Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Monday alleged that Nitish Kumar's camp was trying to "frighten MLAs" by spreading rumours that he was "conspiring" with BJP to have President's Rule imposed in Bihar and accused his rival of parading "bogus" MLAs.
The Bihar CM has requested the governor for a secret ballot.
BJP backed to the hilt Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as its leader in the state and rebuffed a rebellious Chirag Paswan, while acknowledging his Lok Janshakti Party as an ally 'at the Centre'. At a press conference which was attended by top leaders of the JD-U headed by Kumar and the BJP, it was made clear that 'only those who accept the chief ministers leadership will be deemed to be a part of the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar'.
In a surprise move, Bihar's ruling Janata Dal-United made it clear on Tuesday that it had no objection if its alliance partner Bharatiya Janata Party invites Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for campaigning for the upcoming assembly elections in the state.
A statement to this effect was made in Patna by RCP Singh, a close aide of Kumar, amid buzz on cabinet expansion at the Centre.
This is the biggest action taken against rebel leaders close to Yadav by the JD-U in Bihar.
Kishor had claimed that Nitish Kumar asked him to lead the JD-U.
Filmmaker-turned-politician Prakash Jha is set to contest the Lok Sabha polls from the Bettiah parliamentary seat in Bihar as a Janata Dal-United nominee.
The juggernaut of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, which triumphed in three of the four east and north-eastern states that went for assembly bypolls on Saturday, was halted yet again in West Bengal where Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress registered a six-on-six clean sweep.
In a boost to Congress in Bihar, as many as 137 Janata Dal-United and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders including the former JD-U spokesperson Shambhunath Sinha Thursday joined the Congress.
Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien said the situation in Bihar is one of the reasons behind the Parliament session being cut short by the government.
As per the trends, the NDA was leading in the elections.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday accused the opposition RJD-Congress combine of failing to curb communal clashes in the state while they were in power. He alleged that they "sought votes of Muslims" but did nothing to stop the violence. Kumar, who has been in power since 2005, highlighted the Bhagalpur riots of 1989, which he said were a result of "bad law and order" during the previous government's tenure. He praised the BJP-led central government for its support to Bihar and the recent budget, which he said had many announcements for the state.
Shatrughan Sinha and Kirti Azad certain to be axed along with Union minister R K Singh and former minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United on Friday made a fresh plea to the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for an immediate review of the Agnipath scheme, and assure protesting youngsters that their future will not be adversely affected by the new recruitment policy in the armed forces.
Giving clear indications of its opposition to Narendra Modi and Varun Gandhi campaigning in Bihar for the upcoming assembly elections, the Janata Dal-United said on Sunday that the "old arrangement will continue both in seat sharing as well election campaign."
Senior BJP leader Tarkishore Prasad told PTI-Video that "most certainly" Choudhary and Sinha will be the party's choice for the post of deputy CMs.
The Bihar CM has made a sagacious attempt to consolidate his extremely backward castes (EBC) support base while trying to make a dent into RJD's Muslim-Yadav combine.
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.
The loss of trusted allies like Shiv Sena in recent past and the realisation that in the caste-dominated politics of Bihar, BJP cannot do without Nitish Kumar, forced BJP to finally give Singh and the JD-U their honourable due.
With both the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal-United decimated by BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, RJD chief Lalu Prasad indicated at fighting the coming Assembly elections in Bihar with the JD-U.
'Nitish Kumar may take a decision to dump the BJP alliance by November.'
Party vice-president Prashant Kishor and general secy Pavan Varma voice disappointment over the JD-U backing the Bill in LS. Urge Nitish to 'reconsider' stand.
The development comes a day ahead of the announcement of the panchayat and municipal poll results.
Despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's praise for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Congress kept cards close to its chest on whether its members of Legislative Assembly would vote in favour of the trust vote sought by him on Wednesday.
'The BJP will use Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha to check Nitish Kumar.' 'They will not allow him to function freely as before.'
JD-U national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan, who addressed a press conference in Patna, however, dismissed queries about Kumar's absence at the NITI Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the terse remark 'you should ask the chief minister'.
The move effectively makes him the second most powerful person in the party.
JD-U on Friday dismissed the Samajwadi Party-driven formation of a 'Third Front' for the Bihar polls and said that there was "only one front" in the state.
JD-U's Krishnamurari Sharan alias Prem Mukhiya has polled 61,848 votes, while the RJD's Atri Muni alias Shakti Singh Yadav has got 61,836 votes.
The chief minister, who was re-elected as the JD-U president in 2019 for three years, relinquished the post in favour of Singh, its leader in Rajya Sabha.
National Democratic Alliance constituent and ruling party in Bihar the Janata Dal-United has said it is prepared to fight the next Lok Sabha elections alone in the state if the situation demands and its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party ceases to exist.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar left the dais before the national anthem at the inauguration of an international sports event in Patna, sparking controversy. Opposition RJD president Lalu Prasad and his son Tejashwi Yadav accused the chief minister of disrespecting the national anthem. The Sepak Takraw World Cup 2025 is being held at the Pataliputra Sports Complex, with 300 players and support staff from 21 countries taking part. Kumar, 74, walked towards the participants and greeted them with a "namaste" and a wave of the hand before the national anthem was played. A video clip of the incident was shared on social media by Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav, who both alleged that the chief minister "disrespected the national anthem".
While the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal-United are busy fighting each other, the BJP is trying not to repeat the mistakes it made the last time out, says Satyavrat Mishra
Addressing a press conference, Paswan said he was happy that the BJP had emerged "much bigger and stronger" in Bihar, and ruled out any possibility of a truck with the opposition Grand Alliance, comprising RJD, Congress and three Left parties, citing "ideological differences".
Formal talks over a seat-sharing formula among the National Democratic Alliance constituents are yet to begin and JD-U leaders, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the BJP should take the lead to ensure that it was done quickly to avoid any serious differences near the polls.
In a major setback for former Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Patna High Court on Wednesday termed his re-election as JD-U legislative party leader unconstitutional.
Bihar assembly Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary on Sunday called on Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav, at a time when the state was witnessing a big political churn.
Intensifying its attack against Union Railway Minister and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav for his proposed chetawani rally against Bihar's National Democratic Alliance government, the ruling Janata Dal United asked him to explain the rationale behind the protest rally. "You tell us why you are so furious and organising the chetawani rally when we are making all efforts to achieve all-round growth of the state," JD-U national spokesman Shivanand Tiwari said in Patna.
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