Bihar assembly Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary on Sunday called on Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav, at a time when the state was witnessing a big political churn.
Nitish Kumar wants to assure the BJP leadership that he will continue to be a part of the NDA. But he also wants to secure a larger number of seats for his party in the 2025 assembly elections in Bihar.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party a clear winner in the Delhi assembly elections, meet the BJP aspirants for the chief minister's post.
For the last few weeks, Fadnavis had been participating in the party's internal meetings over the Bihar polls and has even visited the state a few times.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has urged Muslims to wear a black armband on their right hand during Juma prayers on the last Friday of Ramzan as a mark of protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. The AIMPLB has been vocal in its opposition to the Bill, calling it "controversial, discriminatory and damaging." The organization has planned nationwide protests against the Bill, with large sit-ins scheduled in several cities.
'The RJD is a family centric party and its top leadership's main concern is only to promote the family.'
'He didn't implement good policies for good politics.' 'He never worked on comprehensive policy-making.' 'In Kejriwal's own constituency youths are jobless.'
The accused, Syed Nasru, had cut the udders of the cows in Vinayakanagar of Chamarajpet in the wee hours of Sunday, they said.
'There were deep discussions within the Sangh Parivar before this decision was made.' 'They were convinced, and only then did the Modi government proceed with the caste census.'
A notice signed by several legislators of the Grand Alliance was submitted to the assembly secretariat.
Fissures surfaced among Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners ahead of the Jharkhand assembly elections as the Rashtriya Janata Dal on Saturday expressed disappointment over the announcement of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Congress contesting 70 of 81 seats in the state.
Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav on Wednesday dropped hints that the Mahagathbandhan helmed by his party might bring on board former Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras, whom the National Democratic Alliance has sidelined in favour of estranged nephew Chirag Paswan.
'The Congress is trying to reinvent itself -- the caste census demand, OBC emphasis, the anti-corporate thrust, especially on Adani etc -- all this is not standard Congress strategy.'
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday snubbed the Rashtriya Janata Dal, headed by his arch-rival Lalu Prasad Yadav, stating that he had forged alliances 'by mistake' with the opposition party which 'did nothing' while in power.
The cabinet of the new government led by Rekha Gupta balances representation of all major communities that propelled the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Delhi with a massive majority after over 26 years.
The Yatra comes a day after the Congress was left high and dry with former ally Nitish Kumar, the Bihar chief minister, making a return to the BJP-led NDA.
'The southern states will have no voice.' 'Political parties in future need to focus only on one region, the northern region, to win the general election.'
'There will be no change of seats for Delhi, Assam and Maharashtra.' 'Andhra, J&K, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, West Bengal and Telangana will lose seats while there will be an increase for MP, UP, Bihar, Haryana, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh.' 'It is a big mistake if you make it a north-south issue.'
According to the Election Commission data, 30 out of the state's 40 Lok Sabha seats went to the BJP-led coalition in the latest elections, a sharp drop compared with 39 in 2019 and lower than the tallies of 2014 (31) and 2009 (32).
If Nitish is as shrewd a practitioner of realpolitik as he is billed to be, we'd like to see if he can do the unthinkable -- break up the BJP legislature party in Bihar.
Ruling parties held sway in most of the 13 states in the assembly byelection results declared on Saturday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies wresting seats in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan and the Trinamool Congress sweeping West Bengal.
Bypolls are due in Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
Besides the four ministerial berths, the Congress has also sought the post of Speaker of the state assembly, but Kumar is not keen on giving that, sources said.
There are 64 vacancies in the legislative assemblies of various states and one in Lok Sabha.
Janata Dal-United chief Nitish Kumar is expected to be elected as the leader at Sunday's meeting.
Jhandu Kumar, who has polio-affected legs since birth, won a gold medal at the recently-concluded Khelo India Para Games. The powerlifter broke his own National record on March 23 in the men's 72kg category with a lift of 206kg.
A total of 71 assembly constituencies of Bihar spread across 16 districts went to polls on Wednesday in the first phase amid tight security and with COVID-19 guidelines in place.
'But this Budget alone will not fix what ails the Indian economy.'
The Janata Dal-United state unit in Manipur has withdrawn support to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Biren Singh government and the party has informed its decision to governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, set to retire next month, plans to spend several months in solitude in the Himalayas. He also expressed a desire to teach underprivileged children, recalling his own humble beginnings. Kumar's tenure as CEC saw him oversee landmark elections, including the 16th Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections in 2022 and assembly elections in 11 states.
Rajiv Kumar, the 25th chief election commissioner of India, has demitted office after a nearly three-year tenure marked by both electoral successes and allegations of bias from opposition parties. Kumar oversaw the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls, among other major elections. During his tenure, he implemented reforms across various aspects of the Election Commission's functioning, including structural, technological, capacity development, communication, international cooperation, and administration. However, he faced criticism from opposition parties and activists on several issues, including the efficacy of Electronic Voting Machines, alleged fudging of voter data, and being "lenient" on the ruling BJP. While the Commission responded to the allegations, Kumar often defended himself and the poll authority through poetry. In his farewell address, Kumar expressed concerns about the timing of petitions raising doubts over poll processes and the impact of freebie promises on the fiscal health of the state. He also criticized the practice of showing early trends on counting day by news channels, calling it "nonsense". Kumar's tenure was marked by numerous controversies, with opposition parties and activists alleging bias and irregularities. While the Election Commission defended its actions, the allegations cast a shadow over his time in office.
With 12 MPs, the JD-U is the second biggest Bharatiya Janata Party ally after the TDP's 16, and leaders of the saffron party are in touch with allies over ministerial berths and other issues.
The formation of a new government in Maharashtra has been delayed due to a disagreement between the Shiv Sena and BJP over who should be the next chief minister. Shiv Sena insists on Eknath Shinde continuing as CM while the BJP favors Devendra Fadnavis. The delay comes despite the BJP-led coalition winning a landslide victory in the recent assembly elections. Sources suggest that the coalition has not reached a consensus on the CM, with various leaders from both parties voicing their opinions on the matter.
'The BJP will use Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha to check Nitish Kumar.' 'They will not allow him to function freely as before.'
The RJD polled the highest vote share in Bihar, but it was not reflected in the number of seats it won.
Lok Janshakti Party MP Mehboob Ali Kaiser, the lone Muslim to have been elected to the Lok Sabha from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in Bihar, joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal on Sunday, in a shot in the arm for the opposition party amid the elections.
The party leaders and ministers also credited the victory in Bihar to the Modi government's success in navigating the country during the COVID-19 crisis.
There is a proposal from the BJP camp that they would resort to a proportion-based increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats for individual states, based on what they now have. On the face of it, this sounds like a fine argument that those demanding a 'freeze' now cannot oppose without reasons and justification, avers N Sathiya Moorthy.
If everything goes according to the plan, the exercise will begin after the Lok Sabha elections, the official said.
Reacting to allegations that his party was dividing anti-BJP votes, Owaisi said he was running a political party that has a right to contest on its own.
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