Orban, in power for 16 years and widely seen as Moscow’s closest ally within the European Union, has framed Ukraine as a source of instability while positioning his government as a guarantor of peace and security.

Analysts say the approach seeks to shift focus away from domestic economic concerns that have boosted support for opposition leader Peter Magyar.“The campaign’s rhetoric is deliberately binary peace versus war portraying Ukraine as a risk and the incumbent Hungarian government as seeking stability,” Csilla Fedinec, a historian at ELTE University’s Center for Social Sciences, said.

Tensions between Hungary and Ukraine have escalated in recent months, including disputes over a Russian oil pipeline supplying landlocked Hungary. Budapest has accused Kyiv of delaying its reopening, while Ukraine says the infrastructure was damaged by Russian air strikes in January.

Hungary has also delayed approval of a 90-billion-euro European Union loan package for Ukraine and opposed additional sanctions on Russia, underscoring divisions within the bloc over support for Kyiv.Analysts and cybersecurity experts say disinformation has featured prominently in the campaign.

Pro-government media outlets circulated AI-generated images exaggerating the scale of valuables seized from Ukrainian bank employees detained briefly by Hungarian authorities.

Social media posts featuring such content recorded high engagement, with signs of coordinated activity including accounts lacking identifiable information.Separately, fabricated images depicting vandalism of a Hungarian memorial in Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region circulated online, prompting hostile reactions despite later being identified as artificial.

Experts say such incidents reflect broader patterns of election-related disinformation.Ferenc Fresz, former head of Hungary’s Cyber Defense Service, said there is ongoing evidence of attempts to influence voters through coordinated messaging, including deepfakes presented as news content.

He said narratives attributed to Russian-linked actors often align with pro-government messaging, reinforcing their impact.Hungarian officials, including Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, have rejected claims of Russian interference as unfounded.Orban has also sought to portray his main rival as aligned with foreign interests, including Ukraine and the European Union.

At a rally in Budapest, he framed the election as a choice between his leadership and that of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.Shortly after, images circulated of individuals displaying a Ukrainian flag at an opposition event, which were later linked to affiliates of Orban’s own party, prompting accusations of staged political tactics.

Opposition leader Magyar dismissed the incident as a “false flag operation.”AI-manipulated imagery has also been used to target Magyar directly, including altered visuals suggesting his support for Ukraine.

Billboards critical of Zelensky have appeared across Hungary over the past year, sometimes alongside depictions of opposition figures.Despite contested claims and fabricated content, analysts say the campaign resonates with segments of the electorate concerned about being drawn into the Ukraine war.

Political scientist Eszter Kovats of the University of Vienna said such messaging taps into broader anxieties amplified by discussions across Europe on rearmament and conscription.

She said the ruling party’s strategy appeals to voters’ desire for stability, presenting continuity as a safer option in an increasingly uncertain geopolitical environment.

According to the report, some officials in the White House view Ghalibaf as a pragmatic figure who could engage in negotiations with Washington as the conflict with Iran enters a new phase.

The report said discussions remain preliminary and are being conducted quietly within the administration. Ghalibaf is seen by certain policymakers as a figure capable of navigating Iran’s political structure while maintaining enough authority to enter into talks with the United States.

There was no immediate comment from the White House on the report.Context of rising tensionsThe deliberations come amid escalating hostilities between the United States and Iran, including ongoing military exchanges and heightened regional instability.

The conflict has drawn in multiple actors across the Middle East, increasing the risk of broader escalation.Uncertainty over Tehran’s stanceIt remains unclear how such considerations would be received in Tehran.

Iranian officials have publicly rejected claims of engagement with Washington, with Ghalibaf himself recently denying that any negotiations with the United States have taken place.

India’s third most populous state and also one of its poorest, Bihar is ruled by Modi’s National Democratic Alliance and is scheduled to hold an election to its state assembly in the coming weeks.

Women voters have turned out in greater numbers in the past decade, reversing a trend of men easily outnumbering women at the polls, and political parties have competed to attract them.

Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party lost its outright majority in the federal parliament in last year’s national election, forcing him to rely on support from regional allies to form a government after facing a resurgent opposition, and he is currently navigating one of the most challenging stretches of his 11 years in office.

Addressing women gathered in multiple locations in the state, Modi said via video link: “I see millions of women on the screen, and their blessings are a great source of strength for all of us.

“The (women’s employment plan) is being launched today. So far, 7.5 million women have joined this scheme, and an amount of 10,000 rupees has been transferred to the bank accounts of all these women,” he said.

The plan is envisaged as giving support to women to enable their employment in small-scale ventures such as agriculture, handicrafts and other sectors, the Prime Minister’s Office said. Beneficiaries can also avail of additional financial support of up to 200,000 rupees in subsequent phases of the plan.

Modi’s ruling NDA will face the opposition Congress and its allies in Bihar, which is considered a bellwether state, along with neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and the western state of Maharashtra. ($1 = 88.7080 Indian rupees)