The young RJD leader is yet to earn the trust of the crowd and many senior party members believe he is no patch on his father.
The announcement comes a day after the opposition's Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) allotted just one seat to the Left parties in Bihar.
The BSP-Congress tie-up is a done deal. Only the formalities need to be gone through and announced.
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Friday formally broached the idea of a grand alliance including former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party in poll-bound Bihar, a move that may rock attempts at a merger between 'Janata Parivar' parties.
Senior Congress leaders say Sharad Pawar's 'clean chit' to Modi in the Rafale deal is the most recent example of regional parties succumbing to pressure. The Congress is also convinced that Mayawati is being arm-twisted.
Labelling All India United Democratic Front chief Badruddin Ajmal as the 'enemy of Assam', state minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday asserted that he is an extremist in protecting Indian and the Assamese culture.
'Does a political or social worker ever retire? Is Nitish Kumar himself contesting the assembly elections'
It seems the Bharatiya Janata Party proposes but the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena disposes.
The RJD leader, who is the Mahagathbandhan's chief ministerial face, said that if voted to power, providing jobs to unemployed youth would be his topmost priority.
Searches are being conducted on Friday at 12 locations including Delhi, Patna, Ranchi, Puri and Gurgaon.
The Election Commission on Friday gave the go-ahead to the airing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Mann ki Baat programme on Sunday.
The Congress chief reiterated that Rs 30,000 crore was "wrongfully" given to Anil Ambani in the purchase of Rafale fighter planes.
Mamata Banerjee fended off a spirited challenge by a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal with a landslide victory for her Trinamool Congress on Sunday for a third consecutive term and the saffron party and the Left Democratic Front were poised to form government again in Assam and Kerala respectively while the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam stormed back to power in Tamil Nadu after a gap of 10 years.
Maharashtra Navnirmkan Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday shot down the suggestion of his party joining the grand alliance of Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party- Republican Party of India to take on the ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra and asserted his outfit will capture power in the state on its own strength.
Dalits constitute nearly 16 per cent of the vote and 38 seats are reserved for them in the assembly, reports Satyavrat Mishra
The RJD leader said he was being treated for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during the past month.
Some senior Congress leaders including Kapil Sibal have called for introspection after the party's dismal performance in the recently held Bihar assembly polls, after which the ruling National Democratic Alliance returned to power in the state despite the main member of the grand opposition alliance, Rashtriya Janata Dal, putting up a strong show and emerging as the single largest party.
The number of seats that the state parties will win will be much more than the BJP's, she further claimed.
Maharashtra's Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council and senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde refuted reports of an alliance of the Shiv Sena-BJP and the Republican Party of India (Athawale) with the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
Opposition leaders asked all secular forces to field a joint candidate for presidential elections and have common minimum programme to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party, reports Archis Mohan.
Responding to allegations that victory certificates were not been handed over to candidates from the opposition grand alliance by returning officers on 119 seats, the Commission said the latest figures on its website state that while 146 results have been declared and trends of 97 other seats were available.
The union government was taking effective steps to rid the country of corruption and nepotism, he said.
In his four-page letter in Hindi, the PM said that better infrastructure and rule of law are imperative for social and economic prosperity and only the NDA can provide that in Bihar.
The West Bengal CM also said that she wasn't averse to working with the Congress and expressed confidence that a grand alliance of opposition parties is possible.
'There are more young people in Assam who are unemployed than possibly anywhere else.'
While the BJP has taken a beating, its leader still stands tall, points out T N Ninan.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal with 19 seats, Congress on 9, Rashtriya Lok Samta Party on 5, Hindustani Awam Morcha and Vikassheel Insan Party -- in phases three to seven of the general elections.
Invoking the imagery of Goddess Sita and her father Janaka, the king of Mithila of which this north Bihar town became the capital later on, Modi said those who used to taunt the BJP over the delay in construction of Ram temple were now forced to applause.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said Mumbai and Amritsar will witness "fireworks" if BJP loses Bihar assembly polls, alluding to its strains with allies.
The announcement put an end to speculation that Sonia Gandhi may not contest in the upcoming polls due to health reasons and the party's newly appointed general secretary in-charge (East UP) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may be fielded from her constituency.
Announcing the party decision, Bihar JD-U president Vashishtha Narayan said, ""It was a necessary step because being leader if a person indulges in anti-party activities it has to be condemned unanimously."
Atishi will contest from East Delhi, Guggan Singh from North-West Delhi, Raghav Chadha from South, Dilip Pandey from North-East, Pankaj Gupta from Chandni Chowk and Brijesh Goyal will contest from New Delhi seats.
Tyagi, however, added his party was imposing no condition on the BJP over the issue of Cabinet berths.
This alliance is for personal survival, not ideology-based support. This alliance is for power, not for the people. This alliance is for personal ambitions, not people's aspirations," the PM charged.
The list, which is a mix of seasoned political players and greenhorns, has 17 women candidates, five more than the last elections, constituting roughly 41 per cent of the candidates.
The rising price of pulses has become a hot issue during the Bihar assembly polls.
Police, however, said a link between the social media post and the assault has not been established yet.
'The message has gone loud and clear (among the people of Assam) that the BJP is only interested in polarising (the country) and they are basically interested in (capturing votes in) the Hindi heartland and they don't bother much about rest of India.'
Training his guns at the Congress, Modi accused the opposition party of having always made false promises of poverty eradication, farm loan waiver and one rank-one pension for retired servicemen.
Not quitting, says Tejashwi Yadav. Accuses Prime Minister Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah of 'conspiracy'.
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