Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led party will go solo in the upcoming assembly elections in Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand and Delhi, leaders who were part of JD-U's National Executive meet said.
While the outcome will be known once the meeting is over, more than one of the prospective attendees denied the party's ties with the BJP having worsened to an extent to call for a realignment.
Notably, the JD-U has put up a better than expected performance in Lok Sabha polls.
Nitish said that law and order have "remarkably improved" in the state after his government came to power in November 2005.
Jan Suraaj Party spokesperson Pavan K Varma said the party would undertake a "serious review" of its performance in the Bihar Assembly elections after early trends showed Prashant Kishor's outfit making little impact despite a grassroots campaign.
According to a statement issued by JD-U national general secretary Afaq Ahmed Khan on Tuesday, this is the party's first list of candidates for Madhya Pradesh, where voting will take place for the 230-member assembly on November 17.
'If the NDA returns with the BJP substantially ahead of the JD-U, a BJP CM bid becomes plausible; if the gap is narrow or JD-U holds pivotal seats, continuity with Nitish is the lower-risk option.'
Pawar is expected to play a crucial role in deciding the future course or action of the opposition alliance.
This election is a thank you note to Nitish Babu from a grateful Bihari people, notes Sheela Bhatt.
As the election nears, political positions on prohibition are shifting.
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.
He pointed out that "politicians should ensure that they are not spreading linguistic terror, further they should make limited comments only."
Left to its machinations, the BJP would have loved to cut Nitish down to size, but it can't afford to do so as the JD-U is in alliance with the BJP at the Centre, and cannot form a government on its own in Bihar. For now, both need each other: Nitish for legitimacy, the BJP for numbers, points out Ramesh Menon.
The opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was in the grip of a crisis on Saturday with the Janata Dal-United saying the alliance was collapsing amid indications that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will switch back to the National Democratic Alliance, prompting the Congress to allege that the Bharatiya Janata Party is doing its best to cause a 'mini implosion' in the coalition.
'I have been a spokesperson of the party for the last 41 years and now I think some other party member should take up my post,' JD-U's K C Tyagi tells Rediff.com about his resignation from the post of party spokesperson.
Party's chief spokesperson K C Tyagi said Kumar has agreed to take over the mantle from Lalan Singh.
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.
Pandey had hit the headlines recently for his vocal condemnation of the non-cooperation meted out to the Bihar police team that had visited Mumbai to probe the death of Patna-born actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
The deceased has been identified as Saurav Kumar. Another person accompanying him, Munmun Kumar, was injured in the firing, they said.
The little-known 'Poll Diary' was the only pollster which predicted that the NDA would win over 200 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan would fall below 50.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United on Saturday maintained that 'there is no confusion' among the 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) partners in Bihar.
'If Nitish Kumar were to depart from this alliance, it would signal substantial instability in central government politics.'
The development can change the power dynamics within the ruling alliance, even if it manages to retain power in the state and Kumar continues to be chief minister.
'JD-U wants to emerge as the single largest party in Bihar after the next assembly polls by contesting more seats than the BJP.'
Of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state, BJP will contest 20, while the JD-U, LJP and RLSP will contest 12, five and two seats respectively.
'Modi and Shah made it clear that the next government will be led by Nitishji.'
'When the time comes, we will take a decision following a discussion with the alliance partners.'
The party's state unit chief, Mangani Lal Mandal, made the remark a day after the state building construction department issued a notification directing Rabri Devi to shift to 39, Hardinge Road, which has been "earmarked" as the residence of the leader of the opposition in the legislative council.
'There are differences over certain issues between the JD-U and BJP but we are in alliance and continuing.'
The INDIA bloc in Bihar has announced Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate, signaling a united front after weeks of internal disagreements. The move aims to challenge the incumbent NDA government, with both sides engaging in political maneuvering and accusations.
The opposition INDIA bloc has declared RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections.
Four Janata Dal-United legislators were disqualified on Saturday from the Bihar assembly under the anti-defection law for anti-party activities, including cross voting in Rajya Sabha election.
Tejashwi Yadav, the INDIA bloc's chief ministerial candidate, alleges that Amit Shah's recent statement indicates BJP's plan to remove Nitish Kumar from power after the Bihar assembly elections.
'Mountain Man' Dasharath Manjhi's son Bhagirath, who recently quit Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United to join the Congress, on Friday disclosed that he wanted a party ticket in the upcoming assembly polls.
Tejashwi who is meeting senior Conngress leader Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday is expected to be announced as the CM face of the Mahabgathbandhan on Thursday.
Blowing the bugle for the 2014 Parliamentary elections, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday hit out at the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government for dilly dallying on granting special category status to the state.
'Age matters and the way Tejashwi has been doing an aggressive campaign, only a young leader like him can do it.'
'If the BJP had its way, it would sideline him in favour of someone else. But that's not feasible. There is no vote catcher in Bihar for the BJP.'
Bharti is apparently miffed at not being included into the cabinet after Singh was on Tuesday in the cabinet expansion inducted for the third time as minister.
Ashok Choudhary on Tuesday sent a Rs 100 crore defamation notice to Prashant Kishor and described the allegations as baseless and 'blatant lies'.
