Call it political opportunism or sagacity, his moves, in effect, have not allowed the Bharatiya Janata Party to appoint its own chief minister to date, despite enjoying a near hegemonic status nationally and the best performance in recently held assembly polls where the saffron party bagged 89 seats, followed by the Janata Dal-United with 85.
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.
Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav on Thursday said that only Shatrughan Sinha and Shahnawaz Hussain are secular leaders in the Bharatiya Janata Party.
With nominations for the first phase of Bihar elections closing soon, the INDIA bloc is struggling to finalize seat sharing, while the NDA has announced its candidates. Key political figures are actively campaigning.
'Nitish Kumar previously held tight control over key ministries, but this concession (giving the home portfolio to the BJP) reflects either his weakened political position or a pragmatic acknowledgment of the BJP's growing dominance.'
'Lalu understands that his words can be used by rivals to consolidate Hindu votes which may damage the prospects of his party's social support base.'
Sources said that the chapter on Lalu, titled Mitti ke Gaurav (pride of the soil), will be removed from the Hindi textbooks for class VIII from the academic session beginning in April. Instead of a chapter dedicated to Lalu, students will now read about the life and work of Mahatma Phule, a social reformer and educationist of the 19th century.
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
The alleged scam pertains to the period when Lalu Prasad was the railway minister in the UPA-1 government at the Centre.
He also accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of daydreaming for trying to garner the support of the regional parties for Advani as PM.
'Age matters and the way Tejashwi has been doing an aggressive campaign, only a young leader like him can do it.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi jokingly mentioned ongoing discussions with RJD president Lalu Prasad regarding marriage, following a suggestion from Prasad's son to Union Minister Chirag Paswan.
A case has been filed against them in this regard.
A sudden surge in political attacks in Bihar has stunned leaders of both the ruling National Democratic Alliance and the Opposition Mahagathbandhan.
The former deputy chief minister was replying to queries about the JD-U president's outburst inside the assembly on Tuesday where he had told Yadav, "It was I who helped your father Lalu Prasad, the RJD president, become the leader of opposition when he did not have the support of even his own caste men."
Never a leader with a big base of his own, Sharad Yadav depended on state bigwigs like Lalu and Nitish to enter Parliament but enjoyed the aura and political weight which made him a strong presence at the high table of national politics in Delhi.
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.
IIM-A has announced that along with delivering a lecture series on the turnaround of Bihar, Kumar will also preside over the closing ceremony of Confluence-2006, the institute's international business summit.
The ED said AB Exports Pvt Ltd is a "shell" or fake company owned by Prasad's son and Bihar deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and Chanda Yadav (another daughter of the RJD chief) and its registered address is the bungalow located in the New Friends Colony area.
Lalu's son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, however, sought to downplay the remarks made by his father, in an interview to a local news channel, claiming that the RJD supremo had merely tried to satisfy the curiosity of the prying media.
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's brother-in-law and Bihar Congress leader Anirudh Prasad alias Sadhu Yadav today met Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at his Gandhinagar office.
Soren spent more than an hour with Prasad at RIMS Director's bungalow, where the RJD leader is staying. Coming out of the RIMS, Soren told reporters, 'we will fight Bihar elections together'.
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, in jail following his conviction in the fodder scam, moved the Jharkhand high court on Thursday against the Central Bureau of Investigation court's judgement which found him guilty.
Shah pulled no punches in lambasting the RJD supremo for alleged nepotism, accusing him of making his wife the chief minister, getting his daughter elected to Parliament and "now both his sons want to become the CM".
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday termed his past alliances with arch rival Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal as a 'mistake' that he committed twice but was determined not to repeat again.
Special CBI judge Prajesh Kumar, who had last week ordered the former Bihar chief minister to appear in person, fixed November 30 as the next date of hearing.
The 'Mahagathbandhan' alliance in Bihar is expected to finalize its seat-sharing arrangement and announce candidates along with a joint manifesto soon. Talks between RJD and Congress are ongoing, with potential meetings in Delhi. The Congress is aiming for a respectable number of seats and highlighting the desire for change in Bihar.
Former Bihar Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav on Sunday said Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani will never become the prime minister of the country.
Though this is the second charge-sheet filed by the CBI in the case before a special court here, it is the first time that Tejashwi Yadav has been named as an accused.
Aditaynath alleged that the Congress, RJD and SP were "embracing" criminals in Bihar and allowing infiltrators to compromise with the state's security.
The agency is probing members of the Lalu Prasad family and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Gangster-turned-politician Dular Chand Yadav, once known for rubbing shoulders with the who's who of politics in Bihar, was allegedly shot dead near the state capital during an election campaign on Thursday, police said.
Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav on Tuesday said he was in favour of extending reservation benefits to Muslims but emphasised that it should be based on social backwardness and 'not on the basis of religion'.
This is the fifth time that Nitish will be the chief minister of Bihar and this will be his third consecutive term.
Central Bureau of Investigation special court judge Sanjay Prasad framed the charges against Yadav for fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 3.13 crore from Dumka treasury between December, 1995 and January, 1996.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday sprang surprises with its first list of 71 candidates for the Bihar assembly polls, denying a ticket to Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav, a seven-term MLA, while fielding Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary in a direct election after over a decade.
A Delhi court on Wednesday granted bail to Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi and their son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav in the alleged land-for-job scam in the railways.
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