Rebel Lok Janshakti Party MP Pashupati Kumar Paras appeared to have scored a point on Thursday when he was unanimously elected as the new national president even as the faction headed by his cornered nephew Chirag Paswan dug in its heels and vowed to teach the 'traitors' a lesson.
Nitish Kumar, once seen as a potential rival to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, broke ranks with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance coalition on Tuesday to stake claim as head of the rival 'Mahagathbandhan' (Grand Alliance) to be the chief minister of Bihar for the eighth time.
Amid indications of unease between his party and RJD, LJP president Ram Vilas Paswan on Wednesday met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to urge her to take the lead in finalising the alliance in Bihar as "clarity" was required on seat-sharing among the allies.
'Our approach is forward-looking. The central leadership wants young leaders to lead the charge now. This will also send a clear signal that lapses will not be tolerated. We are targeting beyond 2025.' Satyavrat Mishra reports.
"Every person who wants development in Bihar, wants unemployment and corruption to end in the state and wants migration to stop is voting for the candidates of BJP and LJP. "This time the people have voted for change and development. The feedback I am getting from my party candidates and workers clearly indicates that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar won't be able to retain his position after November 10. "BJP-LJP will form a new government in Bihar," Paswan said.
More than two crore voters in Bihar will decide the fate of 1,066 candidates on Wednesday across 71 assembly segments in the first phase of elections.
Chief ministers and other senior leaders made last-minute appeals to voters for their support in Mokama and Gopalganj of Bihar, Adampur of Haryana, Manugoda of Telangana, Gola Gorakhnath of Uttar Pradesh and Dhamnagar of Odisha.
Unless controlled and contained, given the untested belief that the north Indian labour support and follow the Hindutva kind of political ideology, there is a potential in terms of ideological clashes with their Dravidian brethren in the local neighbourhoods, and it all escalating into violence, especially during election time, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
One is a budding cricketer and the other is a wannabe actor, but politics is what they have in common. Tejaswi Yadav, a cricketer, is better known as the son of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad's son. Chirag Paswan, who is looking for a break in Bollywood, is the son of Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan.
'A one-party State is not possible in a diverse country like India.'
Paswan, who has chosen to plough a lonely furrow in the ongoing assembly elections, reiterated that the LJP was and will remain loyal towards the BJP, which was staring at the spectre of yet another "paltimaar" (volte face) by the JD-U president.
Yadav also called for firming up of an Opposition alliance to take on the BJP in the 2024 general elections, suggesting that the Congress must focus on over 200 seats on which it is in direct fight with the saffron party, while taking a 'backseat' in states where regional parties are a formidable force.
Leaders of the BJP-led NDA told Bihar Governor that law and order is deteriorating in Bihar and demanded imposition of President's rule in the state.
The crowds were stunned into silence for a few seconds, after which they erupted in applause for the 69-year-old leader who has ruled the state for nearly 15 years.
The second round of the voting was held in the 17 districts amid tight security and strict coronavirus guidelines in place. The voting percentage at 10.30 pm was 54.64, according to the Election Commissions Voter Turnout Apps provisionally data.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday sacked its recalcitrant Bihar member of legislative council Tunnaji Pandey whose utterances against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar were putting a strain on the tenuous relations between the two alliance partners.
'It is true that Nitish Kumar had shown reluctance to continue as chief minister after the assembly polls and said the BJP should stake claim for the top post'
The Bharatiya Janata Party and its National Democratic Alliance partners - the Janata Dal-United and Lok Janshakti Party -- on Monday formally announced their alliance for the Delhi assembly polls, asserting that it will send a "strong" political message across the country.
Paswan's daughter Asha Devi and her husband Anil Sadhu protested in front of the car of Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi when he had come to receive the body of the Lok Janshakti Party founder. Sadhu is presently associated with Lalu Prasad's RJD.
Paswan was a minister under six different prime ministers, hardly out of government since he was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1977, observes Virendra Kapoor.
The former Deputy chief minister made the sensational assertion on his twitter handle, sharing a mobile number which, he claimed, Prasad was having access to despite serving sentences in fodder scam cases.
At the meeting which lasted for more than half an hour, the leaders of the two parties are understood to have discussed the key issue of seat-sharing among alliance partners in the NDA, which also includes Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP.
'We are allies and equals. We have to run Bihar collectively'
The Bihar assembly election results appeared to belie predictions made by most exit polls which had given a clear edge to the Rashtriya Janata Dal-led Mahagathbandhan.
The RSS wants three nominees inducted: Tejaswi Surya, the young BJP MP from Bengaluru South, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, a Rajya Sabha member, and former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Uncertainty shadows the composition of the two main political alliances in Bihar with several parties still exploring their choices as the Election Commission on Friday announced the schedule for the assembly polls.
With less than two months to go for the Lok Sabha election, the expected process of political realignments has begun, reports Anita Katyal.
Nitish Kumar will be the chief minister only till the time the BJP wishes, points out Ramesh Menon.
'The BJP has the torch and with that same torch, the BJP is trying to light up its house in Bihar.' 'The BJP is trying to burn Nitish Kumar's house with that torch.'
The petition sought setting aside speaker's June 14 circular showing the name of Paras as leader of Jan Lokshakti Party in the Lok Sabha.
BJP backed to the hilt Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as its leader in the state and rebuffed a rebellious Chirag Paswan, while acknowledging his Lok Janshakti Party as an ally 'at the Centre'. At a press conference which was attended by top leaders of the JD-U headed by Kumar and the BJP, it was made clear that 'only those who accept the chief ministers leadership will be deemed to be a part of the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar'.
On Tuesday, the government had agreed to refer it to the committee.
The final phase of polling on Saturday will cover 78 constituencies spread across 19 north Bihar districts.
Accompanied by Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala and other leaders of the Grand Alliance, Yadav made a scathing attack on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi, asking who gave permission to the Munger police to act like 'General Dyer'.
A meeting of opposition leaders from many anti-Bharatiya Janata Party parties, most of them regional forces, hosted by the veteran leader and Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday is being seen by political pundits as a beginning of an exercise by them to join forces to put up a more cohesive challenge to the saffron party.
Paswan, 70, was admitted to the hospital on Thursday after he complained of breathlessness.
The BJP's quest for dominance over the states political scene, evident from a seat-sharing deal as part of which it clinched nearly as many constituencies as the Janata Dal-United its senior partner so far- resonated during the election campaign.
The LJP chief also raised accusing finger on Kumar in the implementation of prohibition laws in the state and accused the CM of gaining from smuggling of liquor into the state.
Opposition members tried to corner the government in both the Houses over the Supreme Court decision that states are not bound to provide reserved seats for the SCs, STs and OBCs in appointments and promotions.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances