Despite facing stiff opposition, two candidates from the ruling party in Bihar, the Janata Dal-United, have won the Rajya Sabha by-polls with the support of the Rashtriya Janata Dal party.
Gopalkrishna Gandhi also called up Kumar to say thanks.
Janata Dal-United MLAs gathered at Nitish Kumar's official residence for the crucial legislature party meeting on Sunday to choose a new leader in the House after the JD-U leader's resignation following the ruling party's debacle in the Lok Sabha elections in the state.
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.
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.
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.
Nitish's absence triggered speculation of a logjam in the coming together of Janata Dal-United and RJD ahead of the crucial state election.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday met Rahul Gandhi at his residence in New Delhi as the talks on alliance to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar polls gained momentum.
Shiv Sena-Uhhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday said the seat-sharing talks between his party and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar have concluded as these two parties are driven by a desire and mindset to resolve issues.
Sanjay Jha's importance lies in his connections to senior BJP and RSS leaders to maintain a smooth relationship within the NDA government in Bihar and at the Centre and to contest the 2025 Bihar assembly elections together under Nitish Kumar's leadership.
The final phase of polling on Saturday will cover 78 constituencies spread across 19 north Bihar districts.
Kumar, whose NDA-allied Janata Dal-United has won 12 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, has emerged as a key player in government formation
Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United on Monday expelled its party leader and Lok Sabha candidate from Sheohar seat Shabir Ali for praising BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
Rahul Gandhi had earlier indicated that he might be present at the Patna rally.
Political differences blurred as Congress president Sonia Gandhi wrote a personal letter to Union minister Gopinath Munde's family condoling his death and Rahul Gandhi visited the Bharatiya Janata Party office to pay respects to the departed leader.
As the Opposition on Wednesday held its first meeting on the presidential election, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party reached out to several parties across the political spectrum to build a consensus choice for the top constitutional post with senior party leader Rajnath Singh speaking to Sharad Pawar, Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and Naveen Patnaik, sources said.
The government on Wednesday reached out to opposition Janata Dal-United as continued disruptions in Parliament blocked passage of the United Progressive Alliance's 'game changer' Food Security Bill that aims to provide foodgrains at cheap rates to 67 per cent of the population.
After days of tough posturing between leadership of the Janata Dal-United and the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar on the issue of alliance for the assembly elections, action has now shifted to the national capital, where top leaders from both the parties will meet to thrash out the differences.
Biju Janata Dal termed the Budget, which was presented in Parliament by Rail Minister Sadananda Gowda, 'quite shocking' and 'illogical' as it complained that no emphasis had been made in it for the areas that generated more revenue from freight.
Sharad Yadav says that reports about disquiet among the factions are 'sponsored'.
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.
The Ethics Committee of Rajya Sabha headed by veteran Congress leader Karan Singh, decided to give Mallya one week time to explain his conduct.
Ending days of speculation, senior Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar on Sunday said that Bihar's Jitan Ram Manjhi would continue as chief minister. "All speculations about Manjhi's removal were wrong," the former CM told the media soon after his return from New Delhi on Sunday.
Janata Dal-United on Wednesday suspended two Lok Sabha MPs, Jai Narayan Nishad and Purnmasi Ram, from the party for six years on charge of engaging in anti-party activities.
'Reports of the JD-U joining hands with the BJP again is baseless.'
Bihar's ruling JD-U and Lalu Prasad's RJD will contest the state assembly elections in alliance and a 6-member committee will be constituted for seat-sharing talks.
Taking a jibe over bickering in Bharatiya Janata Party on Narendra Modi's nomination as prime ministerial candidate, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday claimed that the party would not gain from the decision and empathised with L K Advani saying the "Iron man" has been left to "rust".
Manjhi has called planned JD-U legislature party meet an unauthorised one.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday came in for flak from non-Bharatiya Janata Party parties for his suggestion that all Hindustanis are Hindus with many leaders wondering if he has read the Constitution and really believes in it.
"We will definitely contest it in court. The Shinde faction left the Shiv Sena, then how can they claim that their group is the original party, and not the one led by Uddhav Thackeray. The Thackeray name is synonymous with the Shiv Sena," the Rajya Sabha member said.
He said his party was neither expecting nor planning to discuss the expansion
Janata Dal-United on Friday suspended Islampur MLA Rajiv Ranjan from the party for six years accusing him of "anti-party activities", days after he attacked his party's government in Bihar over "unabated corruption" after having earlier opposed a tie-up with Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Bhagwat, who had played a significant role in asking Advani to withdraw his resignation from key posts of the BJP last week, has decided to meet the latter despite him voicing grievance over Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's elevation as the BJP's 2014 poll panel chief.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said a decision on whether to oppose the Centre's ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi would be taken before the Parliament session.
There was considerable disquiet in the Congress after Mukherjee accepted the invitation of the RSS to address its workers at its headquarters in Nagpur.
The grand alliance ministry, headed by Kumar, collapsed in July last year after the chief minister resigned over graft charge against his then deputy, Tejashwi Yadav.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Janata Dal-United's Sharad Yadav, Samajwadi Party's Ramgopal Yadav and Aam Aadmi Party's Arvind Kejriwal will meet at Sharad Pawar's residence on Wednesday.
The RJD is yet to complete its seat-sharing talks with smaller allies and the Left parties.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Vijay Goel on Thursday likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Mahatma Gandhi, a day ahead of the latter's birth anniversary, terming both as "saints of Sabarmati".
Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi appears to be on the way out in the wake of his defiance as the Janata Dal-United is all set to replace him with his mentor Nitish Kumar at a meeting of the legislature party on Saturday.
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