The mayor of Darbhanga, Bihar, has sparked a controversy by suggesting a two-hour break in Holi celebrations to accommodate Friday prayers during Ramzan. Her proposal has drawn criticism from a BJP MLA, who accused her of calling for 'Ghazwa-e-Hind'. Meanwhile, other politicians have condemned the mayor's suggestion and emphasized the need for communal harmony.
'The RJD is a family centric party and its top leadership's main concern is only to promote the family.'
Pandey had hit the headlines recently for his vocal condemnation of the non-cooperation meted out to the Bihar police team that had visited Mumbai to probe the death of Patna-born actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
The by-poll for the seat was necessitated after the election of sitting JD-U MLA Ram Swaroop Prasad to the Lok Sabha from the Nalanda Parliamentary constituency.
The development can change the power dynamics within the ruling alliance, even if it manages to retain power in the state and Kumar continues to be chief minister.
Nishant Kumar's demand that the NDA name Nitish Kumar as its chief ministerial nominee is seen as a gambit to consolidate the CM's position in the ruling alliance.
'Nitish Kumar is our CM today and he will be CM going forward also. Nitish Kumar will continue as CM till he wishes.'
Of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state, BJP will contest 20, while the JD-U, LJP and RLSP will contest 12, five and two seats respectively.
Manjhi's son Santosh Suman, who is a minister in the Nitish Kumar cabinet, made the statement a day after reports emerged that a seat-sharing formula has been arrived at in the National Democratic Alliance, and the HAM was likely to get only one of the state's 40 constituencies.
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.
JD-U chief whip Shravan Kumar said those defying the whip "will lose their membership" even as he maintained that it was a "routine exercise that takes place ahead of every assembly session".
Union minister Giriraj Singh on Saturday claimed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United and its ally Rashtriya Janata Dal, founded and headed by Lalu Prasad Yadav, were heading for a merger.
Bharti is apparently miffed at not being included into the cabinet after Singh was on Tuesday in the cabinet expansion inducted for the third time as minister.
'We used to discuss how image-conscious Nitish Kumar was and his sophisticated conduct in public life. All this has become a thing of the past.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the BJP-led NDA parliamentary party meeting, focusing on current issues, the upcoming vice president's election, and likely addressing opposition concerns.
Kushwaha retorted saying that he could not leave the party without his share in the "paternal property".
'If his health was good he would have become CM again after polls.' 'Those who are with Nitish Babu today will remain with him till the elections to use his name for votes and would definitely play games with him after the polls.'
Four Janata Dal-United legislators were disqualified on Saturday from the Bihar assembly under the anti-defection law for anti-party activities, including cross voting in Rajya Sabha election.
'When Harivansh sits in the chair, you feel your voice will be heard.'
Party sources are tight-lipped about the fate of Tyagi, who is a trusted aide of Kumar, the party's supreme leader, but has reportedly often left the latter embarrassed by going public on issues without waiting for a nod from the boss.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has convened a meeting of Janata Dal-United MLAs and MPs on Tuesday to discuss the scenario that has emerged following the exit of former national president R C P Singh, party chief Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan said on Monday.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United on Wednesday described as "high indiscipline" and "arbitrary" the support extended by its Nagaland unit to the newly formed government in that state where the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance returned to power.
'JD-U wants to emerge as the single largest party in Bihar after the next assembly polls by contesting more seats than the BJP.'
Bihar's ruling JD-U and Lalu Prasad's RJD will contest the state assembly elections in alliance and a 6-member committee will be constituted for seat-sharing talks.
The JD-U Rajya Sabha MP said Nitish Kumar has built his image such that makes him the best fit for being the convenor of the opposition grouping.
While the relation between the LJP and the JD-U has long been far from smooth, Manjhi's entry in the NDA has added to its pique against the JD-U.
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.
Sada, who was away in his constituency in Saharsa district, was asked to come to Patna by Kumar soon after Suman announced his resignation.
Startling allegations of backstabbing were made against the Bharatiya Janata Party by MLAs and MPs of the Janata Dal-United on Tuesday at a meeting in Patna after which Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar pulled the plug on the alliance.
The RLSP's attack on the JD-U came in the backdrop of media reports after a recent meeting of Kumar with Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah in Delhi.
In a strongly worded statement, Kumar deplored the journalist-turned-politician's participation in a function where "even your Chairman, the Honourable Vice President, was not present".
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.
Highly placed sources in NDA said that both parties have agreed to share the 243 assembly seats there as per the formulae of the last election in October 2005 under which JD-U had contested 139 seats and BJP 102.
The Congress is "not a factor" in the Assembly polls in Bihar as the situation in the state is vastly different from that in Uttar Pradesh, which had seen the revival of the ruling party at the Centre, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav said.
Disgruntled Janata Dal-United leader Upendra Kushwaha on Monday resigned from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party, less than two years after returning to the party, and announced formation of the 'Rashtriya Loktantrik Janata Dal'.
Barring dissident MLC Rameshwar Mahto, who has an axe to grind against some ministers close to the CM, legislators and office bearers of the party chose to give the session a wide berth.
Amid speculation over the fate of alliance between the Janata Dal-United and Rashtriya Janata Dal ahead of the crucial Bihar polls, JD-U President Sharad Yadav on Thursday insisted that both the parties will fight the assembly polls in the state together in alliance with the Congress to challenge a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party.
Senior Janata Dal-United leader Dhananjay Singh pitched for Opposition unity ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and said party workers in Uttar Pradesh want Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to contest the elections from the state's Phulpur constituency.
Former Bihar CM Nitish Kumar was elected as leader of the JD-U legislature party.
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