for a third time until he won South Carolina's Democratic Party primary on February 29, forcing most rivals out of the race and making one of the most dramatic comebacks in American political history.

Biden, a familiar face to many Americans who has spent five decades in Washington and served two terms in the White House as former president Barack Obama's vice president, capitalized on that experience to portray himself as a tested leader and a better alternative to Republican incumbent President Donald Trump.

While accepting the Democratic presidential nomination in August, Biden pledged to restore the soul of America, and be an ally of the light, not the darkness.

The current president has cloaked America in darkness for much too long. Too much anger. Too much fear. Too much division. If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I will be an ally of the light, not of the darkness, he said.

Biden defeated 74-year-old Trump in the bitterly fought presidential election, becoming the oldest person ever to occupy the White House.

He has a strong track record of being an ardent advocate of a strong India-US relationship both as a Senator from Delaware for over three decades and then as deputy of President Obama for eight years.

From playing a key role in the passage of the India-US civil nuclear deal during a Republican administration to setting up the goal of a USD 500 billion in bilateral trade, Biden has strong ties with the Indian leadership across the aisle and has a large number of Indian-Americans within his close circuit.

At a fundraiser in July, Biden had said that India and the United States were natural partners. "That partnership, a strategic partnership, is necessary and important in our security," he said when asked whether India is critical to the US' national security.

Referring to his eight years as the vice president, Biden said that he was proud to have played a role in securing Congressional approval for the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement, which he said was a "big deal".

"Helping open the door to great progress in our relationship and strengthening our strategic partnership with India was a high priority in the Obama-Biden administration and will be a high priority if I'm elected president," Biden had said.

Born in Pennsylvania in 1942 to a Catholic family, Joe Robinette Biden Jr studied at the University of Delaware and then earned a law degree from Syracuse University in 1968.

He was first elected in 1972 and served six terms as a senator for the state of Delaware.

Aged 29, he was one of the youngest people ever elected to the US Senate, and his age at his first election contributed to him being consistently ranked as one of the least wealthy members in the Senate.

Biden unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and 2008 before finally securing his party's backing this year with strong support among Black voters.

Known for blunt talk, Biden speaks openly about his family's tragedies including the 1972 car crash that killed his first wife Neilia, and their 13-month-old daughter Naomi, while his sons Beau and Hunter were critically injured in the accident.

Biden met his second wife Jill Jacobs in 1975, and they married in June 1977. They had a daughter, Ashley, in 1981.

In 2015, Beau, an Iraq war veteran who had served as Delaware's attorney general, died of a brain tumor aged 46. Biden's son Hunter struggled with drug issues as an adult.

Biden himself had a health scare in 1988 when he suffered two brain aneurysms. He has referred to his personal losses on the campaign trail and declared: Healthcare is personal to me.

In October, Biden pointed to his son's terminal diagnosis and said: I can't fathom what would have happened if the insurance companies had the power to say last few months, you're on your own.

He secured the Democratic nomination when his last competitor Senator Bernie Sanders dropped out in April 2020.

Biden faced allegations from former staffer Tara Reade in 2019, who said she felt uncomfortable with Biden during her time in his Senate office in the 90s.

In March 2020, she also accused him of sexual assault in 1993. Biden and his campaign team have strongly denied the allegation.

During his tenure, Biden voiced support for LGBT rights, calling himself absolutely comfortable with the idea of same-sex marriage.

He also led the Gun Violence Task Force in the wake of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in 2012.

His loyalty to the first African American President was rewarded with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, presented by Obama days before he left office in 2017.

Obama officially endorsed Biden in April. He has praised him, saying, "Biden is my brother. I love Joe Biden. And he will be a great president and he treats everyone with dignity and with respect".

 

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New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought to know if FIRs were registered after suicides of a IIT Kharagpur student and a NEET aspirant in Kota, Rajasthan, came to light.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan directed its registry to call for a report from both places at the earliest.

The top court noted a 22-year-old student studying in IIT, Kharagpur, was found hanging in his hostel room on May 4, 2025.

"The deceased was a three-year civil engineering student. His body was found hanging in his room in the Madan Mohan Malaviya Hall. The student was identified as Mohammad Asif Qamar from Bihar’s Sheohar District," the bench noted.

The top court went on, "The press reporting indicates that just moments before his death, he was on a video call with his friend in Delhi. This is one of those unfortunate suicides by a student for which we have constituted the task-force to work on the various issues relating to students suicide."

The top court previously ordered the formation of a national task force, headed by former top court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat, to address the mental health concerns of students to prevent suicides in higher educational institutions.

The apex court said it was taking cognisance of the matter with a view to ascertain whether the management or administration of IIT, Kharagpur lodged an FIR with the local police station in accordance with its earlier directions.

It also took into account another case of suicide by a NEET aspirant who hanged herself at her room in Parshavanath area in the city ahead of the National Medical Entrants Examination scheduled on May 11.

"It is reported that the girl was under 18 years of age and hailed from Sheopur in Madhya Pradesh. She had been living with her parents in Kota (Rajasthan) and for the past several years, she was preparing for NEET-UG at a coaching institute," the court added.

The bench observed it was reportedly the fourteenth case of suicide by a coaching student in Kota, Rajasthan in 2025.

"Since January, 2025, a total of 17 cases of suicides by coaching students were reported in Kota last year. We would like to know whether an FIR has been registered in connection with this suicide also or not," the bench said.

The matter then was posted on May 13.

Outlining a disturbing pattern of student suicides in educational institutions, the apex court on March 24 directed Delhi Police to register an FIR and probe the suicidal deaths of two IIT-Delhi students from the SC/ST community.

Saying it was "high time" that it took cognisance of the "serious issue", the court ordered formulation of comprehensive and effective guidelines to address and mitigate the underlying causes contributing to such distress among students.

The bench directed the Centre to deposit Rs 20 lakh with the registry within two weeks as an outlay for the initial operations of the NTF.

Noting a "disturbing pattern" of student suicides were being reported from various educational institutes, the apex court said these tragedies underscored the urgent need for a more robust, comprehensive and responsive mechanism to address various factors which compel students to resort to taking their own lives.