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.
Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi has refused to vacate a government bungalow in Patna, daring the current CM to evict her by force. The dispute arose after the bungalow was allotted to another minister.
Describes the results as a "vote for change and good governance."
The Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)), an alliance partner of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar, has put up posters outside its party office asserting that Nitish Kumar will continue as the Bihar Chief Minister till 2030. This comes after Haryana's Deputy Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said that the BJP would win the Bihar polls under the leadership of Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. The JD(U) has refuted these claims, saying that Nitish Kumar will remain the face of the NDA in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.
A Naxalite died in police custody on Thursday at Barun police station area in Bihar's Aurangabad district following which Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ordered a probe into the incident
What is Change really like in Bihar? Once seen as India's basket-case, what is its turnaround story like?
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has been elected as the BJP legislature party leader, paving the way for him to become the next Chief Minister of Bihar.
Kumar recommended Sahani's expulsion from the cabinet to the governor in the evening, after a written submission to the effect by the BJP, hours after the minister for fishery and animal husbandry was given the ultimatum to withdraw forthwith a recent notification.
A local court will hear a complaint filed against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and eight others, including four cabinet ministers on November 30 in connection with the stampede on Chhath festival that claimed 17 lives.
A visibly happy Nitish Kumar went to the Raj Bhavan to submit his resignation on Wednesday even as counting of votes in all 243 assembly constituencies was underway. The Bihar cabinet on Tuesday decided to recommend the dissolution of the state assembly to Governor Debanand Konwar
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.
Shatrughan Sinha won't attend, citing 'important personal engagements.' Will L K Advani be present? M I Khan reports on a swearing-in ceremony the likes of which Patna may not have seen before.
Dharmendra Kumar Singh says the Bihar chief minister may be fighting a losing battle.
Kumar's stand is a major setback to the BJP's revival of the Ram temple issue, since he is a powerful leader within the JD(U).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his Bihar assembly poll campaign, asserting that the NDA under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will break all previous electoral records. He criticized the INDIA bloc and highlighted the NDA's cohesiveness and development efforts in Bihar.
Kumar's son Nishant possess both movable and immovable assets of Rs 2.36 crore which is a little more than four times than what his father owns.
Roads and bridges that Nitish Kumar built have brought his alliance back to power. They made his journey safer. The mandate is clear.
'The clearest interpretation of the November 8 mandate is that the backwards, Dalits and minorities, and a huge proportion of women cutting across caste and class, displayed massive consolidation to the extent that despite chipping of votes by the Left Front, by the Third Front and by the BSP, Mahagathbandhan candidates won, and in many cases by huge margins,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
Tejashwi Yadav and Prashant Kishore claim that a group of senior Janata Dal-United leaders and retired bureaucrats, locally dubbed the 'Bhunja Party', manages the state administration on Nitish Kumar's behalf.
'You cannot support CAA and simultaneously say there will be no NRC in Bihar.' 'If Akali Dal has a clear-cut point of view on this issue, I want the same from the JD-U.'
Joining hands with his arch rival, Lalu Prasad Yadav, paid off for the Bihar chief minister
'BJP has achieved its aim by making him a regional leader dependent on them.'
'After the 2020 Bihar assembly polls when our party got only 43 seats and our ally the BJP got 73 seats, Nitish Kumar refused to become chief minister and assured the BJP that he will support the government led by anyone.' 'But the BJP's top leaders told Nitish Kumar that as the NDA contested the polls under his leadership, the next government will be headed by him.'
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday hinted that the much-awaited all-party meeting on a state-specific census of castes could be held later this week.
Amit Malviya paid the price because he committed the cardinal mistake of himself 'becoming' the BJP's IT Cell and its social media. Malviya's removal contains a message to others -- never try to become bigger than the job that has been assigned, explains Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Attempting to defuse the controversy, the Nishad Party chief said the comment, made in Hindi and labelled misogynistic and crude, was light-hearted and made casually.
Political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party has secured its first seat in the Bihar Assembly, with Kishor winning the Bankipur bypoll in his electoral debut, stunning the BJP in its long-held bastion.
The RJD wrote on its X handle, in Hindi, "Just see how Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is pulling towards himself a woman in an objectionable manner with Home Minister Amit Shah looking on".
Ever since Nitish embarked on the slippery path of trying to unite the Opposition against the BJP, he has repeatedly rebutted suggestions that the exercise was aimed at bringing himself centre stage. The problem is: It is not enough if he says so. Others have to say so as well, especially Congress, observes Aditi Phadnis.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday reiterated that his government is committed to enforce liquor ban or prohibition in the state. M I Khan/ Rediff.com report from Patna.
People of Bihar wait with bated breath for Friday's counting of votes polled in the recent assembly elections, which will decide whether Janata Dal-United supremo Nitish Kumar, the state's longest-serving chief minister, will get a record fifth term or whether a change in government will be witnessed.
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."
The Bharatiya Janata Party has not officially declared anyone as its prime ministerial candidate for the next Lok Sabha polls and the Janata Dal-United being a key National Democratic Alliance partner would officially be informed of any decision on the issue, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Monday refusing to be drawn into any controversy.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was hit with a slipper hurled at him by a youth protesting against a government advisory on lighting fires during a public interaction after which the offender was arrested.
'At the moment, we are supporting the Nitish Kumar-led government.' 'When the time comes for this government to fall, it will.'
'Samrat Chaudhury's limited independent standing within the party, his reliance on the central leadership for his elevation, and his lack of a personal mass base all point toward this outcome.'
'Nitish Kumar may take a decision to dump the BJP alliance by November.'
'The BJP is keeping its options open and that the final decision is still tightly held.' 'That is consistent with the party's tendency to preserve suspense, avoid premature factional conflict, and use leadership selection as a way of resetting internal hierarchies.'
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushil Kumar Modi has accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of ordering tapping of phones of his party's leaders and carrying out sting operations to settle political scores.
A total of 126 votes, including four of Congress and one of CPI, were cast in favour of the confidence motion while 24, including 22 of Lalu Prasad led RJD, voted against the motion as BJP members staged a walkout before the vote.
