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.
Prakash Jha, famous for his socio-political films like "Gangaajal", "Rajneeti" and "Satyagraha", is hoping to be third time lucky by unseating sitting Member of Parliament Sanjay Jaiswal of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Paschim Champaran Lok Sabha seat in Bihar.
It was a grand reunion in Bihar. Two heavyweights in caste ridden Bihar -- Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and senior Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar on Monday formally joined hands.
Most of the parties concur with Hazare's demands for inclusion of Prime Minister, lower bureaucracy and CBI's anti-corruption wing under Lokpal. However, they did not favour bringing higher judiciary under the ombudsman and argued for a separate mechanism to check corruption in it.
Like Nitish, Mamata and KCR have prime ministerial ambitions, but, unlike Nitish who has established a rapport with Sonia, both Mamata and KCR are cold towards the Congress president, points out Virendra Kapoor.
Earlier, deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who is also the state party chief, also had separate meetings with Parameshwara and Jarkiholi.
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.
Two officers, including a deputy commissioner of police, were on Friday removed from field posting within 24 hours of a lathi-charge on Bajrang Dal activists staging an anti-drug mafia protest at a busy intersection in Indore.
Opposition and members of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G on Wednesday demanded the ouster of chairperson P C Chacko for being "highly partisan" and asked Speaker Meira Kumar to replace him with a new chief. The JPC has 30 members, including Chacko.
Modi has proven to be a past master in the art of political survival. This means that learning to navigate the choppy waters of coalition government will be an art he will not take long to master, argues Shyam Parekh.
'It is not just about numbers. Sometimes coalitions and alliances have symbolic value.'
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam sponsored Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation conference in Delhi was a dud with major opposition parties like the Janata Dal-United, Biju Janata Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party staying away.
The Janata Dal-United supremo was replying to queries from journalists in Darbhanga district which he visited as part of his state-wide mass outreach programme 'Samadhan Yatra'.
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.
In yet another sign that not everything is fine between Bihar's ruling partners, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar opposes the BJP's demand for a population control law -- even while seeking a caste-based census, a red flag for the BJP. M I Khan reports.
The EC, in its order issued on Friday said the group led by Nitish Kumar is entitled to use the reserved symbol 'arrow'.
Kerala Chief Minister and CPI-M leader Pinarayi Vijayan, Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu, West Bengal CM and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, and Karnataka CM Kumaraswamy lent support to the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government's fight with the Centre.
The leaders attacked the BJP, accusing it of trying to create "Hindu-Muslim disturbances" to benefit politically and making false claims and promises.
Rio also appointed 24 MLAs as 'advisors' to various departments in his opposition less government.
Much drama is likely to continue in the coming year, within the Sangh Parivar as well as involving the Opposition parties and, of course the BJP's allies, predicts Modi biographer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The JD-U leader's outbursts against his former ally came in response to queries from journalists about Shah's speech earlier in the day at Sitab Diara.
A political activist in Bihar on Thursday put up a poster announcing his resignation from 'all posts in the Bharatiya Janata Party' in protest against the ethnic strife in Manipur.
If the BJP returns to the old agenda(Hindutva), then we will not be with them, said senior JD(U) leader Digvijay Singh.
The Congress has not released a poll manifesto but a declaration of appeasement.
The rumours have primarily been about the impending resignation of JD-U national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan', for alleged proximity towards ally Rashtriya Janaat Dal at the expense of loyalty to his own party.
"Look at the devastation wrought by Covid in Pakistan and elsewhere. We were saved by Modi's vaccine and his deft handling of the economy," Ram Surat Rai said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
A crucial meeting of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Janata Dal-United chief Sharad Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Laloo Prasad Yadav along with Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh took place at 8.30 am on Thursday at the JD-U chief's residence at 7, Tughlaq Road in New Delhi.
In a poor village of daily wage earners in Siwan, Bihar, people speak about their hard lives and why they vote.
Yadav came out with a video statement, nearly seven minutes long, fulminating against a news portal which had carried a report about his divorce case, apparently presenting him in a poor light.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday rejected claims by Bharatiya Janata Party MP and his former deputy chief minister Sushil Modi that the Janata Dal-United had split with the National Democratic Alliance as the chief minister was not made the Vice President.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah himself sounded more open to such a possibility in a recent interview.
Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar, who returns as Bihar chief minister for a record eighth time on Wednesday, is likely to retain the all-important home department, while the Rashtriya Janata Dal may get most of the departments that were previously with the Bharatiya Janata Party, a highly-placed source said.
Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday questioned Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over the Union Budget and claimed that the plates of all states except Bihar and Andhra Pradesh were empty in the budget allocation.
The Union home minister recalled that the BJP had won far greater number of seats in the last assembly polls than the JD(U) but Prime Minister Narendra Modi kept up his promise to back Kumar for another term in office.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties, led by the Congress, staged a walkout from both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday, in protest against all states except two being 'ignored' in the budget, an allegation termed 'outrageous' by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharamanm, who said all the states never found a mention in any of the previous budgets, including those presented by the Congress.
After a meeting of the AAP's highest decision making body -- political affairs committee (PAC) -- at party national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence in New Delhi, Chadha also welcomed the Congress' decision to oppose in Parliament the Centre's ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi.
Gujarat was labelled Hindutva's crucible and Modi was to become the chief 'chemist'. A revealing political saga excerpted from Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay's The Demolition, the Verdict and the Temple: The Definitive Book on the Ram Mandir Project.
The women's reservation bill is back in focus ahead of Parliament's winter session, with several opposition parties, including the Janata Dal-United, which had once opposed the move, demanding that it be introduced and passed in this session.
As per the trends, the NDA was leading in the elections.
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