Janata Dal-United, a key constituent of the National Democratic Alliance, on Friday voiced concern over the Opposition alliance "deviating" from its national agenda but said it has not given any ultimatum to Bharatiya Janata Party over walking out of the coalition.
As it virtually shut the door on Narendra Modi, Janata Dal-United on Sunday indicated it would prefer Bharatiya Janata Party veteran L K Advani as National Democratic Alliance's prime ministerial candidate over the Gujarat chief minister.
With the Janata Dal - United staying firm in its opposition to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi being made the National Democratic Alliance's prime ministerial candidate, Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh on Saturday gave subtle hints that his party is ready to sort out any issues with its "old ally".
The party is unhappy with newly-elected BJP president L K Advani's move to invoke Hindutva and bring back Ayodhya to the centrestage.
A sudden surge in political attacks in Bihar has stunned leaders of both the ruling National Democratic Alliance and the Opposition Mahagathbandhan.
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.
Seeking to fish in troubled waters, the Congress on Saturday extended an olive branch to the Janata Dal United, describing it as a "secular and like-minded party", on the eve of a possible decision by Nitish Kumar's party to snap ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.
The LJP will also be given a Rajya Sabha berth and Paswan is likely to be its candidate.
Terming as 'shocking' the home ministry statement that elements in Pakistan are behind creating panic among people from the north-east, the Janata Dal-United) on Sunday alleged that it was an 'excuse' by the government to 'cover up' its 'inept' handling of situation.
One person was killed and another seriously injured on Tuesday when a parcel bomb exploded at the house of a Janata Dal-United leader in Bihar's Gaya district.
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.
Against the backdrop of charges against Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra and realty major DLF, the Janata Dal-United on Thursday said the key issue of Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail should not be forgotten in the din over other issues and suspected that those involved in coal and 2G scams may be trying to divert attention.
Shortly after senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha said that he thinks his party should name Gujarat CM Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate for 2014 general elections, BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's largest ally Janata Dal-United sought to downplay Sinha's remarks by stating that it wasn't BJP's official stand.
The fight would become more interesting as both candidates hail from Bihar, where the assembly elections are to be held soon, making it effectively a JD-U versus RJD contest.
Bihar's ruling Janata Dal-United has hired four trains and more than 10,000 buses to ferry party workers and supporters for its 'Adhikar Rally' on November 4 in Patna. M I Khan reports.
Ahead of the crucial National Democratic Alliance meeting, Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav on Friday made it clear that his party will not be proposing the name of any candidate for the Presidential poll and said it will go with the collective choice on the issue.
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.
Members of JD-U, RJD and Congress which have given enough hint of fighting together against BJP in the coming state assembly election next year, jointly rushed into the well of both the Houses demanding action against Dhankhar and his "close friend" Sushil Kumar Modi.
Ramesh said the current limit of 50 percent is not explicitly mandated by the Constitution, but has been decided through various Supreme Court decisions.
Accusing the Janata Dal-United of betrayal, Bihar BJP on Sunday said it had walked out of National Democratic Alliance despite repeated assurances that it would be consulted whenever the prime ministerial candidate is chosen.
Gangster Aman Sahu was killed in an encounter when members of his gang tried to free him from police custody in Jharkhand's Palamu district.
Eleven persons, including a state Janata Dal-United leader, have been sentenced to life imprisonment in an 18-year-old triple murder case by a court in Lucknow.
Amid reports of Nitish Kumar shifting to Delhi as Rajya Sabha member to play a bigger role in uniting parties against the Bharatiya Janata Party, Bihar Janata Dal-United President Basistha Narayan Singh on Saturday dismissed any such possibility terming the reports as "imaginary."
'The BJP will use Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha to check Nitish Kumar.' 'They will not allow him to function freely as before.'
BJP and RSS leaders are once again pushing to remove the words 'secular' and 'socialist' from the Constitution's Preamble, showing a deeper effort to change India's identity from a diverse, multi-religious republic to a Hindu-first nation, even though they don't have the numbers in Parliament to officially change the Constitution, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The delegations led by Baijayant Panda, Ravi Shankar Prasad (both Bharatiya Janata Party), Sanjay Kumar Jha (Janata Dal-United), Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena), Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Kanimozhi (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) and Supriya Sule (Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar) will visit a total of 32 countries and the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's reported remarks that Bihar poll results prove that a majority of Hindus prefer harmony on Sunday received the support of the Janata Dal-United while the Bharatiya Janata Party played down the statement.
In a fresh salvo apparently aimed at alliance partner Janata Dal - United, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Saturday said the Bharatiya Janata Party would not take it lying down if any of its allies tries to impose its views on the party.
The Janata Dal - United on Tuesday hit out at Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray after he came out in full support of his cousin Raj Thackeray's stand against migrants, saying Biharis are in Mumbai because of their hard work and have full rights to remain in the country's commercial capital.
The RJD has fielded six women candidates, some of them are wives of bahubalis.
He was administered the oath of office by Governor Rajendra Arlekar at the Raj Bhavan in Patna.
Manjhi's political journey took a dramatic turn when, in 2014, he was unexpectedly anointed Chief Minister by Nitish Kumar, who had resigned after a disastrous Lok Sabha election.
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.
A united opposition is set to corner the NDA government on issues ranging from the NEET paper leak case to railway safety.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday appealed to Janata Dal (United) and Shiv Sena to review their decision to support the UPA's Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee in the election for the top post and asked the two parties to back NDA's candidate P A Sangma instead.
Although the Bihar CM is mum over his next move, speculations of a rift between Mahagathbandhan and JD-U leader Nitish Kumar joining the NDA, have been soaring high.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asserted that the NDA government, led by him, put an end to frequent Hindu-Muslim clashes in the state by taking measures such as fencing graveyards and bringing to justice those involved in communal riots. He also criticized the opposition, particularly Tejashwi Yadav, accusing them of lacking understanding and experience. Kumar's claims were met with anger and walkout by the opposition members.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday defended its decision to contest the presidential poll in which its has endorsed the former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma's candidature against the United Progressive Alliance nominee Pranab Mukherjee and said that the election for the top post was an integral part of democracy.
