'Rahul Gandhi has promised me to give a Congress ticket to contest the polls.'
Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj party faces skepticism and challenges as it enters the Bihar Assembly elections, with critics questioning its experience and impact.
Electoral fortunes of 1,302 candidates, including over half a dozen ministers in the Nitish Kumar government, will be sealed on Tuesday with 3.70 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise across 122 assembly segments in the second and final phase of the Bihar polls.
Following their landslide victory in the Bihar assembly polls, NDA leaders have begun discussions on forming a new government. Key coalition partners visited Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's residence, expressing support for his continued leadership. The article also touches on political developments within the RJD and reactions to the election results.
Earlier today, former RJD candidate Madan Shah broke down in public, claiming that he was promised a ticket by the Rashtriya Janata Dal for the upcoming 2025 Bihar assembly polls.
A surge in violent crimes, including targeted killings, has raised concerns about law and order in Bihar. Police attribute the rise to the widespread availability of illegal firearms and ammunition.
'We share and support the ideology of the NDA and will not work against the NDA.'
'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.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sounded the poll bugle in Bihar, where assembly elections are due this year, calling for 'an NDA government, once again', which would protect the state from the 'evil intentions' of the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress combine.
'I fail to understand why when Rahul Gandhi himself gave me hope that I would contest the polls, how come other Congress leaders did not consider my name?'
The metro, it seems, is politics-proof -- even if it comes at a high cost.
'What does Indira Gandhi want from me? At this age, what will I do to her?'
'Wrong feedback was given against Parasji to the top BJP leadership in New Delhi by a senior BJP leader, who is also a Union minister from Bihar.' 'He deliberately provided wrong information about the RLJP to the BJP leadership to help Chirag Paswan.'
'Manipur is critical to India's Look East policy.' 'It's a strategic state. In the Second World War, the Japanese entered Manipur through Burma.' 'China can use the same direction to approach India.'
China's ruling Communist Party has cracked down on Tibetans who planned to attend the Kalachakra Puja in Bodh Gaya. But the Tibetan people have dared the Communists by listening to the Dalai Lama's sermons on the Internet and sharing videos on social media.
Nitish Kumar and his officials maintain that Bihar has one of the lowest crime rates in India. Bihar police crime data indicates otherwise.
Promising that the Centre will go "all out" to support Bihar in a "big way", Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Tuesday said the government is likely to announce projects and schemes in a few weeks time to assist the resource-rich state.
The flood situation eased in Assam and northern districts of West Bengal with water receding and no fresh deaths being reported in both the states.
'They gave Nitish their votes to bring progress. But he forgot this and got involved with his own political interests. That is not done. So he was rejected.' 'Lalu is a symbol of anarchy. He is the symbol of regressive politics.' BJP General Secretary Dharmendra Pradhan discusses Lalu, Nitish, and his strategy to bring Bihar in the BJP's fold, with Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com
Half-way through the polls, the fight has become more personal.
'My elephants saved my life.' 'They love me more than my family members who only love my property.'
Minority conference organised by the JD-U turned out to be a poor show with few from the Muslim community attending it, exposing the falling credibility of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as a secular leader, says M I Khan.
'The situation has improved because oxygen tankers are now coming.' 'Before this it was chaotic.'
If India is to follow a smart cultural diplomacy, it has unmatched advantages over both China and Pakistan, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
This classification of districts is to be followed by states and union terrotories till a week post May 3, when the second phase of lockdown will end, for containment operations.
'Shaheen Bagh is no longer a mere ghetto of lower middle class Muslims.' 'Now, it is a metaphor for resistance, secularism and struggle,' notes Md. Zeeshan Ahmad.
11,292 km. 20 million (Nitish Kumar says 30 million) Biharis. 45 minutes.
Indians want change and progress. They should be willing to accept tough decisions, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
The Union Home Ministry has decided to conduct a fresh census on the Rohingya Muslims following reports that terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Tayiba has taken up the cause of the community, which is fleeing the current wave of ethnic cleansing by the ruling Buddhist majority in Myanmar especially in the Arakan region.
'Communalism and communal riots happened in India only during and due to colonialism. Pre-colonial India didn't have this problem of communal conflicts and religious strife.'
'Nitish is now a helpless junior ally of Hindutva.' 'He just cannot think of reining in the hoodlums raging, marauding and killing in the mohallas,' argues Mohammad Sajjad.
Incidents of arson, firing and vandalism were reported from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab as protesters agitated against the dilution of the SC/ST Act.
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