Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) expelled 16 leaders, including a sitting MLA and two former ministers, for anti-party activities ahead of the assembly elections. The expelled leaders were charged with violating the party's ideology and working against official NDA candidates.
'Prashant Kishor is a businessman before he is a politician, and given that the expected average turnout for JSP candidates is 5,000 to 6,000 votes and since Bihar has a significant number of seats where the margin between the winner and runner-up falls within that range he will capitalise on exactly that to showcase his presence.'
Maoists blew up two mobile towers in Gaya district and set afire four vehicles at Tilhautu in Bihar's Rohtas district as the 48-hour shut down called by them ended on Tuesday night in five states. Nearly 400 ultras detonated dynamites to blow up the towers at Guraru and at Gurua in Gaya district on Tuesday night, a senior police official said. The Maoists also blocked the road at Tilhautu in Rohtas and torched four vehicles.
M I Khan traces his story and finds that he was a virtual nobody 25 years ago.
In terms of electoral fortunes, in all likelihood, the status quo is not going to change in any significant manner. These six seats from Bihar are unlikely to give any clear signal to UPA, NDA or Federal Front.