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.
Congress leader K C Venugopal and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's T R Baalu walked out of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's office, refusing to endorse NDA candidate Birla without being offered the Deputy Speaker's position.
Bihar's ruling Janata Dal-United on Saturday night suspended 3 women MLAs including a former minister, for campaigning and seeking votes for Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal candidates.
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.
Here are the number of seats won by parties in all states and Union Territories in the Lok Sabha elections.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday admitted that sharp differences prevailed in the Janata Dal - United over the Women's Reservation Bill, but ruled out reports of a crisis brewing within the party."I admit there have been honest differences of opinion in the party over the support to the women's reservation bill in the Lok Sabha, but it should not be taken as a crisis or split facing the party," said Kumar.
'JD-U wants to emerge as the single largest party in Bihar after the next assembly polls by contesting more seats than the BJP.'
Upset about being snubbed by INDIA, Nitish Kumar is weighing his political options. BJP would like him back knowing that it would jolt the Opposition alliance, perhaps irreversibly.
The increased numbers of the Opposition bloc would mean that their MPs are likely to head several more panels than the four that they did by the end of the term of the 17th Lok Sabha.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday took a major step to implement its key plank of "one nation, one election" as the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the constitutional amendment bill to roll out the concept of simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly polls, sources said.
Kumar said expansion of the Union council of ministers was a prerogative of the prime minister and that he "did not have much information" about what was being offered to his party.
The JD-U appears unwilling to become the BJP's second-string. A senior leader said, "If the BJP demands that the 2014 polls be made the yardstick for seat-sharing in 2019, we will insist the results of the last assembly polls become the criterion for the next state election." Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday termed his past alliances with arch rival Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal as a 'mistake' that he committed twice but was determined not to repeat again.
Senior Janata Dal-United leader Shivanand Tiwari on Tuesday attacked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying he feigned ignorance about the major upheaval in Rashtriya Janata Dal despite being the "sutradhaar" (mover) of the event.
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.
With this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also sent a strong message to ally, Janata Dal-United President and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, that their partnership remains intact and that they will be formidable partners at the hustings.
While the BJP went back to the drawing board to recraft its political and governance outreach and regained momentum by notching up surprisingly big wins in a string of assembly polls, the burst of fresh optimism in the main opposition Congress and other INDIA bloc parties fizzled out.
Other NDA allies, including the Lok Janshakti Party and the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party, will get due representation in the seat sharing formula, Shah said.
It also cautioned that if the legislation is passed, the "two crutches" on which the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government is running at the Centre would not be able to escape responsibility.
President Droupadi Murmu hosted a dinner for the outgoing Union council of ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Party said it will take action against Sharad Yadav if he attends Lalu Yadav's August 27 rally.
'They have no chance of winning if free and fair polls are conducted.'
'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.'
Former Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras announced that his Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) is no longer part of the BJP-led NDA, citing the alliance's support for his estranged nephew Chirag Paswan. Paras also accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of being "anti-Dalit" and demanded a Bharat Ratna for his late brother Ram Vilas Paswan, calling him the "second Ambedkar."
He reaffirmed that parties opposed to the BJP can win with a "huge majority" in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls if they agree to join hands.
JD-U leaders believe Prashant Kishor's entry would benefit its case for contesting a larger number of seats in Bihar in next year's general election.
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.
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.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Monday for the first time targeted Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is considered close to him, by saying that ongoing Lok Sabha polls outcome will prove the impact of the Janata Dal-United's decision to end its alliance with the BJP.
Janata Dal-United president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan on Saturday alleged that political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor was 'working for' the Bharatiya Janata Party, as part of its 'conspiracies' to find a firm foothold in Bihar.
According to the Election Commission data, 30 out of the state's 40 Lok Sabha seats went to the BJP-led coalition in the latest elections, a sharp drop compared with 39 in 2019 and lower than the tallies of 2014 (31) and 2009 (32).
Seeking to end speculations about strains in the relations between national Democratic Alliance allies in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said Janata Dal-United and the Bharatiya Janata Party will together contest all 40 Lok Sabha seats from Bihar in the next general elections.
Blowing the bugle for the 2014 Parliamentary elections, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday hit out at the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government for dilly dallying on granting special category status to the state.
Accusing the Modi government of interfering in states ruled by non-BJP parties by creating "artificial crisis" there, the Janata Dal-United on Monday appealed to regional parties such as the Trinamool Congress, the Biju Janata Dal and the Samajwadi Party to "join hands" to counter the "dirty designs".
"Terms like 'unity in diversity' are used for our country. The country belongs to all. No remarks should me made that harm the country," Singh, a confidant of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, told reporters when asked for his reaction to the BJP leader's comments.
The JD-U Legislature party on Sunday decided to take the final call on choosing a new leader on Monday in the wake of the resignation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Sources close to Yadav said he had conveyed to Kumar his view that he was not keen on continuing after leading the party for 10 years and that a new person should be put in command.
Shah pulled no punches in lambasting the RJD supremo for alleged nepotism, accusing him of making his wife the chief minister, getting his daughter elected to Parliament and "now both his sons want to become the CM".
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'.
From the Yadav-dominated Madhepura to the Brahmin-dominated Darbhanga and Bhumihar-dominated Begusarai -- three of the seven parliamentary constituencies in Bihar -- that go to vote on April 30 are crucial for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as it will be a test of his 'development model'.
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