'Our party has formed governments independently in all neighbouring states except West Bengal; now it's Bihar's turn.'
Now it's all jibes about his chameleon-like politics and fading grip on the administration. But there was a time Nitish had the BJP trembling in the state, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Amid speculation that he may do yet another volte face and return to the National Democratic Alliance, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday visited Buxar district, bordering Uttar Pradesh, to attend a function where senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Union Minister Ashwani Kumar Choubey was also present.
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.
'Muslims in Bihar under Nitishji's rule are safest than anywhere else.'
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.
The Bihar Assembly session was adjourned after a heated exchange between Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and leader of the opposition Tejashwi Yadav regarding the special intensive revision of electoral rolls. The situation escalated quickly, leading to unparliamentary language and a shouting match between members of the ruling and opposition parties.
On November 1, most of the star campaigners cancelled their campaign programmes as their helicopters remained grounded at Patna airport due to poor visibility and strong winds.
A careful calculation of the BJP's support base seems to have been at work in the cabinet expansion that took place a day after the party's national president chaired a meeting of the "core group" here.
Another populist decision of the government was the announcement of an unemployment allowance for the youth: Rs 1,000 per month for two years for graduates and those who have completed class 12 but remain unemployed.
Expressing displeasure over the attack on his cabinet colleague Nitin Nabin by miscreants in neighbouring Jharkhand amid the protests, Kumar on Monday asserted that 'the responsibility of maintaining peace and communal harmony rests with the state government'.
'JD-U wants to emerge as the single largest party in Bihar after the next assembly polls by contesting more seats than the BJP.'
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.
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.
Tej Pratap Yadav, the estranged son of Lalu Prasad Yadav, attended a feast hosted by BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha, sparking speculation about his political future.
The chief minister said that that his government had worked for an environment of peace, love and brotherhood and said that society will move forward only when everybody lived in peace and harmony.
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.
The Bihar government, led by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, has renamed the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park as 'Patna Zoo' and the Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Dairy Technology as 'Bihar State Institute of Dairy Technology'. The cabinet also approved significant allocations for electricity subsidies, college establishments, and infrastructure projects.
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.
Bitter rivals in Bihar politics Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad will be neighbours now after the Janata Dal-United top leader abdicated power as chief minister in the face of severe drubbing in the recent Lok Sabha election.
The Bihar CM will have make good on his poll promises of a clean administration, providing piped water, toilets, pucca roads and unemployment allowance
The JD-U has insisted that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is the leader of the alliance and it has been the "senior partner" in the state, indicating that it should get a major share.
This Bhumihar leader has always been party supremo Kumar's strength, as this caste in Bihar is known to have wide political influence despite its small size.
Kishor claimed that Nitish may go for a tie-up with the BJP again if situation demands so.
Dismissing charges of being an opportunist and of betraying the Bharatiya Janata Party, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday said that the Janata Dal-United quit the national Democratic Alliance as the saffron party did not keep its word about putting on hold contentious issues and not projecting leaders who cannot expand the coalition.
Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United supremo Nitish Kumar on Friday thanked people of the state for giving a 'landslide' victory for the ruling National Democratic Alliance in the assembly polls.
'JD-U is not ready to take the political risk of playing second fiddle to the BJP in state politics.'
Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi appears to be on the way out in the wake of his defiance as the Janata Dal-United is all set to replace him with his mentor Nitish Kumar at a meeting of the legislature party on Saturday.
Union Minister Chirag Paswan predicts Nitish Kumar will be Bihar CM again after elections, criticizes opposition for targeting the Army and questioning Operation Sindoor.
Those who know the depths of the mindless lethargy that the Bihar bureaucracy had sunk into until two years ago, understand the importance of the unquantifiable but invaluable revival.
Janata Dal-United supremo Nitish Kumar is set to be sworn-in as Bihar chief minister for a record 10th time on Thursday, days after the National Democratic Alliance secured a landslide victory in the assembly elections.
Thousands of teaching job aspirants in Bihar have been booked and several arrested following protests over delays in the BPSC TRE-4 examination notification, leading to clashes with police and political accusations.
The opposition's presidential poll candidate Yashwant Sinha on Friday revealed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar refused to take his calls when he tried to seek the latter's support for his candidature.
'The design of the logo of this competition is a symbol of the rich cultural heritage and all-round progress of glorious Bihar.'
Around 275,000 migrant labourers and their family members have returned to the state. According to the state government, this number could exceed 1 million by the end of this month. As the NDA government in Bihar is scheduled to face polls at the end of this year, providing livelihoods to these people is on the top Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's agenda.
The Bihar CM further recounted the work done by his government to boost social welfare in the state and the efforts to strengthen the law and order in the state.
Concealed beneath the feat, which testifies to his political acumen and survival instincts, is the fact that the 72-year-old leader could never remain at peace with his allies which also made him change partners frequently.
Without naming Press Council of India Chairman Markandey Katju who had criticised Bihar Chief Minister on Friday, Nitish Kumar on Saturday said some people were moving in the state like the 'Ramayana's character 'Kalnemi' to turn a vibrant atmosphere of the state into gloom.
Most JD-U ministers favour a return to the BJP-led NDA ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
'I remember that Indira Gandhi was virtually worshipped as a goddess. The kind of power wielded by Indira Gandhi in the early 1970s was much more than what Modi does today, but in just three years down the line Indira Gandhi faced defeat.' 'So you cannot take people's sentiments for granted. That is a lesson that the BJP should learn.'
