Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) expelled 16 leaders, including a sitting MLA and two former ministers, for anti-party activities ahead of the assembly elections. The expelled leaders were charged with violating the party's ideology and working against official NDA candidates.
Senior BJP leaders, including Amit Shah and J P Nadda, met with party leaders and allies to discuss the upcoming Bihar polls. Seat-sharing arrangements with NDA partners are expected to be announced soon.
Cracks appear within Bihar's ruling NDA alliance as partners bicker over seat sharing ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM demands a respectable number of seats, while Chirag Paswan's LJP seeks more than initially agreed upon.
Electoral fortunes of 1,302 candidates, including over half a dozen ministers in the Nitish Kumar government, will be sealed on Tuesday with 3.70 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise across 122 assembly segments in the second and final phase of the Bihar polls.
The National Democratic Alliance was set to sweep the Bihar assembly polls, surging ahead in over 200 of 243 seats on Friday with the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as single largest party with about 90 per cent strike rate, reaffirming the popularity and campaign clout of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the face of the ruling alliance through the poll battle in the highly sensitive political state.
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.
The first phase of Bihar assembly elections saw a moderate pace of polling across 121 constituencies, with 53.77% voter turnout reported till 3 pm. Sporadic incidents of violence were also reported. Key leaders are in the fray for both the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc.
Smaller allies of the ruling NDA in Bihar, including HAM and RLM, have expressed resentment over the seat-sharing arrangements announced for the upcoming assembly elections, raising concerns about the alliance's unity.
Left to its machinations, the BJP would have loved to cut Nitish down to size, but it can't afford to do so as the JD-U is in alliance with the BJP at the Centre, and cannot form a government on its own in Bihar. For now, both need each other: Nitish for legitimacy, the BJP for numbers, points out Ramesh Menon.
Less than 10 days are left for filing of nomination papers for the first phase of the Bihar polls.
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
The opposition INDIA bloc has declared RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections.
While it is evident that the INDIA bloc has not shut its doors on Nitish Kumar, those within the NDA are hopeful that the JD-U's support base would benefit them as well
Unfancied Chirag United held favourites JCT to a goalless draw in a fifth round outing of the ONGC I-League football championship in Kolkata on Thursday night.
'The name will be declared at the right time.'
Amidst speculation over the NDA seat-sharing deal in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar distributed JD(U) tickets, while the BJP announced its first list of candidates. The INDIA bloc also faces internal challenges as parties prepare for the upcoming elections.
Having struck a seat-sharing deal, leaders of the Janata Dal-United and the Bharatiya Janata Party sat across the table in Patna on Monday to thrash out, among other things, constituencies they planned to swap or give up in favour of smaller allies in Bihar.
''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.'
Internal discord within the INDIA bloc has led to alliance partners contesting against each other in at least eight assembly seats in Bihar. The Congress, RJD, and Left parties are facing challenges in seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming elections.
Nowhere are the stories of the coming election better told than on the roads of Bihar.
Confusion prevailing in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) showed little signs of let up on Saturday, with just two days to go before the filing of nomination papers for the second and final phase of assembly elections comes to a close.
With nominations for the first phase of Bihar elections closing soon, the INDIA bloc is struggling to finalize seat sharing, while the NDA has announced its candidates. Key political figures are actively campaigning.
Mahindra United scored twice in the second half to blank Chirag United 2-0 in a 13th round encounter of the ONGC I-league at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Sunday. The Mumbai side drew first blood through Steven Dias and then settled the issue through Edeh Chidi, as the local side failed to convert their few chances.
The BJP's MoSha leadership are past masters in encouraging defections from their allies if it helped their party capture the chief minister's chair. In Bihar, they are not sure if JD-U MPs and MLAs would be willing to cross over to the BJP if the Nitish leadership came on top -- and the NDA crossed the halfway mark together, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
NDA candidate C P Radhakrishnan filed his nomination papers for the vice presidential election in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders.
Owing to uncertainties on higher inflation and muted growth in the United States (US), coupled with concerns around America's rising debt and tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, the world's largest economy has become the epicentre of an unabated record rally in prices of precious metals.
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.
Each leader will look after six assembly constituencies.
Most of these leaders are known for their organisational skills and successful management of elections in their respective states.
Union minister Chirag Paswan has caused a flutter by stating he would choose to give up his ministerial berth instead of a compromise on his principles, in keeping with the precedent set by his late father Ram Vilas Paswan.
'No one can ignore PK's prediction about Nitish Kumar's party.'
Union minister Chirag Paswan on Monday said his Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas wants to fight the assembly election in Jharkhand and a final decision will be taken soon on whether it would contest under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or alone.
This is the first time a JD-U leader has openly expressed fears about the party's future.
He is not just under attack from his opponent Shiv Chandra Ram of the RJD, but also by his uncle Paras.
'Many are saying that some significant announcement regarding Jammu and Kashmir or even separate statehoods might come; that possibility cannot be ruled out given today's date.'
The senior Paswan sought an appointment and waited for more than three months but Rahul Gandhi did not relent, said Chirag Paswan, who at that time too was keen to leave the UPA and join the National Democratic Alliance.
'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.'
'Nitish Kumar is our CM today and he will be CM going forward also. Nitish Kumar will continue as CM till he wishes.'
India defender Pritam Kotal joins the Marina Machans
Former Lok Janshakti Party president Chirag Paswan on Sunday asserted that every party wants him to be on its side, indicating he could tilt towards the one that offered a better bargain.
The Indian government briefed an all-party meeting on Thursday on the success of "Operation Sindoor", the retaliatory airstrikes against Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack. Top government functionaries and opposition leaders met for a second time in a fortnight amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan. The meeting was chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by several prominent leaders from various political parties. The government highlighted the strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base Muridke.
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