The opposition INDIA bloc has declared RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections.
'We made a mistake. We misunderstood. Now all is well.'
While the outcome will be known once the meeting is over, more than one of the prospective attendees denied the party's ties with the BJP having worsened to an extent to call for a realignment.
An ECI statement issued from New Delhi put the voter turnout at 68.76 per cent. The female turnout (74.03 per cent) was significantly higher, compared with males (64.1 per cent).
Bihar recorded its highest-ever voter turnout of 67.14 per cent in the second and final phase of the assembly elections. The election is seen as a referendum on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Kishanganj recorded the highest polling percentage at 76.26.
'The question for the TMC is not whether it can hold its bastions, but whether it can expand effectively into regions where the BJP already possesses a good ecosystem.'
'The name will be declared at the right time.'
'After the 2020 Bihar assembly polls when our party got only 43 seats and our ally the BJP got 73 seats, Nitish Kumar refused to become chief minister and assured the BJP that he will support the government led by anyone.' 'But the BJP's top leaders told Nitish Kumar that as the NDA contested the polls under his leadership, the next government will be headed by him.'
The newly-elected legislators of JD-U met at the residence of Nitish Kumar and elected him as its Legislature Party leader.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar seems intent on mending fences with estranged former colleagues as part of the spadework for posing a credible challenge to the Bharatiya Janata Party's national hegemony.
Ahead of Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's floor test, Assembly Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary on Thursday granted the status of principal opposition party to the Janata Dal-United in place of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which slammed the move as "arbitrary".
This is the biggest action taken against rebel leaders close to Yadav by the JD-U in Bihar.
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.
The LJP rebels are likely to join the JD-U formally on July 7.
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.
The four MLAs said they were quitting the party for its failure to address key public issues.
Nitish Kumar on Monday escalated the stand-off in the ruling JD-U in Bihar.
The speculations were triggered by Kumar's reference to the Rajya Sabha being "the only House" he has not been a member of.
As the political drama unfolds in Bihar, Janata Dal-United chief Sharad Yadav on Monday said the decision of Nitish Kumar to quit as Chief Minister is 'final'.
JD-U president said earlier the saffron party was acting from behind the curtain but now the curtain has been lifted.
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.
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.
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.
'We share and support the ideology of the NDA and will not work against the NDA.'
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.
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.
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'.
'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.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday alleged that the Janata Dal-United is misusing the office of Bihar Assembly Speaker Uday Narain Choudhary, adding that the Sharad Yadav -led party wants to stay in power and also play the role of opposition.
Observing that the days of the Janata Dal-United government were numbered after 'divorce' from the National Democratic Alliance, Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad on Tuesday said that his 22 members of Legislative Assembly would vote against the government in Wednesday's trust vote.
Without naming Chirag Paswan, the legislators are reported to have recalled the actions of the former Lok Janshakti Party chief during the 2020 state assembly polls while warning the CM that if they were not alert, it would not be good for the party.
The formula of Lok Sabha polls this year wherein JD-U and BJP had both fought 17 seats each, leaving six for Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party, which joined the National Democratic Alliance in 2014, a year after Kumar's exit, could not serve as the basis for the assembly polls, said the poll strategist.
The days of the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar were numbered, Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said, claiming that more than 50 Janata Dal-United MLAs were in touch with the party and worked for its candidates in the Lok Sabha polls, triggering an angry reaction from the ruling party.
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.
Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Saturday visited Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar in the presence of party president Sharad Yadav to reconcile after Bharatiya Janata Party's top leadership in Delhi made it clear not to support Manjhi.
'There are differences over certain issues between the JD-U and BJP but we are in alliance and continuing.'
Expelled Janata Dal-United leader and former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Friday launched a new party -- Hindustani Awam Morcha -- to counter the Janata Parivar. The party will contest alone all the 243 seats in Bihar polls scheduled for later this year.
Party said it will take action against Sharad Yadav if he attends Lalu Yadav's August 27 rally.
Old National Democratic Alliance companions Janata Dal-United and Bharatiya Janata Party clashed in Bihar legislative council on Thursday with members of the two rival parties shoving and pushing each other in the presence of the parties' leaders Nitish Kumar and Sushil Kumar Modi.
