While the BJP backs Nitish Kumar as chief minister, Chirag isn't hiding his readiness for the role, reports Aditi Phadnis.
Sunday's denial of Rajya Sabha ticket to Union minister indicates that an end game to the JD-U-BJP rift may be in sight.
Bihar Agriculture Minister Sudhakar Singh Thursday said that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar could "sack" him for his perceived defiance but he will not step down unless asked to do so by the top leadership of his party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Lalu claimed that the BJP wants to disturb communal harmony in society to hide the real issues that people are facing.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar walked to 10, Circular Road, from his home at 1, Aney Marg to meet his old comrade-turned political adversary-turned ally.
Suman, who held the SC and ST welfare portfolio, is the national president of HAM founded by his father Jitan Ram Manjhi, a former chief minister.
"He (Manjhi) was in constant touch with BJP leaders. He recently met several BJP leaders... He wanted to be part of the June 23 meeting of opposition leaders... but I had apprehensions that he might leak issues/matters that will be discussed on June 23.
In the first phase, a total of 3.75 crore voters will decide the electoral fate of 1,314 candidates, including top leaders such as INDIA bloc's chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary of the BJP.
A stampede-like situation was witnessed on Monday outside 10, Circular Road, the bungalow allotted to the RJD supremo's wife Rabri Devi, a former CM, when the couple returned from Delhi, where they had appeared before a court.
A complaint petition was filed in a court in Bihar's Muzaffarpur against State Information Technology Minister Mohammad Israel Mansuri for visiting the Vishnupad temple in Gaya.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said a two-thirds majority for the National Democratic Alliance in the 243-member Bihar assembly will be a fitting tribute to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his birthday on November 14, the day poll results will be announced.
Nitish Kumar has lost his credibility. He is now only a weak ally of the BJP. And he may no longer have a shot at a national role.
'Nitish is now a helpless junior ally of Hindutva.' 'He just cannot think of reining in the hoodlums raging, marauding and killing in the mohallas,' argues Mohammad Sajjad.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's vision document for Bihar promises to shower freebies on all sections of society if comes to power.
The stage is set for the crucial first phase of the assembly elections in Bihar on Thursday, as 3.75 crore voters will decide the electoral fate of 1,314 candidates, including top leaders such as Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance's (INDIA's) chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
'They (INDIA bloc leaders) were not doing anything. Nothing happened after the first meeting of INDIA bloc that took place in Patna last year. Now, I have come back to the same place, where I was earlier (with NDA)'
"Governance, governance, governance," was what Nitish Kumar said were his three priorities when he took the helm of Bihar in 2005.
Kumar said that Rahul Gandhi's claim that the caste survey in the state was held under the Congress' pressure was 'nonsensical'.
Milind Ramji Narote, a BJP MLA from Maharashtra's Gadchiroli, had filed a complaint against Tejashwi Yadav on Friday.
Sources in both the BJP and the Janata Dal-United suggested such a possibility but it remained unclear if Kumar, the unquestioned leader of his party, has finalised a deal with the BJP top brass.
The Janata Dal-United parliamentary board chief latched on to reports of KS Eshwarappa, a minister in the BJP-ruled southern state, having said that the tricolour may be replaced by a saffron flag sometime in the future.
Two individuals claiming to be members of the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) in Bihar announced their "resignation" from the party, citing dissatisfaction with its support for the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. The JD(U) denied the resignations, claiming the individuals were not party members. However, some senior JD(U) leaders have expressed discontent over the passage of the bill, which they believe is detrimental to Muslims. The controversy over the Waqf Bill is likely to influence the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar.
The state cabinet can have up to 36 ministers, including the chief minister. The induction of ministers on Tuesday is expected to keep a few berths vacant for future expansion.
Is Amit Anilchandra Shah being clearly projected as Narendra Damodardas Modi's future successor and not anyone else (cough, cough) with similar ambitions?
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Wednesday frowned upon the recalcitrance shown by his Agriculture Minister Sudhakar Singh, who belongs to the Rashtriya Janata Dal, but sought to put the ball in the court of his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, the party's de facto leader.
Nitish has been engaging with national and regional party leaders in recent months as part of his mission to strengthen 'Opposition unity'.
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.
Multiple exit polls predict a victory for the NDA alliance in the Bihar Assembly elections, with forecasts of a disappointing debut for Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj party.
'Nitish Kumar has no vision for the people of the state. He also had no justifiable reason for ditching us and going back to the BJP-led NDA'
This was probably the largest such gathering in the country to protest the Waqf (Amendment) Act.
Nowhere are the stories of the coming election better told than on the roads of Bihar.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar differed with his old ally the Bharatiya Janata Party on the appointment of Ranjit Sinha as the new Central Bureau of Investigation director saying that he has no objection over the appointment.
Kishor, once considered a close confidant of Kumar, said the impact of the political developments in Bihar will remain limited to the state at present.
At the core of Nitish Kumar's decision was a cold political calculation. He assessed that the RJD's support base was unlikely to vote for JD-U candidates in the Lok Sabha polls. He was unsure of winning even half a dozen if he stayed with the RJD and the Congress.
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.
''Now the roads in Bihar are as good as any other Indian state. The power sector has improved.' 'Connectivity, law and order, gender justice...' 'Bihar now stands for all these things that were totally absent when it was under jungle raj.'
Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul, the MLA from Bisfi assembly constituency in Madhubani district, made these remarks while speaking to reporters at the Vidhan Sabha premises.
As per the trends, the NDA was leading in the elections.
Nitish Kumar has said the only remarkable thing during the period was that prime minister has more selfies than all his cabinet colleagues put together.
