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.
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.
Most JD-U ministers favour a return to the BJP-led NDA ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
"Public does not who 'Kharge Pharge' is. Even I don't know he was the president of Congress. Nobody knows him. Masses don't know him. The public knows Nitish Kumar. Nitish Kumar should become prime minister. He is popular all over India," Mandal said.
'Nitish Kumar previously held tight control over key ministries, but this concession (giving the home portfolio to the BJP) reflects either his weakened political position or a pragmatic acknowledgment of the BJP's growing dominance.'
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.
Police swung into action soon after learning about the posters put up at 'Chalukya Circle', just a stone's throw from the venue of the meeting which is being attended by Nitish Kumar.
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.
"People ask me why I am now criticising Nitish Kumar, having worked with him in the past. He was a different man back then. His conscience had not been put up for sale," said Kishor, who had managed the JD-U president's election campaign in 2015 and formally joined the party two years later.
It's not every day that Union Home Minister Amit A Shah forsakes lunch sent from his home and eats lunch in the Parliament canteen.
Kumar's outburst came as opposition members stood in the well of the House, demanding that the state's amended reservation laws be incorporated in the 9th schedule of the Constitution to make it immune from legal scrutiny.
There is no confusion or dispute in the 'Mahagathbandhan' over Tejashwi Yadav being the main face for the Bihar chief minister's post, Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar said on Friday while asserting that the CM will be from the Rashtriya Janata Dal if the alliance gets a majority in the upcoming polls.
Ahead of the impending assembly polls, the rising crime graph and poor law and order situation have led to demands being revived to adopt UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's 'bulldozer' and police encounter policy in Bihar to deal with criminals.
Eid al-Fitr was celebrated across India with prayers for peace and brotherhood, alongside protests condemning US-Israel actions in West Asia.
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.
The Bihar government will provide a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 to unemployed graduate youths for two years under the 'Mukhyamantri Nishchay Swayam Sahayta Bhatta Yojana'. This scheme has been expanded from intermediate-passed youth to include graduates.
Kumar is reported to have made the Rajya Sabha remark during an informal chat with some journalists who had asked him about his recent tour of areas falling under the now abolished Barh Lok Sabha constituency which he had represented many times.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Centre's decision to confer Bharat Ratna on his political mentor Karpoori Thakur.
Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday asserted that the opposition coalition was certain to form the next government in Bihar, and the swearing-in will take place four days after the results of assembly polls are declared.
'The Congress has faded and fighting for survival.'
Lalu's son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, however, sought to downplay the remarks made by his father, in an interview to a local news channel, claiming that the RJD supremo had merely tried to satisfy the curiosity of the prying media.
Nitish Kumar has to eschew disastrous experiments with prohibition and reservations in the private sector. Unless he is dissuaded from pursuing these flawed measures, he will pave the way for Bihar to again become a part of the BIMARU group of sick states, says Amulya Ganguli.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar lost his temper in the state legislative council on Friday when an opposition RJD member flagged the issue of the "inadequate number" of girls' schools in her area. Kumar, who prides himself on having promoted women's empowerment, grew irritated and said, "Do you people even know what we have done for girls' education? Village girls hardly went to schools in Bihar until we came to power." He then launched a frontal attack on Rabri Devi, his predecessor, recalling the circumstances in which she had succeeded her husband Lalu Prasad, the RJD president, as the chief minister. The exchange of words led to chaos in the House before order was restored.
The ruling National Democratic Alliance on Friday secured a thumping majority in the Bihar Assembly, winning 202 seats in the 243-member House, as results for all the constituencies were declared by the Election Commission.
A BJP ally since the mid-90s, Kumar split with the party in 2014, only to realign three years later. In 2022, he again parted ways, vowing to dislodge the BJP from power at the Centre and bring together parties from across the country to form the INDIA bloc.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United made public the names of candidates for all 101 seats it will be contesting in the assembly polls, with more than half of them from the backward and extremely backward classes.
Rajak said almost all ministers in the Bihar Cabinet are unhappy with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and things will become clear in the coming days.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has strongly criticised Aam Aadmi Party members who defected to the BJP, labelling them as 'traitors' and accusing the BJP of attempting to destabilise the AAP government in Punjab.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has demanded strong action from the Bihar assembly speaker against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over his remarks in the assembly on the importance of women's education to control the population and demanded his apology.
Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi on Thursday said her husband Lalu Prasad Yadav was a victim of political conspiracy as there was "no proof against him".
The beneficiaries will get increased pensions of Rs 1,100 from July.
Sounding confident of winning the trust vote on February 20, Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said he would enter the ring as a "wrestler" without bothering about his win or loss.
The BJP and JDU leaders claimed that Prasad insulted women in the state with his comment.
Chirag Paswan has warned the BJP-led NDA that it will settle for nothing less than 40-plus seats in the 2025 Bihar polls, even threatening to contest all 243 constituencies independently if sidelined.
All eyes are on the JD-U's national executive meeting on June 29 in New Delhi, where a decision in this regard may be taken.
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.
The opposition party's remarks come after Bihar ministers claimed that the latest report of NITI Aayog's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index 2023-24 vindicated the state's long-standing demand for greater central financial assistance.
Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram raised doubts over the integrity of the counting process as Election Commission trends placed the NDA ahead. He alleged serious anomalies and accused the administration of attempting to steal votes, while other Congress leaders urged patience until final results.
