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.
Kumar, who chose not to react when the 31-year-old Rashtriya Janata Dal leader made a series of personal attacks and allegations in his nearly an hour-long speech, erupted in anger when the latter sought to interject during a statement made by Janata Dal-United leader and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary.
Kumar had recently dumped the 'Mahagathbandhan', of which the Rashtriya Janata Dal was a key constituent, and returned to the NDA fold to form the government with support of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
'Voters from the forward castes voted for JD-U because they feared Laloo Yadav's return, but since that fear is no longer there they may not see the need to vote for Nitish Kumar anymore.'
In a major setback for former Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Patna High Court on Wednesday termed his re-election as JD-U legislative party leader unconstitutional.
Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary criticised the RJD regarding the allotment of government bungalows, referencing the dispute over Rabri Devi's residence.
This is the first time a JD-U leader has openly expressed fears about the party's future.
Huge crowds have gathered in Delhi's popular Ramlila Ground for the Adhikar Rally that is to be addressed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and a host of other leaders.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari held his first 'janata darbar' after assuming office, hearing people's demands and grievances at a BJP office in Kolkata.
The Opposition had the numbers to win one Rajya Sabha seat from Bihar. As it turned out, four MLAs skipped the voting, helping the NDA to sweep the polls.
Bihar Police have arrested three individuals in connection with a deeply disturbing viral video from Jamui showing the harassment of a young couple, an incident that has sparked widespread social media outrage and strong political condemnation.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he will remain in the NDA, while regretting short-lived alliances with the RJD-Congress combine. He lauded Modi for the Union government's measures for the state and highlighted recent state government initiatives.
The National Democratic Alliance will contest the assembly polls in Bihar next year under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Deputy Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Samrat Choudhary said on Sunday.
'Nitish Kumar has only done what any smart politician will do in his place,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'He was No 2 to Laloo Prasad in the last government and he will be No 2 in the new one as well, not to Sushil Modi, but to the other Modi in Delhi.' 'In the process, Nitish Kumar will have to forget any role which he may have secretly entertained about playing a larger role on the national stage,' says Amulya Ganguli.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was accorded a red carpet welcome in Pakistan's Karachi as he arrived the country's financial capital on Friday on a week-long visit, hoping to augment contacts and cooperation between the two neighbours.
A day after his landslide victory in the Bihar assembly polls, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was on Thursday elected as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance legislature party in the 15th Bihar assembly.
Distancing himself from the BJP's victory in Gujarat, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has sought to suggest that he does not see Narendra Modi as a prime ministerial candidate.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced free power up to 125 units for all domestic consumers in the state, effective from August 1. The move, benefiting 1.67 crore households, comes ahead of the upcoming assembly polls and amid promises from opposition leaders.
Police in Jamui, Bihar, have arrested two main accused in the molestation of a minor girl, bringing the total arrests to five. The arrests followed an encounter where the accused were injured. The incident, captured in a viral video, has ignited a fierce political debate between the ruling NDA and opposition parties over law and order in the state.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday called for a daylong 'Bihar Bandh' on March 1 to protest against denial of special category status to the state by the Congress led UPA government.
Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan expressed disappointment over the controversy surrounding Chief Minister Nitish Kumar removing a doctor's naqab. The incident sparked a political row, but the governor defended Kumar's intentions. The doctor's family expressed disappointment with the media coverage and denied reports of anger towards the Chief Minister.
Janata Dal-United MLA Gopal Mandal, who is understood to have a slim chance of getting a party ticket for the upcoming assembly polls, on Tuesday sat on a dharna near Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's residence.
Nitish Kumar will parade 130 MLAs before President Pranab Mukherjee if not invited to form government.
"Word of the day! Definition of *snollygoster* US dialect: a shrewd, unprincipled politician. First Known Use: 1845. Most recent use: 26/7/17," Tharoor had tweeted in 2017.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar disbursed Rs 2,500 crore to 25 lakh beneficiaries of the 'Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana', raising to one crore the number of women to have received Rs 10,000 each under the self-employment scheme.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday questioned the Centre's decision of sending two drafts of Lokpal Bill for consideration and demanded that the government be clear before seeking states' views on the proposed legislation.
It is also good news for power starved Bihar, where millions are still living in lantern age.
Suspended Janata Dal-United MP Upendra Kushwaha on Friday resigned from the party, slamming Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's alleged "autocratic" functioning in Bihar.
The BJP, which has clinched 31 more seats than the 43 pocketed by Kumar's Janata Dal-United, is likely to have two deputy chief ministers on the lines of Uttar Pradesh. The names of four-time MLAs Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi, who were chosen the leader and the deputy leader of the BJP legislature party on Sunday, are doing the rounds for the post.
The rift between the Bharatiya Janata Party and ally Janata Dal-United widened on Sunday with Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi pulling out of functions to be addressed by Nitish Kumar to protest the return of flood relief money to Gujarat, after which the chief minister cancelled his programme.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said in the state assembly that its friend-turned-foe Bharatiya Janata Party had betrayed him and The JD-U by projecting Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate of NDA.
Nitish Kumar has again proven that he is a master of the art of changing governments.
Allies since the 1990s, the JD-U and the BJP have in the recent past squabbled on issues ranging from Agnipath, caste census, population law and ban on loudspeakers.
Bihar police are investigating multiple past incidents of molestation and moral policing across several districts, including Kishanganj, Banka, and Samastipur, following recent public outrage. These cases, some months or even a year old, involve vigilante groups harassing individuals, often for inter-faith interactions, and have led to arrests and significant political controversy.
The BJP knows that there is no leader in its ranks who can match Modi's popularity or have his cult following, and what awaits is a return to the Vajpayee numbers, when allies called the shots, argues Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The ruling NDA alliance has secured a majority in the Rajya Sabha elections, winning key seats in Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana, while other candidates were elected unopposed across multiple states. The elections were marked by cross-voting allegations and political maneuvering.
The BJP and JD-U will form the new government after the latter party's chief resigned saying in the circumstances it became difficult to run the grand alliance government.
The longest-serving chief minister of any Hindi- speaking state, Nitish Kumar seems to have acquired an aura of indispensability when it comes to the highest seat of power in Bihar.
Ideology and principle are always put to work to camouflage political ambition. Nitish Kumar is a past master at this. His acceptance of the NDA in the first place was aimed at the top spot of Bihar. Then Delhi became the goal, but Narendra Modi's rise as head of the campaign rang alarm bells. So Nitish suddenly remembered secularism, says Jaya Jaitly.
