Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi was at the centre of a controversy over the appointment of his son-in-law Devendra Kumar as his personal assistant, evoking sharp criticism following which Kumar resigned from the post.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has predicted that JD(U) president Nitish Kumar will contest the upcoming assembly polls in Bihar in alliance with the BJP but may switch sides later, with hopes for another term as the chief minister. Kishor, founder of the Jan Suraaj Party, also asserted that Kumar's popularity has declined and he is unlikely to win a fifth consecutive term. He challenged the BJP to declare Kumar as the chief ministerial candidate, arguing that they would struggle to win seats if they did so. Kishor also criticized Kumar's leadership, accusing him of being "physically tired and mentally retired" and of "bringing disrepute to Bihar" by touching Prime Minister Narendra Modi's feet. He said his new party will enter the fray to pull Bihar "out of the political rut" and that the state's much-touted prohibition policy is an example of the BJP's duplicity.
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
Former Bihar Chief Minister and senior Janata Dal-United leader Ram Sundar Das died in Patna on Friday due to age-related problems. He was 95.
The Jan Suraaj Party announced its second list of candidates for the Bihar assembly elections, covering 65 constituencies. The party has kept its choice for the Raghopur seat, where founder Prashant Kishor is expected to contest, under wraps. The list includes candidates from various sections of society, including the extremely weaker sections, Other Backward Classes, and Muslims.
'We have been struggling with problems, but we want to elect Tejashwi to see him as the next chief minister.'
Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party made a spectacular show in the Bihar assembly elections with almost all of its 101 candidates registering massive wins, 12 of the nominees missed the bus.
'I have been battling cancer for the last six months. Now, I feel that the time has come to inform people about it'
Granting SCS to the state has been a long-pending demand of the JD-U supremo and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, whose Bihar cabinet had even passed a resolution last year requesting the Centre to grant SCS to the state.
The protesting contractual teachers on Friday threw slippers towards Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at his public meeting in Bihar's Madhepura district, official sources said.
The body of a 25-year-old specially abled youth, Suresh Dey, was recovered from a building that was set ablaze by the agitators while another person, identified as Athik Timung, was killed during the clash, a police officer said.
Stirring yet another controversy, Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has termed people belonging to the upper caste as "foreigners and descendants of Aryan race", a remark for which the Bharatiya Janata Party has slammed him for "stoking caste tension" in the state.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was hit with a slipper hurled at him by a youth protesting against a government advisory on lighting fires during a public interaction after which the offender was arrested.
Democracy in India is too important to be left to a leader with a limited appeal. If Rahul Gandhi cares for India, he should step aside for a new crop of leaders, suggests Harishchandra.
Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's son-in-law, who was recently removed as his personal assistant after it was found his appointment violated rules, was on Monday spotted in an official programme of the CM where he said he still rendered service to him in personal capacity.
The decision taken about Kharge at the INDIA bloc meeting earlier this month had shocked the JD-U, which believed that its president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would be named as the convenor without being saddled with any chairperson, its leaders had then said.
Criticised for the hoardings that have mushroomed in Bihar's capital announcing Janata Dal-United's 'Adhikar Rally', Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday ordered removal of those around statues of great personalities.
The NDA in Bihar, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, strategically countered the Mahagathbandan's moves by implementing similar policies and announcements, effectively neutralising the MGB campaign promises and maintaining their political advantage.
It is now official. Nitish Kumar, chief minister of the power-starved state of Bihar, has decided to go green. The chief minister will use solar energy to power his official residence in Patna, an official on Wednesday said.
'Anyone they don't like can be potentially arrested and thrown in jail for 30 days to induce regime change.'
Swami Agnivesh has held Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar responsible for the murder of a constable by Maoists on Thursday.
Details of the assets of 30 Bihar ministers, including Kumar's, were uploaded in the government websites as a step towards ending corruption and promised by the chief minister.
The CMs with lowest assets are West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee with assets worth over Rs 15.38 lakh, Omar Abdullah, CM of Jammu and Kashmir, with assets worth over Rs 55.24 lakh, and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, who has assets worth Rs 1.18 crore.
'Nitish Kumar is our CM today and he will be CM going forward also. Nitish Kumar will continue as CM till he wishes.'
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Patna to discuss election strategy. The meeting aims to dispel rumors of strained relations and solidify the NDA alliance ahead of upcoming assembly polls.
Search operations for the six-year-old schoolboy, who was kidnapped in Patna's high security area on Monday, have been stepped up with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressing displeasure, as the boy could not be traced even after four days.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party a clear winner in the Delhi assembly elections, meet the BJP aspirants for the chief minister's post.
The shoe fell short of the dais and the man was caught immediately by police.
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 Janata Dal (United), an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has sought an extension in the tenure of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) scrutinising the bills proposing simultaneous elections. The party argued that the committee, which has only met once, requires more time for extensive consultations. Meanwhile, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), another BJP ally, has demanded a "special industrial package" for Bihar, highlighting the state's low per capita income compared to the national average.
'We share and support the ideology of the NDA and will not work against the NDA.'
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shatrughan Sinha on Monday said leaders from allies, like Ramvilas Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi, should be considered being named as National Democratic Alliance's chief ministerial candidate for Bihar polls even though his party is yet to decide whether it wants to project anyone for the post.
A Bengaluru-bound private bus from Hyderabad caught fire in this district on Friday after colliding with a two-wheeler, leaving 20 people dead, most of them charred to death, a senior police official said.
This is the fifth time that Nitish will be the chief minister of Bihar and this will be his third consecutive term.
The BJP-ed National Democratic Alliance on Wednesday launched an all-out attack on the Bihar CM.
Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi is set to meet PM Narendra Modi while attending the NITI Aayog meetings.
Bihar Diwas celebration is a socio-cultural event, it has nothing to do with politics, says Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. M I Khan reports
