Has the country lost its secret weapon for competing with growing countries like China and Brazil? Mayank Mishra reports
'The JD-U is my party and of thousands of leaders and workers.' 'It is certainly not Nitish Kumar's party.'
Talking to reporters in Patna, the former Union minister asserted that he would happily function as 'an ordinary party worker, worth five rupees', if the JD-U leadership was assumed by 'anybody from among the Luv Kush Samaj (Kurmis and Koeris) or the EBCs whose aspirations have been the party's driving force'.
Two individuals have been apprehended in connection with the murder of Patna-based industrialist Gopal Khemka, including the alleged shooter. The arrests were made by a joint team of the Special Task Force and Patna Police.
BJP sources said the formal process to elect current party President J P Nadda's successor will begin in mid-January, following Makar Sankranti, with Nitin Nabin expected to be the frontrunner to file his nomination.
And so it's official. After months of speculation and rumours swirling, it was confirmed on Sunday that Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United and Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal will contest the by-elections to 10 assembly seats in Bihar together.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday hinted that a meeting of opposition leaders may take place in Patna after the crucial Karnataka assembly polls were over as many would be busy electioneering there.
Leaders of the JD-U, which has two ministers in the Union government, insist that the resolution also spoke of "special package and other types of help" and that Bihar could still get a lot from Narendra Modi government.
Bihar's choppy political waters were on Tuesday astir over the prospects of a meeting between Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and K Chandrasekhar Rao, his Telangana counterpart, both of whom share a passion for building a united front against the Bharatiya Janata Party's hegemony.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said he was neither a claimant for the prime minister's post nor desirous of it, his assertion coming amid speculation that his visit to the capital is to claim leadership of the opposition parties.
Nitish Kumar has to make an existential choice: Between governance and politics, argues Aditi Phadnis.
Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Nawab Malik on Tuesday said any decision on the opposition's candidate for the post of the country's next President will be taken collectively by leaders of various parties, and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's name could be considered only if his party Janata Dal-United snaps ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Several Congress leaders, including the state president, received tickets for the Bihar assembly polls amidst internal disputes and efforts to reconcile with allies. The distribution process was marred by protests and accusations of corruption.
'People are fed up with rising crimes and poor law and order.' 'Modi must have got feedback and decided not to touch the 'jungle raj' issue as it will backfire.'
The ongoing tussle between the Nitish Kumar government and the Raj Bhavan further escalated with the Bihar education department inviting applications for the post of vice-chancellors (VC) in different universities days after Governor (Chancellor) Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar's secretariat issued a similar advertisement.
The JD-U and the Opposition RJD are united on a caste census in Bihar, which the BJP is opposed to.
'In his election speeches, Nitish has been parroting Modi, praising him like never before.'
The assembly secretariat released the business agenda of the House for Monday, when the budget session will commence, with a customary address by the Governor to members of the bicameral legislature.
Besides the two Deputy CMs, those who tested positive are Ashok Choudhary and Sunil Kumar, the ministers for building construction, and prohibition, excise and registration respectively.
The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), an NDA member, announced it will contest 153 seats in the upcoming Bihar elections after not being allocated any seats by the NDA. The party claims the BJP's Bihar unit provided a negative report regarding their strength.
An analysis of the upcoming Bihar elections, focusing on the key players, alliances, and issues that will shape the outcome. The article examines the strength of the ruling NDA coalition led by Nitish Kumar and the challenge posed by the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, as well as the potential impact of Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday blamed the Congress' preoccupation with assembly polls in five states for the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)'s inability to build on the momentum it had gained in recent months.
Kushwaha retorted saying that he could not leave the party without his share in the "paternal property".
The former Union minister drew the analogy of romance at a symposium he attended, besides Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav.
Tej Pratap was expelled a day after he reportedly confessed on social media to being "in a relationship" with a woman named Anushka.
A string of welfare schemes and promises tests the state's budget, which is already heavily dependent on central support and spends little as capital outlay.
We do not interfere in religious practices of any sort, the Bihar CM said.
Bihar's economy is expected to grow to $1.1 trillion by 2046-47, considering the state's huge underlying potential, a report by industry body CII said on Tuesday.
'We have been struggling with problems, but we want to elect Tejashwi to see him as the next chief minister.'
'Whatever tricks the BJP may play, it will not be able to stop JD-U from becoming a national party by 2023'
He is a well-regarded person and he has done a lot of developmental work in his state. He will reply to all the actions that have been initiated against him at the appropriate time, the Bihar chief minister said.
The speaker identified himself as Amit Kumar from Lakhisarai at the Bapu Sabhagar auditorium where a function was organised to mark the inauguration of the 'fourth agriculture roadmap' of the state government.
The Nitish Kumar-led Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar will go for a floor test on August 24 to prove its majority in the state assembly.
The JD-U supreme leader, whose party, in Parliament, has been supporting the demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe, however, did not seem impressed with the Maratha strongman's preference for an investigation by a 'Supreme Court-appointed Committee'.
The JD-U ministers, whose resignations were accepted, were state Building Construction Minister Monazir Hasan, SC/ST Welfare and Social Welfare Minister Rameshwar Paswan and Rural Development Minister Baijnath Prasad Mahato and ministers of state (independent charge) -- Arjun Rai (Information and Public Relation), Vishwa Mohan Kumar (Minor Water Resource), Ajit Kumar (Transport), Manzar Alam (Minority Welfare) and Suchitra Sinha (Food and Consumers' Conservation).
According to Santosh Kumar, the superintendent of police of Saran district, three persons each have died in Isuapur and Mashrak police station areas after allegedly consuming spurious liquor on Tuesday night.
'The move to appoint a person with a profile, markedly lower than the leader Nitin Nabin will replace, has the potential to put the brakes on the careers of several others in the party and government in the positions they currently hold,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition challenging the appointment of Nitish Kumar as chief minister of Bihar after his party forged a new alliance in August, saying post-poll alignments subject to certain conditions is permissible under the anti-defection law.
Kishor said it was "laughable" for Kumar to issue "certificates" given that he was with the BJP till a month ago.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday apologised in both Houses of the legislature, as well as outside, for remarks made a day before on the importance of women's education to control population growth.
