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".
BJP President Rajnath Singh on Sunday said he was "saddened" by the "unfortunate" walking out of the Janata Dal-United from the National Democratic Alliance and maintained that it would weaken the fight against the Congress.
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.
The Janata Dal-United on Friday announced its support to Congress for the post of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha even as the treasury side has kept suspense over the issue.
A day after Janata Dal-United and Bharatiya Janata Party clashed in the Upper House of the Bihar assembly peace was restored in the House today following the Chairman giving a clean chit to former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar accused of instigating the scuffle and the leader of opposition expressing regret about the episode.
Janata Dal-United had not yet decided on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's visit to Gujarat for campaigning for the Assembly polls, the party said.
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.
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."
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.
Sharad Yadav is all set to be retained as the national president of the Janata Dal-United for the third term, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar told mediapersons in Patna on Monday.
Lok Janskati Party president Ramvilas Paswan on Friday said he fails to understand why Congress is "dithering" to join the Rashtriya Janata Dal-LJP alliance which is intact in spite of sentencing of Lalu Prasad.
As votes for the Delhi assembly polls were counted on Saturday, latest data of the Election Commission showed that NOTA option got 0.57 per cent vote share as compared to 0.55 pet cent of the Bahujan Samaj Party and 0.01 per cent of Communist Party of India-Marxist.
The former deputy chief minister was replying to queries about the JD-U president's outburst inside the assembly on Tuesday where he had told Yadav, "It was I who helped your father Lalu Prasad, the RJD president, become the leader of opposition when he did not have the support of even his own caste men."
The recent war of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party and its alliance partner Janata Dal-United seems to have come to an end after the former assured its allies it would decide on the prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections after consulting them
The Janata Dal-United on Friday virtually put its foot down on the issue of the National Democratic Alliance taking any stand on Abdul Kalam, projected as Presidential candidate by the Samajwadi Party and the Trinamool Congress, following which the opposition alliance deferred its decision.
'The Congress should have played a more active role to take care of the needs of regional parties. It failed.' 'Taking this into account, Nitishji took the final decision with the full support of the JD-U.'
'Singh was forced to submit his resignation to Nitish Kumar few days ago and convinced to announce his offer to resign at the party meeting.'
The Janata Dal United said that it will wait for Congress-led United Progressive Aliance to announce its nominee for the vice Presidential election and will talk to its NDA allies before taking any decision on the issue.
Senior Janata Dal-United leader Shivanand Tiwari on Tuesday created flutters by praising Narendra Modi at the Janata Dal-United convention in Rajgir, triggering spontaneous protests from the party workers.
Captain Jainarayan Prasad Nishad, a member of the Lok Sabha from Bihar, has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar against a sitting judge of the Supreme Court of India. In the letter to the Speaker, Captain Nishad has expressed his 'determination' to initiate impeachment proceeding against the judge.
The mayor of Darbhanga, Bihar, has sparked a controversy by suggesting a two-hour break in Holi celebrations to accommodate Friday prayers during Ramzan. Her proposal has drawn criticism from a BJP MLA, who accused her of calling for 'Ghazwa-e-Hind'. Meanwhile, other politicians have condemned the mayor's suggestion and emphasized the need for communal harmony.
'CM face ko lekar NDA mein koi confusion nahi hai, Nitish Kumar hi NDA ke CM face hai'.
Bihar's ruling JD-U has sent 1 lakh DNA samples of its partymen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office for testing to protest against his DNA jibe.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Monday night said it will extend its support to Bharatiya Janata Party veteran Lal Kishenchand Advani, who was projected as party's prime ministerial candidate, while National Democratic Alliance allies like Janata Dal-United and Shiv Sena reserved their comment.
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.
Janata Dal-United on Friday targeted ally Bharatiya Janata Party in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh saying the saffron party like several of its political rivals had succumbed to the contagion of corruption.
Almost a fortnight after former bureaucrat K P Ramaiah took voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Service, he is ready to take on Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, a former Indian Foreign Service officer, in the Lok Sabha polls from the Sasaram seat in Bihar.
While the coalition will not be unstable because of pressures, the effort from partners will be to constantly remind the central government and the BJP how much it is dependent on them.
"The BJP is the largest ally in the National Democratic Alliance and it is for that party to take a decision. So, Advani's choice is but natural," he added.
'When he was sidelined in the INDIA bloc, it was was the turning point because it badly hurt Nitish's ambition.' 'After that, he decided to damage INDIA by changing sides.'
Janata Dal-United, a key ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, has decided to go it alone in the upcoming Assembly election in Gujarat.
After Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took umbrage at advertisements showing him with his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi, his party Janata Dal (United) downplayed the issue saying on Sunday that the alliance and relationship between it and the Bharatiya Janata Party is quite old.
'Modi's charisma may have weakened as last year's Lok Sabha poll results showed but in the eyes of the Sangh Parivar, it has not waned.' 'Minus a strong BJP government at the Centre for another decade and more, there is apprehension that an anti-Hindutva government could reverse many of the ideological gains that the Modi dispensation has achieved through its three terms,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Most JD-U ministers favour a return to the BJP-led NDA ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
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.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday snubbed the Rashtriya Janata Dal, headed by his arch-rival Lalu Prasad Yadav, stating that he had forged alliances 'by mistake' with the opposition party which 'did nothing' while in power.
Sanjeev Kumar alias Sanjeev 'Mukhiya', an alleged kingpin behind the NEET paper leak, was not only minting money but wanted to become an MP or MLA.
Citing his failure to check the post-Godhra riots, National Democratic Alliance constituent Janata Dal-United has made clear its opposition to Narendra Modi's projection as prime ministerial candidate but ruled out the possibility of aligning with "enemy" Congress at the cost of "friend" BJP.
Against the backdrop of an open fight between the JD (U) and the Congress, there was no option left except to go to the people, said Venkaiah.
The 17-year-old alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal-United was not lucky to survive this time three years after a huge row triggered by Narendra Modi media advertisements in Bihar pushed the National Democratic Alliance partners to brink of collapse.
