As the Bihar assembly results swept in, Patna's Veerchand Patel Marg, the city's political artery, split into two starkly different worlds, with celebrations at the BJP and JD(U) offices and disappointment at the RJD headquarters.
Party's chief spokesperson K C Tyagi said Kumar has agreed to take over the mantle from Lalan Singh.
Amid a buzz that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may emerge as the opposition's prime ministerial candidate, his party Janata Dal-United said on Friday if other parties want so, then this is an option.
Shatrughan Sinha and Kirti Azad certain to be axed along with Union minister R K Singh and former minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
The much-touted Food Security Bill was taken up in Lok Sabha on Tuesday but the discussion was scuttled by disruptions over Telangana issue caused by Telugu Desam Party members storming the Well.
Janata Dal-United MP Giridhari Yadav on Friday said he does not upload questions on the Lok Sabha's website himself as he does not know how to operate a computer, as the Lower House decided to expel Trinamool Congress (TMC) member Mahua Moitra over the allegation that she shared her log-in credentials with outsiders and took a bribe for asking questions.
KC Tyagi also spoke on special status for Bihar, which has been a demand of the party and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
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.
'We share and support the ideology of the NDA and will not work against the NDA.'
The women's reservation bill is back in focus ahead of Parliament's winter session, with several opposition parties, including the Janata Dal-United, which had once opposed the move, demanding that it be introduced and passed in this session.
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.
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.
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.
Less than 10 days are left for filing of nomination papers for the first phase of the Bihar polls.
The bypolls are termed as a 'rehearsal' for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls by CM Yogi Adityanath.
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.
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.
Senior leaders of the party -- Prashant Kishor and Pavan Varma -- have slammed the legislation calling it 'unconstitutional' and urged Nitish Kumar to rethink his support in Parliament.
The path-breaking Land Acquisition Bill, which seeks to provide just and fair compensation to farmers while ensuring that no land can be acquired forcibly, was passed by the Lok Sabha with overwhelming majority on Thursday.
The Janata Dal-United's decision to break its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party not only changed the political equation in Bihar but also created a buzz in the political circle from Patna to Delhi that whether Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman and JD-U MP Harivansh will continue on his post or going to resign.
A stampede-like situation was witnessed on Monday outside 10, Circular Road, the bungalow allotted to the RJD supremo's wife Rabri Devi, a former CM, when the couple returned from Delhi, where they had appeared before a court.
The JD-U has become probably the first party in recent years to target its own senior leader for corruption.
The rumours have primarily been about the impending resignation of JD-U national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan', for alleged proximity towards ally Rashtriya Janaat Dal at the expense of loyalty to his own party.
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.
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'.
'Age matters and the way Tejashwi has been doing an aggressive campaign, only a young leader like him can do it.'
Bihar's ruling Janata Dal-United on Friday dropped its three sitting members of Parliament and nominated new faces for the Rajya Sabha polls to be held on February 7.
Chirag Paswan has warned the BJP-led NDA that it will settle for nothing less than 40-plus seats in the 2025 Bihar polls, even threatening to contest all 243 constituencies independently if sidelined.
While the BJP backs Nitish Kumar as chief minister, Chirag isn't hiding his readiness for the role, reports Aditi Phadnis.
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.
The TDP and JD-U will have a lot to answer inside Parliament, day after day, session after session, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Nitish Kumar is poised to lead the NDA government in Bihar, with key political developments unfolding ahead of the swearing-in ceremony. The article covers the election of the NDA leader, cabinet allocation discussions, and reactions to the election results, including Prashant Kishor's claims and the family feud within Lalu Prasad's family.
'If Nitish Kumar were to depart from this alliance, it would signal substantial instability in central government politics.'
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.
After a week-long washout, Lok Sabha transacted some business on Monday as two bills were introduced and another taken up for consideration even as Congress and some other parties continued their vociferous protests, along with display of placards.
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.
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.
Tyagi criticised the role of LJP by saying, "The LJP has played a negative role, it has no existence in Bihar."
Meet the maverick serial election contester who shares his name with current Bihar's best known politician.
Both the BJP and the JD-U abetted the LJP split but interestingly, independently. And there hangs a tale of conflicting interests, gamesmanship, subterfuge, and retribution, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
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