'This campaign reeks of communalism, which is why it is being opposed.'
'Nitish Kumar is the only leader who gave us everything.'
'They are not ready to take the vaccine.' 'They fear that if they do, they will die.'
The Bihar government has rejected demands to review its prohibition law, which has been in place for a decade, despite concerns raised by members of the ruling NDA about financial losses to the state.
'Rahul Gandhi has promised me to give a Congress ticket to contest the polls.'
'We share and support the ideology of the NDA and will not work against the NDA.'
'When the BJP wanted the election to focus on 'ghuspathiya' and promises that look like pies in the sky, we forced them to talk about jobs, giving free 125 units of power, and addressing women's indebtedness.'
Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi threatened to resign from the cabinet, alleging that his Hindustani Awam Morcha was not getting a fair deal in the NDA ahead of the Bihar assembly polls. Manjhi, the lone MP of his party, said he wanted 40 seats for his party in the upcoming elections, adding that he was not pursuing any personal ambitions but seeking a better deal for the "Bhuiyan-Musahar" Dalit community.
As the election nears, political positions on prohibition are shifting.
Sada, who was away in his constituency in Saharsa district, was asked to come to Patna by Kumar soon after Suman announced his resignation.
The activists of Dr Ambedkar Vichar Samiti and Nav Srijan Samiti from Ahmedabad were taken into custody on Sunday night and sent back home, officials said.
Pictures of the well laid out dining table with an assortment of dishes and cutlery went viral on the social media.
'In Bihar, the Dalits are not a consolidated socio-political constituency,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
'If Rajpath was a symbol of slavery, how is the Central Vista not a symbol of slavery?'
Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad on Wednesday hinted at a thaw between his party and the Congress, saying had a telephonic talk with Sonia Gandhi whom he asked to hold a meeting of 'like-minded' parties which could join hands to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party.
'The Mallahs may remain divided between the two competing coalitions in Bihar,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
'People are questioning these highways and expressways in UP because ultimately, they want to get bread and butter first.'
The Musahars, still regarded as 'untouchables' in the state, usually hunt rats for food in the paddy fields.
'Across the country -- in Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Manipur, Delhi, Bihar, West Bengal -- men were lynched on suspicion of being thieves by ordinary people armed with rods and sticks.' 'But none of these lynchings made big news.' 'None of these lynchings were cow/beef-related.' 'The perpetrators were unknown people, not so-called gau rakshaks.' 'So why were these instances of mob violence considered less newsworthy than cow-related lynchings?' asks Jyoti Punwani.
Mohammad Sajjad raises important questions about the response to lynchings.
'That the commandments to officialdom were issued by a BJP functionary and not a minister is a reflection of the Yogi government's work style.'
Factors such as industrial backwardness, crime, poor infrastructure, erratic power supply and poor educational infrastructure will take a backseat to identity
"Governance, governance, governance," was what Nitish Kumar said were his three priorities when he took the helm of Bihar in 2005.
'The BJP has replaced huge portraits of the two BJP leaders from Gujarat with very small portraits of many leaders from Bihar. Much is being read into this changed tactic of hoardings and banners,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
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