'If I was in Nitish Kumar's place I would firstly never even think of crossing the boundary with a lady, and secondly if I did something so contemptible by mistake, I would apologise immediately.'
Roads and bridges that Nitish Kumar built have brought his alliance back to power. They made his journey safer. The mandate is clear.
'If Nitish Kumar were to depart from this alliance, it would signal substantial instability in central government politics.'
'There will be no khel on February 12 during the confidence motion vote.'
'The possibility of Nitish Babu continuing at least for some time is very much there, but don't rule out the artistic possibility of a leadership change executed very elegantly.'
'This is a politically motivated decision.' 'Nitish Kumar is desperate to win as many parliamentary seats as possible.'
Now it's all jibes about his chameleon-like politics and fading grip on the administration. But there was a time Nitish had the BJP trembling in the state, points out Aditi Phadnis.
'You cannot support CAA and simultaneously say there will be no NRC in Bihar.' 'If Akali Dal has a clear-cut point of view on this issue, I want the same from the JD-U.'
From July 27, 2017, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf, my daughter will have to learn that there are only two most important things in life: Power and money.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi during rallies in Bihar, accusing him of prioritizing votes over genuine governance and alleging that the BJP is controlling the state government through remote control.
'He has become a new hope for Indian cricket.'
Notably, the JD-U has put up a better than expected performance in Lok Sabha polls.
While the BJP backs Nitish Kumar as chief minister, Chirag isn't hiding his readiness for the role, reports Aditi Phadnis.
'If the INDIA bloc ever forms the government, they will be more than tempted to use such provisions to bring about regime change in BJP-ruled states.'
'When Harivansh sits in the chair, you feel your voice will be heard.'
Nitish Kumar has to make an existential choice: Between governance and politics, argues Aditi Phadnis.
'Shibu Soren was the tallest leader of tribals in the country.'
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav on Friday claimed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had 'begged for forgiveness for past betrayals' before his parents, party supremo Lalu Prasad and ex-CM Rabri Devi, before they allied with the Janata Dal-United president in 2022.
'This is not a moral but a political question yet its importance is likely to grow with every passing day,' says Karan Thapar.
The BJP-ed National Democratic Alliance on Wednesday launched an all-out attack on the Bihar CM.
No one in Bihar will deny Nitish Kumar's contribution to governance, notes Aditi Phadnis.
e Union minister of state for home is somewhat brash and rowdy, and has enormous confidence.' Some of this derives from the fact that he has independent sources of income (he reported assets amounting to Rs 18 crore in his 2019 Lok Sabha nomination papers)
'The BJP's numbers in this government are almost the same as those enjoyed by the Congress under P V Narasimha Rao when the reform process was kicked off in 1991.' 'As before, the only constraints on the prime minister's actions are internal, not external.' 'They come from his own assessment of the political consequences of any action,' points out Mihir S Sharma.
Kumar banged his table at Patna's Indian Coffee House as he announced this to an audience that was discussing alleged corruption in Bihar in 1977, writes Sankarshan Thakur in his biography of Kumar -- The Brothers Bihari.
'Even if the anti-Modi 'Mahagatbandhan' gets a majority there is simply no way that Nitish Kumar can ensure even a stable government, leave alone a good -- clean, development-oriented -- government,' argues T V R Shenoy.
'The moment a new election comes, new guarantees are announced.' 'The BJP is adept at diverting people's attention.'
'Fighting Meira Kumar is not a daunting task at all. I hope to give her a very tough fight... Bihar is one state where my Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has challenged Narendra Modi's candidature. As a challenge he should have contested from Bihar and proved Nitish Kumar wrong,' says Dr K P Ramaiah, an IAS officer till a few months ago, now fighting his first election from Sasaram, Bihar.
'Someone who cannot even take his cabinet into confidence, how will he take the NDA alliance into confidence?'
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) will get a 'decisive mandate' in the Lok Sabha polls and may take even less than 48 hours to decide on its prime ministerial pick, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday, asserting that it stands to reason that the party which gets the maximum seats in the alliance will be a 'natural claimant' for its leadership.
What some of our leaders were up to on Thursday and Thursday.
'The West has always opposed a strong nationalist leader in India and Narendra Modi is no exception.' 'The West prefers weak leaders who are amenable to Western pressure and Mr Modi's independent stance is not to the liking of the West,' asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'In today's situation, it is not going to help anyone's case if they try to politically contest with the BJP on ideological issues.' 'Instead, it is best is to swim along the tide, present the more acceptable face of the cultural Hindu, but not be a political Hindu as the BJP or Mr Modi is.'
On the eve of the meeting hosted by it, the Congress clarified that it will oppose the ordinance on Delhi services in Parliament, a key condition put by the AAP to attend the talks.
'Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bengal can be the game changers of 2024.'
The two main factions in Karnataka's Congress party -- one led by Siddaramaiah and the other by D K Shivakumar -- are both contenders for the chief ministership. Both groups have fought hard to get their choice of MLAs the party ticket, notes Aditi Phadnis.
If the concerns over risking political capital are overcome, the long-term gains for the Indian economy will be immense, asserts A K Bhattacharya.
'If people don't see you, they might be hesitant, but once they see you, they are confident that this is the person they will vote for,' says political debutant Shambhavi Choudhury, 25, alumnus of the Lady Sriram College and the Delhi School of Economics.
Within a few hours of Nitish Kumar leaving the NDA, entirely reasonable people were speculating as to how the CBI or ED could be used against him or his party, notes Mihir S Sharma.
The BJP is the preferred choice because it offers what the Mughals and later British offered in their time: A stable polity and an environment in which business could function, explains T N Ninan.
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