A string of welfare schemes and promises tests the state's budget, which is already heavily dependent on central support and spends little as capital outlay.
'Are elections still fair in India, or are we all witness to a macabre style of 'selection' of lawmakers? The jury will be out on this for a long time because there is no definitive evidence on either contention, at least as yet,' notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
The BJP and JDU leaders claimed that Prasad insulted women in the state with his comment.
India on Thursday continued to be evasive on its stand to be adopted on the resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Commission, triggering an angry walk out in Lok Sabha by United Progressive Alliance constituent Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which was joined by the Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal-United.
Nagaland Peoples Front Legislature Party, which swept back to power in assembly polls, will elect chief minister Neiphiu Rio as its leader and along with alliance partners Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal-United approach Governor Nikhil Kumar by Friday to form the next government in the state.
The 17-year-old alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal-United was not lucky to survive this time three years after a huge row triggered by Narendra Modi media advertisements in Bihar pushed the National Democratic Alliance partners to brink of collapse.
Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal-United leaders attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his remarks on utilisation of central assistance by Bihar, saying the funds are "not Congress' property" and dared him to join a public debate rather than adopting "hit-and-run" tactics.
A crowd of Tejashwi supporters that had gathered outside the 10 Circular Road residence of former chief minister Rabri Devi expecting a victory is thinning now.
Lok Janskati Party president Ramvilas Paswan on Friday said he fails to understand why Congress is "dithering" to join the Rashtriya Janata Dal-LJP alliance which is intact in spite of sentencing of Lalu Prasad.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal on Thursday alleged a political conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal-United behind the sentencing of Lalu Prasad but ruled out the possibility of a change in party leadership, saying its chief will be out on bail soon.
Bowing to mounting public pressure, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday decided to hand over to the Central Bureau of Investigation the probe into the mysterious death of an upright Indian Administrative Service officer that had led to national outrage and state-wide protests.
The jailed Lalu Prasad may have put his wife, Rabri Devi, in charge of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, but there's a subtle jostling for ascendancy within the family, notes Satyavrat Mishra.