'The RJD is a family centric party and its top leadership's main concern is only to promote the family.'
Mauled in the Lok Sabha elections and facing dissidence within, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar resigned on Saturday but interestingly did not seek dissolution of the assembly injecting a dramatic turn in the state politics.
Sinha was not occupying any party position in the party and since membership drive was on, it had been decided that her membership would not be renewed, he said.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has predicted that JD(U) president Nitish Kumar will contest the upcoming assembly polls in Bihar in alliance with the BJP but may switch sides later, with hopes for another term as the chief minister. Kishor, founder of the Jan Suraaj Party, also asserted that Kumar's popularity has declined and he is unlikely to win a fifth consecutive term. He challenged the BJP to declare Kumar as the chief ministerial candidate, arguing that they would struggle to win seats if they did so. Kishor also criticized Kumar's leadership, accusing him of being "physically tired and mentally retired" and of "bringing disrepute to Bihar" by touching Prime Minister Narendra Modi's feet. He said his new party will enter the fray to pull Bihar "out of the political rut" and that the state's much-touted prohibition policy is an example of the BJP's duplicity.
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".
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.
Announcing the party decision, Bihar JD-U president Vashishtha Narayan said, ""It was a necessary step because being leader if a person indulges in anti-party activities it has to be condemned unanimously."
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, seeking a fifth term, has asserted that he will remain in the NDA, crediting the BJP for his rise to power. Kumar, the JD(U) supremo, reiterated his stance at the Khelo India Youth Games. He has been a BJP ally since the mid-1990s but parted ways in 2013. Kumar's return to the NDA ahead of the Lok Sabha polls last year, after previously joining hands with the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, has sparked debate about his political strategy.
Even as the BJP is expected to win the vice-presidential poll, ppposition hopes to make it yet another display of its unity, reports Archis Mohan.
The Janata Dal-United, which is opposed to Narendra Modi's projection as BJP's prime ministerial candidate, on Monday said it will discuss all aspects of his anointment as the campaign committee chief and will spell out its stand soon.
'Nitish Kumar may take a decision to dump the BJP alliance by November.'
'When the time comes, we will take a decision following a discussion with the alliance partners.'
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 TDP and the LJP also supported the Bill being sent to a parliamentary committee for further examination.
Janata Dal-United on Friday suspended Islampur MLA Rajiv Ranjan from the party for six years accusing him of "anti-party activities", days after he attacked his party's government in Bihar over "unabated corruption" after having earlier opposed a tie-up with Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of forcing it to walk out of the alliance by not being forthcoming on Narendra Modi's future role, senior Janata Dal-United leader Shivanand Tiwari on Saturday said the announcement of a split in the coalition was a "mere formality".
The LJP rebels are likely to join the JD-U formally on July 7.
Nitish Kumar on Monday escalated the stand-off in the ruling JD-U in Bihar.
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.
A video, beamed by news channels and portals, shows Mandal engaged in a spat with some fellow passengers who were objecting to his 'roaming around' in his vest and underpants.
Tyagi said his party will contest on four to five "traditional" seats in Gujarat.
JD(U) candidate Kavita Singh defeated her nearest RJD candidate Parmeshwar Singh by 20,092 votes.
The four MLAs said they were quitting the party for its failure to address key public issues.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday failed to reach a decision on the fate of its troubled alliance with JD(U) in Bihar but indicated it favoured continuance of ties with its old ally without compromising on self-respect.
A careful calculation of the BJP's support base seems to have been at work in the cabinet expansion that took place a day after the party's national president chaired a meeting of the "core group" here.
The Janata Dal United on Sunday reacted cautiously to the elevation of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to the Bharatiya Janata Party's parliamentary board, saying it is an "internal matter" of its ally. "It (elevation of Narendra Modi) is an internal matter of the BJP at the national level," JD-U spokesman Niraj Kumar said.
Bihar's ruling Janata Dal-United on Tuesday asked an embattled Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, an accused in the land-for-hotels scandal, to "come out with facts in public against the accusations" but stopped short of demanding his resignation.
Samata chief George Fernandes will head the new party.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he was proud of the manner in which the multi-party delegations presented India's views in various countries on the need to eradicate the menace of terrorism following the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor.
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.
The Janata Dal-United on Sunday claimed there was no doubt left that Lalu Prasad would support Narendra Modi as prime ministerial candidate as the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader was "panicky" due to Congress' inclination towards arch-rival Nitish Kumar.
Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United on Monday expelled its party leader and Lok Sabha candidate from Sheohar seat Shabir Ali for praising BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
A meeting of the Janata Dal-United Legislature Party has been called on February seven amid reports that Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi was under pressure to quit and make way for his predecessor Nitish Kumar.
Seeking to buck the trend of recent Parliamentary election in which BJP decimated them, Janata Dal-United, RJD and Congress announced an alliance among the three for bypoll in 10 Assembly seats in Bihar, considered as semi-final before the crucial state poll next year.
Ending speculation, Janata Dal-United Chief Sharad Yadav has been re-nominated from Madhepura as the party released the second list of 32 candidates for Lok Sabha election in Bihar.
The RJD wrote on its X handle, in Hindi, "Just see how Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is pulling towards himself a woman in an objectionable manner with Home Minister Amit Shah looking on".
'We are totally in favour of the country on matters of external affairs. Naming representatives for diplomatic multi-party delegations to counter Pak-backed terrorism is the choice of parties, not of the Centre'
Tyagi criticised the role of LJP by saying, "The LJP has played a negative role, it has no existence in Bihar."
With party leader Shivanand Tiwari's remark on United Progressive Alliance's handling of the economy creating unease in ally Bharatiya Janata Party, senior Janata Dal-United leaders on Saturday got into fire-fighting mode and advised its spokespersons to consult them before speaking out.
Suspended Janata Dal-United Member of Legislative Assembly Sarfaraz Alam was on Sunday arrested for allegedly misbehaving and abusing a Delhi-based couple on board Rajdhani Express.
