Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Tuesday said that the people are the collective owners of the country and they will decide who will govern it and how through their right to franchise. “Not with anyone's mercy, we want to come to power with people’s love. We believe that people are the proprietor of the country and they will decide by whom and how the country will be governed,” he said, while addressing a views-exchange meeting with Jatiya Krishak Party, JP's affiliate among the farmers community, at the Banani Jatiya Party office. If the country does not run properly, then the people of the country will change their representatives through elections again, he said, stating basic democratic ideals, before capturing the reality prevailing in the nation: “Politics of plunder has been created in the country. The more one can plunder, the more respectable he is.” “It is sad that those who want to do good work for the country are not getting the respect they deserve,” the JP chairman, who has been severely impeded in his activities as chair of the party founded by his brother, added. Calling on  the government to bring all the vacant land under agriculture, Quader said, “Police are harassing farmers for little money. The government should provide whatever subsidy is needed to save the farmers.” Jatiya Krishak Party President Sahidur Rahman Teper presided and General Secretary ABM Liaquat Hossain Chakladar moderated the program. Various leaders and activist of Jatiya Krishak Party also were present in the program.

Republican Rep. Mike Garcia, a former Navy fighter pilot, scored an upset U.S. House win in a strongly Democratic district Wednesday, handing the GOP control of the chamber and giving the party a rare reason to celebrate in a state dominated by Democrats. The conservative Republican was reelected to a third term in a district that has a 12.5-point Democratic registration edge and was carried by then-presidential candidate Joe Biden by double digits in 2020. It was Garcia’s third consecutive victory over Democrat Christy Smith, a former legislator. Garcia was first elected in a special election in May 2020, then was reelected two years ago by just 333 votes. He faced an even tougher challenge this year, after his left-leaning district was redrawn and became more solidly Democratic. With nearly 75% of the ballots counted, Garcia had 54.2%, to 45.8% for Smith. Garcia, who flew over 30 combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom, is the sole GOP House member with a district anchored in heavily Democratic Los Angeles County. It takes 218 seats to control the House. With the addition of the latest California results, Republicans have locked down 218 seats so far with Democrats claiming 211. In another key race in the state, Democratic Rep. Mike Levin beat back a tough challenge from Republican businessman Brian Maryott in a Southern California district that straddles Orange and San Diego counties. Also read: GOP's narrow House victory complicates its ambitious agenda With nearly all the votes counted, Levin had 52.65%, to 47.4% for Maryott. Levin said he was eager to return to Washington to continue working on affordable health care, climate change and assistance for veterans. Biden traveled to the district in the election’s closing days in hopes of giving Levin a boost. Garcia’s win, which gave Republicans House control, came with a splash of political sass, arriving in a state so solidly Democratic that a Republican hasn’t won a statewide race since 2006. It is also home to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco. California is known nationally as a liberal monolith, but pockets of conservative strength remain, mainly in the Southern California suburbs and rural and farming stretches. Also read: GOP moves closer to winning the House; the Senate's fate may depend on a runoff But even with the wins, Republicans will remain a small minority within the state’s congressional delegation. Of the state’s 52 seats — the largest delegation in Congress — GOP candidates had captured just nine as of Wednesday. Counting continued in five districts, although one was a matchup between two Democrats. Smith, a former legislator, had argued Garcia was out of step with district voters: He was endorsed by then-President Trump in 2020, then joined House Republicans who rejected electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania and opposed Trump’s impeachment after the Capitol insurrection. She also highlighted Garcia’s opposition to abortion rights. Garcia emphasized his military service and pointed to his vote supporting $2,000 stimulus checks as one example of his political independence. He’s also stressed local issues, including concern over illegal marijuana cultivation. In California, the primary House battlegrounds are Orange County — a suburban expanse southeast of Los Angeles that was once a GOP stronghold but has become increasingly diverse and Democratic — and the Central Valley, an inland stretch sometimes called the nation’s salad bowl for its agricultural production. The tightest remaining contest in the state emerged in the Central Valley, where Democrat Adam Gray seized a tissue-thin lead over Republican John Duarte for an open seat in District 13. Underscoring the closeness of the race, Gray’s campaign formed a committee to begin raising money to finance a possible recount. The latest returns showed Gray leading by 600 votes, with nearly 85% of the ballots tabulated. In Orange County, Democratic Rep. Katie Porter was holding a nearly 3-point edge over Republican Scott Baugh in one of the nation’s marquee races. Baugh had slashed her lead in half earlier this week, but Porter, a star of the party’s progressive wing, rebounded. About 90% of the votes had been counted. In the Central Valley’s 22nd District, where about two-thirds of the votes have been counted, Republican Rep. David Valadao, who voted to impeach then-President Donald Trump, had a 5.6-point margin over Democrat Rudy Salas.

Republicans have found success in Democratic strongholds like Maryland and Massachusetts when they have fielded moderate candidates who could appeal to voters in both parties. With Democrats facing headwinds this year, Republicans had hoped that strategy could pay off yet again. But Republican voters have nominated loyalists of former President Donald Trump in several Democratic states, including Maryland and Connecticut, making the GOP’s odds of winning those general election races even longer. Massachusetts will face its own test next month as GOP voters decide between a Trump-backed conservative and a more moderate Republican for the party's gubernatorial nominee. “It can’t continue,” said former Connecticut U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, a moderate Republican and Trump critic, referring to the GOP choosing pro-Trump candidates. "One of the things that will happen is that a lot of the Trump candidates who won the primary will lose the general election. And there are a lot of unhappy Republicans who hold office now who believe that the Senate now is in jeopardy of staying Democratic.” Trump's influence was on full display earlier this month when his last-minute endorsement helped propel Leora Levy, a member of the Republican National Committee who opposes abortion rights, to victory in a Republican U.S. Senate primary in Connecticut over the party’s endorsed candidate, former House Minority Leader Themis Klarides. Klarides supports abortion rights and said she didn't vote for Trump in 2020. “Sad day for CT ...,” tweeted Brenda Kupchick, the Republican first selectwoman of Fairfield and a former state representative, after the Aug. 9 race was called for Levy. Days earlier, after Trump endorsed Levy on speakerphone at a GOP picnic, Kupchick tweeted, “How is that helpful in the general election in CT?” Kupchick's tweets sparked criticism in both GOP camps. Trump supporters accused Klarides of not being a “true conservative." Moderate Republicans predicted that Levy's nomination ensured Democratic U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal would sail to victory in November, despite a Quinnipiac poll in May registering his lowest job approval since he took office in 2011. The last Republican to represent Connecticut in the U.S. Senate was Lowell P. Weicker Jr., who served from 1971 to 1989, though Connecticut has elected a moderate Republican governor as recently as 2006, with M. Jodi Rell. Levy, who has never before served in elective office, contends her message of controlling high inflation and energy prices, stopping “government intrusion between parent and child” and addressing crime will resonate with a wide range of voters. A similar dynamic has unfolded in liberal Maryland, where Dan Cox, a far-right state legislator endorsed by Trump, won the Republican primary for governor over a moderate rival backed by outgoing Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, a Trump critic. And in heavily Democratic Massachusetts, Republican voters casting ballots in the state's Sept. 6 gubernatorial primary will choose between Geoff Diehl, a Trump-backed former state representative, and Chris Doughty, a businessman with moderate views. Centrist Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, a Trump critic, decided against seeking a third term. The Democratic nominees in Maryland and Massachusetts are viewed as strong favorites to flip the governor's mansions in those states. Read:Trump CFO’s plea deal could make him a prosecution witness Trump's backing has propelled his candidates to victory in top races in battleground states, too, boosting Democrats' optimism of winning the general election. In Arizona, former TV news anchor Kari Lake, who has said she would not have certified President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, defeated lawyer and businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson, who had been endorsed by former Vice President Mike Pence and outgoing GOP Gov. Doug Ducey. In Wisconsin, Trump-backed businessman Tim Michels beat former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, who had been endorsed by Pence and the state party. Both Michels and Kleefisch, however, falsely claimed the 2020 presidential election was rigged. In Connecticut, Levy's nomination is already being used as a rallying cry for Democrats, who contend she's out of the mainstream for a state where Republicans are outnumbered by unaffiliated voters and by Democrats. Aside from opposing abortion rights — reversing her position years ago of supporting abortion rights — Levy has spoken out against job-related COVID-19 vaccine requirements and transgender rights. Levy effusively thanked the former president during her acceptance speech, promising, “I will not let you down.” A day after the primary, Blumenthal's campaign sent out a fundraising message that warned, “The primary results are in, and I’m officially facing off against Trump’s hand-picked candidate in the general election — a radical Republican who will be nothing but a rubber stamp on Mitch McConnell’s disastrous agenda.” Levy, in turn, has tied Blumenthal to Biden, casting him as a “rubber stamp” for the Democratic president's “failed policies” as president and blaming Blumenthal for playing a “a key role in creating virtually every challenge our country faces today.” “Dick Blumenthal wants this election to be a referendum on a President. Donald Trump is not on the ballot in November, but Joe Biden is,” she said in a news release issued after the primary. Shays, who now lives in Maryland, said he believes an endorsement by Trump is disqualifying. He said he contributed to the campaign of Wes Moore, the Democrat running against Cox in Maryland, and would vote for Blumenthal if he still lived in Connecticut. “I will vote against anyone who seeks the support of Donald Trump because that tells me so much about their character and what they intend to do if elected. That’s the bottom line to me," Shays said. Ben Proto, chair of the Connecticut Republicans, dismissed any suggestion that the primary victory by Levy signaled a political evolution within the state GOP. Rather, he said, the party this year has “candidates across the board who hold different opinions on particular issues.” But what they have in common, he said, is the goal of getting inflation under control, making Connecticut more affordable, addressing crime and allowing parents to be the “primary stakeholder” in their children's lives. “At the end of the day, the issues that are important to the people of the state of Connecticut, we’re pretty solid on," he said.

BNP senior leader Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain on Wednesday said BNP and other democratic parties will join the next general election only under an impartial government. “Elections in Bangladesh won’t be fair and credible without a non-partisan neutral government and democratic and patriotic parties, including BNP, won’t go to that election,” he said. Speaking at a discussion, the BNP leader also said their party’s stance is clear that it will neither join any election nor any talks under the current government. Swadhinta Forum, a pro-BNP platform, arranged the programme at the Jatiya Press Club, marking the civil-military ‘uprising on November 7, 1975’. Mosharraf, a BNP standing committee member, said the current government will not easily restore the caretaker government system. “That’s why we have to prepare for a movement.” READ: BNP’s two-day programme marking ‘Nov 7’ He urged all the democratic parties to get united to oust the current government from power. "Restoring democracy in the country and establishing a pro-people government is now the main challenge to get rid of corruption, misdeeds, enforced disappearance, killing and extortion. A national unity is necessary to overcome this challenge,” the BNP leader said. He alleged the Awami League has been carrying out a ‘false’ campaign against Ziaur Rahman and the spirit of the civil-military ‘uprising.” "They (AL leaders) used to say that Ziaur Rahman came to power through a coup and by killing people and soldiers. They’re distorting history to mislead the new generation. But it’s our responsibility to present the facts to people,” the BNP leader said. He alleged that Awami League has destroyed the spirit of the Liberation War and the November 7 by destroying democracy and people’s voting rights. Mosharraf said their party joined the 11th parliamentary polls without Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman, but the ruling party could not show courage to hold a fair election. “They rigged votes at night instead of allowing people to exercise their right to franchise at day time.” READ: Files not missing but concealed, alleges BNP He said the ruling party leaders do not see BNP’s existence in politics, but they cannot start a day without talking about it.

Three Republican senators spent an hour talking strategy with lawyers for the accused. The entire Senate served as jurors even though they were also targets of the crime. No witnesses were called. And the outcome was never in doubt.

Two U.S. Democratic lawmakers Wednesday urged President Donald Trump to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with Russia.

The U.S. Senate plunged into President Donald Trump's impeachment trial with Republicans abruptly abandoning plans to cram opening arguments into two days but solidly rejecting for now Democratic demands for more witnesses to expose what they deem Trump's "trifecta" of offenses.

Beth Moore would typically fit the mold of a Georgia Republican. She attended private school in the affluent, mostly white northern Atlanta suburbs, attended the University of Georgia, practices law and married a Republican.

In a race that has become a nail-biter, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards battled Saturday to defy the partisan odds in the ruby red South and win reelection to a seat that President Donald Trump desperately wants returned to Republicans.