"The electorate of Bihar yearn for a change and for this they want the Congress, LJP and JD (U) to unitedly fight the assembly elections," he said.
Sanped in Haryana's Faridabad, where a Dalit family was burnt alive leading to the death of two toddlers, on Wednesday erupted in grief and indignation, with the locals blocking Delhi-Agra highway with their bodies in protest as politicians joined them in mourning the horrific killings.
The former MP is alleged to have murdered CPM legislator Ajit Sarkar in Purnea.
Festive atmosphere and bonhomie prevailed in Lok Sabha on Thursday with members donning traditional dress and head gears and many taking oath in their mother tongue.
The Lok Janshakti Party chief is unhappy with Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Prasad Yadav for reportedly denying him the railway ministry.
Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com gives the lowdown on the 59 seats spread across seven states and one Union territory going to polls in the last and final phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections on May 19, 2019.
The polling for the sixth phase on May 12 covers 6 states and one Union Territory.
Meraj Khalid Noor, who is popularly known as Bihar's Osama bin Laden for his uncanny resemblance with slain most-wanted Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, has said that he will contest the Lok Sabha polls against the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi from Varanasi.
"Our organisation in Uttar Pradesh will lend support to the alliance," he said.
Controversial former Member of Parliament Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, who was acquitted in the murder of Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Ajit Sarkar last year, joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal on Monday.
The Bhartiya Janata Party along with the Lok Janshakti Party are all set to fight a pitched political battle against the ruling Janata Dal-United and also the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal combine in Bihar. But there's one thing in common between the five major parties of the state -- all of them have fielded bahubalis, criminal-turned-politicians and their wives in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
'...there are people in the NDA, who don't wish to see Narendra Modi as the prime minister. They are the ones circulating misleading news,' he claimed.
Cutting across party lines, political leaders welcomed the government's decision to confer Bharat Ratna, the nation's highest civilian honour, on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and freedom fighter Madan Mohan Malviya.
'Maybe the BJP believes, in the post-poll scenario, it will have the might to foist, anybody endorsed by the RSS, upon Bihar,' observes Mohammad Sajjad.
Buoyed by exit poll surveys, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday claimed that it would form governments on its own in Haryana and Maharashtra, and stressed that it would not require support of the Shiv Sena to form government in the latter.
The National Democratic Alliance on Monday finalised its seat sharing for Bihar polls with the Bharatiya Janata Party contesting 160 out of the 243 assembly constituencies while allies Lok Janshkati Party and Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha being allotted 40 and 20 seats respectively.
A statement issued by his party said'NDA will achieve spectacular success in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls in Bihar if these are fought projecting Kushwaha as the leader of the coalition.'
Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Odisha will be held simultaneously in the first phase.
Refusing renomination to 14 more sitting MLAs, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday night came out with its second list of 99 party candidates for Bihar assembly polls.
A total of 126 votes, including four of Congress and one of CPI, were cast in favour of the confidence motion while 24, including 22 of Lalu Prasad led RJD, voted against the motion as BJP members staged a walkout before the vote.
Deadlock on Monday continued on the issue of Congress alliance in Bihar for Lok Sabha polls with seat sharing with Rashtriya Janata Dal coming under strain and Janata Dal-United ruling out any adjustment with the party.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Jitender Singh Tomar, who quit as Delhi law minister after being arrested on charges of furnishing false degrees, was on Friday confirmed to have passed law examination in 1998-99 from a Bihar college.
With the matter snowballing into a political controversy, both the Janaat Dal-United and the BJP tried to play down the issue.
The RLSP's attack on the JD-U came in the backdrop of media reports after a recent meeting of Kumar with Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah in Delhi.
An estimated 57 per cent of the electorate cast their votes in the first phase of the Bihar assembly election in 49 constituencies on a violence-free note on Monday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again led the BJP's campaign holding several rallies and stepping up his attack on Opposition parties, particularly the Congress.
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.
Out of the 167 candidates, 54 are crorepatis. Manipur Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms ADR said.
'Nitish has no future in state politics.' 'Nitish harassed the Yadav community no end in his earlier tenure as chief minister. So who will the Yadav community vote for in the coming state elections?'
The bill rules out any provision for an anticipatory bail for a person accused of atrocities against SC/STs, notwithstanding any court order.
In the third phase of the Lok Sabha election on April 23, 116 seats spread across 13 states and two Union Territories, will go to the polls.
Leaders of the BJP-led NDA told Bihar Governor that law and order is deteriorating in Bihar and demanded imposition of President's rule in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi came under scathing attack from the Grand Secular Alliance on Sunday in poll-bound Bihar with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and Congress President Sonia Gandhi accusing him of "insulting" the state and failing to deliver on any of his promises.
Kumar also questioned the prime minister on various promises made by his government including return of black money, enhanced MSP to farmers and special status to Bihar among others.
'Whether or not Chandrashekhar Azad succeeds or fails electorally, he has already made democratic politics more accountable to Dalits.'
Counting's underway and the fate of the candidates is awaited. As we wait for the results with bated breath, here's how your heavyweights are faring for now.
Bihar assembly speaker Uday Narain Choudhary, who is contesting Lok Sabha polls from the Jamui seat, refuted on Friday that he entered into a pact with the Maoists for their support to win the election.
Thackeray said the BJP's perception of being a "world winner" had been shattered with the results of the just-held state assembly polls.
In terms of electoral fortunes, in all likelihood, the status quo is not going to change in any significant manner. These six seats from Bihar are unlikely to give any clear signal to UPA, NDA or Federal Front.
This phase will decide the fate of senior minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav of Janata Dal-United, Rashtriya Janata Dal legislature party leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui and RJD chief Lalu Prasad's 'Man Friday' Bhola Yadav among others.
