'We made a mistake. We misunderstood. Now all is well.'
RJD leaders and workers miss Lalu's rustic charm and unique campaigning style.
A special CBI court on Friday sentenced disqualified Janata Dal-United MP Jagdish Sharma to four years rigorous imprisonment in a fodder scam case.
'We have been struggling with problems, but we want to elect Tejashwi to see him as the next chief minister.'
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said that the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who at a point was fighting against 'jungle raj' (lawlessness) in Bihar, is now sitting in the lap of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and aiding it.
A young girl wants to correct her father's name in her school certificate; a man wants his three year unpaid rent from a government doctor, an athlete wants an archery set... Scenes from Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Darbar, recorded by Rediff.com's Archana Masih.
'I want to ask the entire nation and the opposition. Can a Chief Minister, Prime Minister, or any leader run the country from jail?'
A statement from the Fortis Memorial Research Institute said Yadav was brought to the emergency ward in an unconscious and unresponsive state.
It's official now. After a gap of 23 years, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and senior Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar will share dais and jointly address public meetings on Monday for by polls in Bihar's Hajipur and Mohiuddinnagar assembly constituencies.
Lalu's word is final in the RJD when even when he is serving a long jail sentence after being convicted in fodder scam cases.
Appearing on national television to mark the silver jubilee of the party he founded in 1997 after breaking away from the Janata Dal, Prasad, who is suffering from many ailments and convalescing at his MP daughter Misa Bharti's residence in New Delhi, recalled his struggles for OBC quota and the fight for the rights of the weaker sections.
'The question for the TMC is not whether it can hold its bastions, but whether it can expand effectively into regions where the BJP already possesses a good ecosystem.'
Notably, both the meetings were presided over by Prasad's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav, who was sworn in as a minister earlier this week with environment, forestry and climate change portfolio.
Tyagi, the JD-U's political advisor and spokesperson, was replying to queries about the suggestion that followed Kumar's speech at a party rally in Patna on Wednesday.
Continuing dynasty politics, Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Prasad on Friday nominated his daughter Misa Bharti to Rajya Sabha, reports MI I Khan.
In a letter to jailed RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, the veteran leader wrote he was quitting the party. "Since the death of Jannayak Karpoori Thakur, I stood behind you for 32 years, but not now," he wrote in his brief one-line resignation letter to Prasad, who is serving sentences in four fodder scam cases in Ranchi.
As Bihar awaits the results in the much-awaited polls, Rediff.com takes a look at some of those leaders who won and lost.
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.
Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday met Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav, apparently with the mandate to defuse tensions with the ally, which has plunged the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) into turmoil in poll-bound Bihar.
'Even if the anti-Modi 'Mahagatbandhan' gets a majority there is simply no way that Nitish Kumar can ensure even a stable government, leave alone a good -- clean, development-oriented -- government,' argues T V R Shenoy.
Former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad, who was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs five lakh in a 17-year-old fodder scam case, on Thursday claimed that he was falsely implicated.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal-United and his bete noire Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav are not contesting the Lok Sabha polls which has put their 'prestige constituencies' of Nalanda and Patliputra at stake.
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Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Rabri Devi said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar does not have the strength to stop Narendra Modi from coming to Bihar, the way her husband Lalu Prasad Yadav had stopped L K Advani during his rath yatra in 1990.
They are political rivals, but when it comes to celebrating Bihar Diwas in Mumbai, Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal has backed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and has urged him to ignore Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's threat. The impending visit on April 15 has become controversial in Maharashtra.
'After the 2020 Bihar assembly polls when our party got only 43 seats and our ally the BJP got 73 seats, Nitish Kumar refused to become chief minister and assured the BJP that he will support the government led by anyone.' 'But the BJP's top leaders told Nitish Kumar that as the NDA contested the polls under his leadership, the next government will be headed by him.'
According to RJD sources, Lalu is reluctant to share the dais with Rahul as he is reportedly unhappy with him over his approach and stand on certain issues.
Lalu said that the BJP at the Centre is trying to destabilise the grand alliance government in Bihar. M I Khan reports from Patna.
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad was fined Rs 6,000 by a court in Jharkhand's Palamu district on Wednesday for violating the model code of conduct during the 2009 assembly elections in the state.
The action is in connection with its money laundering probe in the IRCTC hotel allotment scam case involving Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and his family.
The Jharkhand high court on Friday deferred till November 27 Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad's bail plea hearing in a fodder scam case related to Dumka treasury, after the Central Bureau of Investigation sought more time to file a written reply in the matter.
The American university has said that Misa Bharti did not speak at the event and she was just a guest
Political leaders from across states in the country have turned up for the event. Here's a glimpse at some of the leaders who have shown up for the big-ticket event.
Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad on Wednesday hinted at a thaw between his party and the Congress, saying had a telephonic talk with Sonia Gandhi whom he asked to hold a meeting of 'like-minded' parties which could join hands to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Lalu Prasad Yadav's sons have set aside their differences and doing all they can to ensure sister Misa's victory from Pataliputra.
And so it's official. After months of speculation and rumours swirling, it was confirmed on Sunday that Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United and Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal will contest the by-elections to 10 assembly seats in Bihar together.
Sadhu Yadav, a former Member of Parliament whose name has featured in several criminal cases, is going to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Saran against his sister and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi.
It is now a different time in Bihar. It is a different place -- one in which Raghuvansh Prasad Singh's options are very limited, notes Aditi Phadnis.
