And so it's official. After months of speculation and rumours swirling, it was confirmed on Sunday that Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United and Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal will contest the by-elections to 10 assembly seats in Bihar together.
All's fair in politics? The Bihar CM stroke a controversy by visiting a tantrik.
The Jharkhand high court on Friday deferred till November 27 Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad's bail plea hearing in a fodder scam case related to Dumka treasury, after the Central Bureau of Investigation sought more time to file a written reply in the matter.
Who would be footing bill for what was supposedly a "family affair" could be anybody's guess.
Most JD-U ministers favour a return to the BJP-led NDA ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
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.
Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com explains the compulsions that forced Bihar strongman Lalu Yadav to play second fiddle to Nitish Kumar.
Prasad can still influence the power play in Patna if not change it, reports Satyavrat Mishra.
'After the 2020 Bihar assembly polls when our party got only 43 seats and our ally the BJP got 73 seats, Nitish Kumar refused to become chief minister and assured the BJP that he will support the government led by anyone.' 'But the BJP's top leaders told Nitish Kumar that as the NDA contested the polls under his leadership, the next government will be headed by him.'
Controversial Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav on Thursday was expelled from the party for six years over anti-party activities.
A part of the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat, Raghopur assembly segment in Vaishali district will vote in the second phase on November 3. The 31-year-old, the younger son of Lalu Prasad, had taken the electoral plunge from Raghopur in 2015, when he had barely reached the qualifying age of 25 for fighting polls.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar launched a scathing attack on his predecessor Rabri Devi, calling her appointment as Chief Minister "suspension-induced" during a heated debate in the state legislative council. The verbal sparring, marked by accusations and counter-accusations on law and order, saw Kumar accusing the RJD of being unable to handle Hindu-Muslim tensions and engaging in "mischief." Rabri Devi, in response, asserted her right to speak about her achievements during her tenure as Chief Minister. Kumar, however, retorted with a sharp, local phrase, dismissing Rabri Devi's claims. The exchange, which saw both sides engage in mudslinging, ended with the Chairman admonishing the opposition for their unruly behavior.
Central Bureau of Investigation Special Court Judge Shiv Pal Singh, hearing the case, was quick to reply, "Then play the tabla (musical instrument)".
Nitish's absence triggered speculation of a logjam in the coming together of Janata Dal-United and RJD ahead of the crucial state election.
The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Tuesday announced 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) in the judicial services, and the state-run law colleges and universities.
Several BJP leaders recalled Kejriwal's claim of probity and past allegations of corruption against politicians, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar among others, while seeking their arrest, as they claimed that he has been exposed now.
Rahul Gandhi had earlier indicated that he might be present at the Patna rally.
Old-timers seem not impressed with the idea of dropping from the RJD poster its jailed supremo who is acknowledged, across party lines, as the biggest crowd puller ever seen in Bihar's poitical arena.
Tejashwi has refrained from reacting in public but is understood to have been upset over the frequent outbursts of his elder brother.
The JD-U leader's outbursts met with disapproval from the RJD as well as ally BJP, leaving the party to fend for itself.
A meeting of the opposition alliance, chaired by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, also decided to "expose the falsehood being spread by the railway minister against the Gujarat government.
Why is the best-selling writer wooing Lalu's son?
Days after Nitish Kumar attacked the RSS and urged all non-BJP parties to unite, RJD Chief Lalu Yadav backed the Bihar CM to become next PM.
The JD-U leader was seen sitting with Tej Pratap and Tejashwi Yadav, the sons of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad and other leaders claimed the countdown for the ouster of the BJP and its allies from power in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls had begun.
It was announced that no discussion took place regarding Tejashwi's resignation. In fact, his work was appreciated.
Continuing dynasty politics, Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Prasad on Friday nominated his daughter Misa Bharti to Rajya Sabha, reports MI I Khan.
'It is bustling with activity. This is after years,' observes a security person near the big iron main gate at 10, Circular Road.
Upset over denial of ticket from the Patliputra Lok Sabha seat, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Ram Kripal Yadav, a close aide of Lalu Prasad, quit from all party posts but said he was in the party "as of now".
The action is in connection with its money laundering probe in the IRCTC hotel allotment scam case involving Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and his family.
Sadhu Yadav, a former Member of Parliament whose name has featured in several criminal cases, is going to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Saran against his sister and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi.
Lalu claimed that he also did not need to practice yoga.
In a body blow to Rashtriya Janata Dal before next year's Lok Sabha polls, its President Lalu Prasad was on Monday convicted by a special CBI court in Ranchi in the fodder scam corruption case that disqualifies him from Parliament and renders him ineligible for contesting elections for at least six years.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal-United and his bete noire Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav are not contesting the Lok Sabha polls which has put their 'prestige constituencies' of Nalanda and Patliputra at stake.
Their leader is now Lalu Prasad Yadav, a convict in several corruption cases, he added.
The petitions of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav to transfer one of his fodder scam cases to another special Central Bureau of Investigation court from the present court of Pravas Kumar Singh and examining one more witness were dismissed by the Jharkhand high court on Monday.
Yadav, who has been by his ailing father's side for the past few days, expressed delight that both Prasad and Rohini Acharya, his elder sister who has donated one of her kidneys to the 74-year-old, were fine after the surgery.
Sources say the CM doesn't want new problems in already strained ties with the RJD.
With Lalu Prasad convicted in the multi-crore fodder scam case, the Rashtriya Janata Dal on Monday put up a brave front saying his wife and former Chief Minister Rabri Devi is "still there to guide us".
Even as Narendra Modi began his hectic day of campaigning in poll-bound Bihar, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav was the first to fire a salvo on Thursday when he dared the prime minister to break his silence on reservation for Dalits and Other Backward Classes.
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