Bihar's ruling Janata Dal-United on Friday dropped its three sitting members of Parliament and nominated new faces for the Rajya Sabha polls to be held on February 7.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD-U launched a frontal attack on ally BJP, asking it to rein in 'loudmouth leaders' whose 'arrogance' had cost it an old partner like the Shiv Sena.
'Muslims in Bihar under Nitishji's rule are safest than anywhere else.'
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".
A SWOT analysis of the INDIA bloc, led by the RJD-Congress combine, as Bihar prepares for Assembly elections. Examines strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing the opposition alliance.
Former Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras announced that his Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) is no longer part of the BJP-led NDA, citing the alliance's support for his estranged nephew Chirag Paswan. Paras also accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of being "anti-Dalit" and demanded a Bharat Ratna for his late brother Ram Vilas Paswan, calling him the "second Ambedkar."
'They have no chance of winning if free and fair polls are conducted.'
The invite to Paswan from the BJP assumes significance as this made it clear that the LJP remains a member of the NDA despite walking out of the alliance in Bihar during the state assembly polls.
Tyagi, however, added his party was imposing no condition on the BJP over the issue of Cabinet berths.
Senior Janata Dal-United leader Dhananjay Singh pitched for Opposition unity ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and said party workers in Uttar Pradesh want Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to contest the elections from the state's Phulpur constituency.
A Janata Dal (United) leader in Bihar on Friday has dared the Bharatiya Janata Party to withdraw its support from Nitish Kumar led government in the state if it is not comfortable with the party stand on its secular agenda.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United on Monday announced its low-profile top office-bearer Anil Hegde as its candidate for the by-election to a Rajya Sabha seat which has been necessitated by the death of multiple-term MP, King Mahendra.
Seeking to buck the trend of recent Parliamentary election in which BJP decimated them, Janata Dal-United, RJD and Congress announced an alliance among the three for bypoll in 10 Assembly seats in Bihar, considered as semi-final before the crucial state poll next year.
Both the BJP and the JD-U abetted the LJP split but interestingly, independently. And there hangs a tale of conflicting interests, gamesmanship, subterfuge, and retribution, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
His resignation came hours after reports surfaced that the party has sought an explanation from him over allegations of corruption levelled by some unidentified workers.
'We will inform them how Pakistan not only helps terrorists, it also provide training to them to target India and spread terror.'
Senior BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Choubey has expressed his desire to see Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the Deputy Prime Minister. However, the JD(U) and the RJD have dismissed Choubey's remarks as inconsequential, with the JD(U) pointing to Amit Shah's recent statement that Nitish Kumar is the coalition's leader for the upcoming assembly polls. The RJD has also ridiculed Choubey's statement, stating that the BJP is looking to get rid of Nitish Kumar and that Tejashwi Yadav will be the next Chief Minister of Bihar.
The mayor of Darbhanga, Bihar, has sparked a controversy by suggesting a two-hour break in Holi celebrations to accommodate Friday prayers during Ramzan. Her proposal has drawn criticism from a BJP MLA, who accused her of calling for 'Ghazwa-e-Hind'. Meanwhile, other politicians have condemned the mayor's suggestion and emphasized the need for communal harmony.
The agenda would also include organisational polls and a fresh membership drive, though "national role for Nitish" is likely to dominate the narrative.
Poll arithmetic and ground reports give an edge to Lalu Prasad's RJD over Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United in the coming Lok Sabha polls. Mayank Mishra reports
Amid a buzz that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may emerge as the opposition's prime ministerial candidate, his party Janata Dal-United said on Friday if other parties want so, then this is an option.
Leaders of the JD-U, which has two ministers in the Union government, insist that the resolution also spoke of "special package and other types of help" and that Bihar could still get a lot from Narendra Modi government.
Nishant Kumar's demand that the NDA name Nitish Kumar as its chief ministerial nominee is seen as a gambit to consolidate the CM's position in the ruling alliance.
JD-U national president RCP Singh reacted with a sense of vindication to the developments in the party founded by late Ram Vilas Paswan, whose son has been left cornered in a revolt led by the former's younger brother Pashupati Kumar Paras and supported by four other MPs, including nephew Prince Raj.
Other NDA allies, including the Lok Janshakti Party and the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party, will get due representation in the seat sharing formula, Shah said.
Bharatiya Janata Party is leading in six seats while secular alliance comprising Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal-United and Congress is ahead in 4 seats of the total 10 assembly seats where bypoll was held on August 21.
The Bihar CM has requested the governor for a secret ballot.
Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Monday alleged that Nitish Kumar's camp was trying to "frighten MLAs" by spreading rumours that he was "conspiring" with BJP to have President's Rule imposed in Bihar and accused his rival of parading "bogus" MLAs.
The JD-U insisted that its decision to fight the polls independently will have no impact on its ties with the BJP in Bihar.
JD-U leaders believe Prashant Kishor's entry would benefit its case for contesting a larger number of seats in Bihar in next year's general election.
Janata Dal-United president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan on Saturday alleged that political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor was 'working for' the Bharatiya Janata Party, as part of its 'conspiracies' to find a firm foothold in Bihar.
'We share and support the ideology of the NDA and will not work against the NDA.'
The speculations were triggered by Kumar's reference to the Rajya Sabha being "the only House" he has not been a member of.
Filmmaker-turned-politician Prakash Jha is set to contest the Lok Sabha polls from the Bettiah parliamentary seat in Bihar as a Janata Dal-United nominee.
In a boost to Congress in Bihar, as many as 137 Janata Dal-United and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders including the former JD-U spokesperson Shambhunath Sinha Thursday joined the Congress.
BJP backed to the hilt Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as its leader in the state and rebuffed a rebellious Chirag Paswan, while acknowledging his Lok Janshakti Party as an ally 'at the Centre'. At a press conference which was attended by top leaders of the JD-U headed by Kumar and the BJP, it was made clear that 'only those who accept the chief ministers leadership will be deemed to be a part of the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar'.
Giving clear indications of its opposition to Narendra Modi and Varun Gandhi campaigning in Bihar for the upcoming assembly elections, the Janata Dal-United said on Sunday that the "old arrangement will continue both in seat sharing as well election campaign."
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar seems intent on mending fences with estranged former colleagues as part of the spadework for posing a credible challenge to the Bharatiya Janata Party's national hegemony.
Shatrughan Sinha and Kirti Azad certain to be axed along with Union minister R K Singh and former minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
