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.
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.
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.
Nearly 13.04 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 9 am on Wednesday in 43 assembly constituencies in Jharkhand where voting is underway in the first phase, officials said.
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.
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.
A day after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar formed the government in Bihar in alliance with the National Democratic Alliance, hectic lobbying started for the post of assembly speaker, and other legislators to be included in the council of ministers.
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".
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.
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.
Telugu Desam Party leader Ram Mohan Naidu will be sworn in as a cabinet minister and another party MP, Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, as a minister of state in the new Modi government, a party leader has confirmed.
The party is unhappy with newly-elected BJP president L K Advani's move to invoke Hindutva and bring back Ayodhya to the centrestage.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sources in both the BJP and the Janata Dal-United suggested such a possibility but it remained unclear if Kumar, the unquestioned leader of his party, has finalised a deal with the BJP top brass.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Centre's decision to confer Bharat Ratna on his political mentor Karpoori Thakur.
Modi earned his spurs as a doughty leader of the Opposition in the assembly, a post he held till 2004 when he got elected to the Lok Sabha from Bhagalpur.
"People ask me why I am now criticising Nitish Kumar, having worked with him in the past. He was a different man back then. His conscience had not been put up for sale," said Kishor, who had managed the JD-U president's election campaign in 2015 and formally joined the party two years later.
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.
'The JD-U is my party and of thousands of leaders and workers.' 'It is certainly not Nitish Kumar's party.'
The assembly polls in Maharashtra will be held in a single phase while Jharkhand polls will be held in two phases, the Election Commission of India announced on Tuesday.
BJP leaders Manohar Lal Khattar, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Bandi Sanjay Kumar and Ravneet Singh Bittu may be among the new faces in the Union council of ministers which will be sworn on Sunday evening along with Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi.
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.
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.
Amid deepening fissures in Kumar's ties with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress, BJP leaders have indicated that they are open to tying up with him again.
The governor accepted Kumar's resignation, and asked him to continue as caretaker CM till a new government is formed, they said.
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.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar stressed the need to finalise seat-sharing arrangements by January at the recent meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), a key aide disclosed on Friday.
"Public does not who 'Kharge Pharge' is. Even I don't know he was the president of Congress. Nobody knows him. Masses don't know him. The public knows Nitish Kumar. Nitish Kumar should become prime minister. He is popular all over India," Mandal said.
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."
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.
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