Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the Congress party following the NDA's victory in the Bihar assembly elections, accusing them of divisive politics and highlighting the rejection of casteism and communalism by the people of Bihar.
'Without our support Nitish Kumar wouldn't have become chief minister.' 'After the government was formed we became ministers, but our agenda remained the same: Amit Shah had promised reservation for Nishads.' 'He wouldn't listen, so we went to UP and contested 52 seats in the 2022 elections. He didn't like the idea of rebellion.' 'He saw that this man, coming from Bombay, is very sharp. He's made four MLAs now, tomorrow he'll make 40. A time will come when they will make it 125.' 'They bought our MLAs and ousted us from the government.'
BJP leaders say Nitin Nabin's low-profile image has made him a favourite of Amit Shah, who was in search of such a leader to appoint to the top party position -- someone who follows the Modi-Shah line as BJP president without "ifs and buts".
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
According to official records, Kishor is enrolled as a voter in West Bengal at 121, Kalighat Road, the address of the Trinamool Congress headquarters in Kolkata's Bhabanipur assembly constituency, which is Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee's seat, he said.
'Are elections still fair in India, or are we all witness to a macabre style of 'selection' of lawmakers? The jury will be out on this for a long time because there is no definitive evidence on either contention, at least as yet,' notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed NDA parliamentarians, emphasizing that laws and regulations should serve the convenience of the common people and not cause harassment.
Former IPS officer Shivdeep Lande, the popular Maharashtra-born 'supercop' calls Bihar his 'karmabhoomi.'
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J P Nadda and several other top leaders of the NDA.
'Some states have become more populous, while others have become less populous. Those who became less populous became economically strong. Those where population increased, they became economically weak
All along, we were told SIR was an essential exercise carried out as part of the Election Commission's regular duties. But now that the ideological mentor of the ruling party has declared that SIR is a means of detecting infiltrators, one understands the unseemly haste with which it is being carried out, notes Jyoti Punwani.
'...the electoral playing field is tilted significantly in its favour.'
Voters in Bihar's Jehanabad and Ghosi express their hopes for change, particularly regarding job creation and development, in the upcoming government following the state elections.
Raghopur assembly constituency in Bihar prepares for a high-stakes election where voters may be deciding the next chief minister. Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD's CM candidate, seeks a third term, facing a strong challenge from BJP's Satish Kumar.
A string of welfare schemes and promises tests the state's budget, which is already heavily dependent on central support and spends little as capital outlay.
Voters are weighing a stark trade-off -- between preserving a socially driven policy and reversing course to revive revenue, restore fiscal balance, and rein in the underground liquor economy.
Former poll strategist Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj expressed disappointment over its poll debacle in the Bihar assembly elections, attributing the NDA's victory to cash transfers to women.
As it gains commercial viability, the food will likely become a powerful political currency.
As the election nears, political positions on prohibition are shifting.
Abdullah emphasised the 24x7 model of politics pursued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team, and said that "no sooner has one election finished, they've already moved into the next territory... We will move into those states two months before the elections. We will be lucky if we sew up our electoral alliances before the last date of filing nominations".
The BJP's MoSha leadership are past masters in encouraging defections from their allies if it helped their party capture the chief minister's chair. In Bihar, they are not sure if JD-U MPs and MLAs would be willing to cross over to the BJP if the Nitish leadership came on top -- and the NDA crossed the halfway mark together, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday claimed that the Congress had been unwilling to accept Tejashwi Yadav as the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) chief ministerial candidate and relented only after the Rashtriya Janata Dal pointed a 'katta', an unlicensed country-made gun, at its head.
Hardworking people who toil from dawn to dusk and beyond speak about their everyday lives and what they want from the sarkar as Bihar prepares to vote.
Priti Kinnar, a transgender social worker, is set to contest the Bihar assembly elections from Bhorey seat on a Jan Suraaj ticket, challenging the incumbent Education Minister. Her entry into politics has sparked mixed reactions, with some seeing it as a potential boost for the transgender community and others questioning its impact on the election outcome.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a sharp critique of the RJD, emphasizing the hardships faced by women in Bihar under its governance. He highlighted the current government's initiatives for women's empowerment and urged them to prevent the RJD's return to power.
His inheritance was a double-edged sword because the NDA was understandably interested only in highlighting that part of the RJD's tenure in government that evokes kidnapping, extortion, and lawlessness.
During the presser, Gandhi showed a picture of a woman who appears on the voter list 22 times in 10 booths in the Rai assembly constituency, and said this shows that this was a 'centralised operation'.
'Rahul Gandhi has promised me to give a Congress ticket to contest the polls.'
As Bihar goes to the polls in two weeks, locals speak about what the election means to them in the shadow of a devastating flood in Saran, Bihar.
'When you compare Bihar's poverty from its earlier times, then there is a huge difference. Things have improved a lot. And migration has played an important role in reducing poverty.'
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge criticizes Home Minister Amit Shah, calling him 'incompetent' and demanding his resignation following a deadly blast in Delhi, citing intelligence failure and lack of accountability.
NDA partners engage in intense lobbying to finalize cabinet berths ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the new Bihar government led by Nitish Kumar. The new cabinet is expected to include fresh faces from BJP and JD(U), along with representation from smaller alliance partners.
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.
Bandana Preyashi, the bold IAS officer from Bihar who took on dreaded dons, is the court-appointed mentor to 18-year-old Sakshi, who had fled home to follow her IAS dream.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise being conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) was 'essential', as electoral rolls were not perfect.
'Even today illegal foreign immigrants live in Assam and their names might be on the voters list. This we can get rid of only by doing SIR.'
'If this is true, the Election Commission should come forward with data and officially confirm it.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the record turnout in the first phase of the Bihar assembly polls indicates people's trust in the NDA government. He predicted victory for the NDA, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and lauded the Election Commission for conducting successful elections.
'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.'
As the Bihar assembly results swept in, Patna's Veerchand Patel Marg, the city's political artery, split into two starkly different worlds, with celebrations at the BJP and JD(U) offices and disappointment at the RJD headquarters.
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