The chief minister's presence at the RJD Iftar at Lalu's home on Friday instantly sparked speculation about Nitish getting closer to the RJD after reports circulated of his ally the Bharatiya Janata Party wanting to replace the Janata Dal-United supremo as CM with one of its own.
Chosen for the country's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna a day ahead of his birth anniversary, Karpoori Thakur has been the veritable 'Jan Nayak' or people's hero of politics in Bihar, whose legacy parties cutting across ideologies seek to claim.
'Voters from the forward castes voted for JD-U because they feared Laloo Yadav's return, but since that fear is no longer there they may not see the need to vote for Nitish Kumar anymore.'
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.
'Does a political or social worker ever retire? Is Nitish Kumar himself contesting the assembly elections'
Nitish Kumar, who was clicked shaking hands with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at the National Counter Terrorism Centre conference, on Sunday came under attack from Rashtraiya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, who said the Bihar chief minister stands "thoroughly exposed" over his "secular facade".
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday said he might not campaign for the by-elections to a couple of assembly segments in the state where his current ally Rashtriya Janata Dal is locked in a straight contest with his former alliance partner Bharatiya Janata Party.
Plans for a 500-car road show were abandoned after the controversy surrounding his release.
Rahul Gandhi has spoken to Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav about the Begusarai seat, but the CPI is unwilling to give up the seat.
Anguished by the stampede that claimed 17 lives at Adalatghat on Monday, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has cancelled a feast for Janata Dal - United leaders at his official residence on Wednesday.
Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday dubbed the coming together of Janata Dal- United and Rashtriya Janata Dal as an alliance of "defeated people."
Water sprayers splashed with the images of Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad and his bete noire Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are selling like hot cakes in the state with Holi revellers wanting to add a dash of political colour to their celebrations.
If you happen to be kin of the ruling party's member of legislative assembly and members of Parliament of the ruling Janata Dal-United-Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar, it is possible that you can avail of a large government plot at near-throwaway prices, the opposition has alleged.
There are also over 10 million voters in the 18-29 age bracket. Winning them over could be Nitish Kumar's biggest challenge, reports Aditi Phadnis.
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.
According to state government data, the first 10 months of last year -- January to October 2020 -- witnessed 2,649 murders in Bihar, an average of nearly nine murders a day.
'It is bustling with activity. This is after years,' observes a security person near the big iron main gate at 10, Circular Road.
The NDA has retained Bihar with a wafer-thin majority of 125 seats in the 243-member assembly, paving the way for a fourth term for CM Nitish Kumar.
In a veiled threat to Bharatiya Janata Party leaders on the offensive against him after the Janata Dal - United parted ways with its National Democratic Alliance partner, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said that if he opened his mouth, many of them would be in trouble.
Today, a friendship forged by common ideals behind prison walls has become a transactional understanding, notes Aditi Phadnis.
As the ruling alliance starts feeling the tremors, discussions on new equations have also started, reports Satyavrat Mishra.
With 12 MPs, the JD-U is the second biggest Bharatiya Janata Party ally after the TDP's 16, and leaders of the saffron party are in touch with allies over ministerial berths and other issues.
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Monday questioned Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's intention to "bow" before Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray to attend Bihar Diwas celebrations in Mumbai on Sunday.
The scale of victory could be gauged from the fact that from 143 seats in the 2005 elections, Kumar's campaign on the basis of his government's performance helped the ruling alliance notch a spectacular tally of 206 seats in the 243-member House.
Making a scathing attack at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for playing down the defeat in Maharajganj by-poll, Rashtriya Janata Dal President Lalu Prasad on Thursday said he should quit as people had rejected his governance.
Earlier this week, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi held a series of meetings, including with Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and Janata Dal-United president Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lallan.
The Janata Dal-United president was, however, dismissive of any such suggestion and told reporters after the meeting that "too much was being read into" the meeting which, he insisted, was a usual interaction between the prime minister and a chief minister.
Favouring continuation of the 'old arrangement' during the Bihar assembly polls, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday left it to the Bharatiya Janata Party to decide whether Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi will campaign for the party during elections. "The BJP has to solve this. We are in favour of the old arrangement," Kumar told reporters while referring to the Janata Dal - United's opposition to the presence of Modi during the campaign in the Lok Sabha elections.
In the backdrop of his war of words with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kuamr on Thursday asked Bharatiya Janata Party to adhere to certain principles and understanding to continue their alliance with his party Janata Dal-United.
After a marathon polling process to elect the 18th Lok Sabha that lasted for a month and a half, the results were declared on Tuesday.
Prasad, who became chief minister of Bihar in 1990, had anointed his wife on the CM chair after he was sent to jail in 1997 over multi-crore fodder scam cases.
Senior BJP leader Tarkishore Prasad told PTI-Video that "most certainly" Choudhary and Sinha will be the party's choice for the post of deputy CMs.
As per the statement issued by the legislative assembly secretariat, speaker of Manipur legislative assembly is pleased to accept the merger of five JD-U MLAs with the BJP under the tenth schedule of the Constitution.
Pitching for larger opposition unity, six constituents of the erstwhile Janata Parivar on Monday shared dais at a mahadharna slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party's 'divisive' politics and accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of telling lies and not fulfilling poll promises on black money.
'Prashant Kishor is a businessman before he is a politician, and given that the expected average turnout for JSP candidates is 5,000 to 6,000 votes and since Bihar has a significant number of seats where the margin between the winner and runner-up falls within that range he will capitalise on exactly that to showcase his presence.'
With a significant number of Opposition leaders present at the swearing-in ceremony of the Congress government in Karnataka, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Sunday said Opposition unity requires much more than optics of this nature and stressed the need for meeting of minds, a common agenda and sacrificing partisan interests.
Chhatrapati Yadav, the MLA from Khagaria Sadar, has shot off a letter to Congress high command, demanding that he be considered, by virtue of his caste, for a berth in the new cabinet headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
In a clear snub to its coalition partner, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday cancelled a dinner for the top brass of the Bharatiya Janata Party, to convey his disapproval about an advertisement featuring him with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and another on the aid provided by Gujarat during the devastating floods that had hit Bihar two years ago. The Janata Dal - United leader has always distanced himself from Modi.
"We would like to be a part of your wedding procession (baraat) said Prasad, evoking a shy smile from Gandhi and guffaws from others present on the occasion.
