National Democratic Alliance constituent and ruling party in Bihar the Janata Dal-United has said it is prepared to fight the next Lok Sabha elections alone in the state if the situation demands and its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party ceases to exist.
Bypolls will be held on Wednesday in 31 assembly seats spread across 10 states and Kerala's Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, from where Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is making her electoral debut. Though these bye-elections are not going to have any bearing on the governments, they are seen as a big test for the Congress and the INDIA bloc which failed to put up a united show in the recent Haryana assembly polls. Most of these seats fell vacant after the sitting MLAs contested the Lok Sabha elections and won while in some constituencies, the bypolls are being held due to death of the representatives. The Wayanad seat was vacated by Rahul Gandhi, who also won from the Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency which he kept. Voting will be held in seven seats in Rajasthan, six in West Bengal, five in Assam, four seats in Bihar, three in Karnataka, two seats in Madhya Pradesh, and one seat each in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala and Meghalaya. Votes will be counted on November 23.
The NDA has called the dawn-to-dusk bandh to protest against the removal of D P Ojha from the post of director general of police.
The RJD will give one seat to the CPI-ML from its quota and former JD-U president Sharad Yadav will contest on RJD symbol.
In the first ever carnage during the National Democratic Alliance regime led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, 16 people were gunned down by suspected Maoist cadres in a village in Bihar's Khagaria district late on Thursday night."Nearly 100 people, suspected to be Maoists, armed with automatic weapons, attacked the village Amosi Bharen Diara and fired indiscriminately late on Thursday night, killing 11 men and 5 children on the spot," said a police official.
'I have been a spokesperson of the party for the last 41 years and now I think some other party member should take up my post,' JD-U's K C Tyagi tells Rediff.com about his resignation from the post of party spokesperson.
Political parties have fielded sons, wives and daughters-in-law of legislators who quit after being elected to the Lok Sabha.
This is the first time, since the JDU-BJP alliance came to power in 2005, that the saffron party has staked claim for the speakers post.
"I will not contest the coming assembly polls in October-November. There is no need for it as I am a member of legislative council," he said at Janata Dal-United headquarters in Patna.
Sources in both the BJP and the Janata Dal-United suggested such a possibility but it remained unclear if Kumar, the unquestioned leader of his party, has finalised a deal with the BJP top brass.
Announcing that a district-wide bandh was being organised in protest against the killing, Chaudhary said that if no headway is made in the investigation within 48 hours, there will be a state-wide stir.
Addressing a poll rally in Katihar, the former Congress president criticised the NDA government over demonetisation, migrant crisis, GST, handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the three new farm laws.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led party will go solo in the upcoming assembly elections in Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand and Delhi, leaders who were part of JD-U's National Executive meet said.
State Home Secretary Afzal Amanullah told rediff.com that criminals were convicted and sentenced by the fast track court set up by the state government.
There are states that could swing either way and change the results of the 2024 general election.
Chirag Paswan cryptically added that he was not ruling out the possibility of siding with the RJD.
While the assembly elections are being seen as largely a contest between the NDA and the Grand Alliance, the state has been witness to mushrooming of "morchas" (fronts) which may queer the pitch for the lead players in a tight contest.
Intensifying its attack against Union Railway Minister and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav for his proposed chetawani rally against Bihar's National Democratic Alliance government, the ruling Janata Dal United asked him to explain the rationale behind the protest rally. "You tell us why you are so furious and organising the chetawani rally when we are making all efforts to achieve all-round growth of the state," JD-U national spokesman Shivanand Tiwari said in Patna.
Manjhi is alleged involved in a racket involving granting of irregular recognition to teachers' training institutes.
Fourteen of the 17 independent MLAs of the dissolved house held a meeting in Patna on Saturday night.
BJP leaders could be seen sharing jokes on whether sweets should be offered to those present at its headquarters or not.
It is a double century with a difference for the cricketer turned politician, who is the lead campaigner for the Opposition Mahagathbandhan in the state.
With Nitish Kumar on its side, a BJP-led government may feel increased pressure to conduct a nationwide caste-based census.
"There are six MPs in our party. It was the desire of five MPs to save our party. So, I have not broken the party. I have saved it. Chirag Paswan is my nephew as well as the party's national president. I have no objection against him," Paras told the media. Paras has been elected as the new leader of the Parliamentary party, who is currently representing the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat in Bihar.
"The current situation in Bihar is very disappointing for me. The mandate by the people of Bihar was not for this. I don't agree with the decision taken in Bihar. It's unfortunate," Yadav said.
While the coalition will not be unstable because of pressures, the effort from partners will be to constantly remind the central government and the BJP how much it is dependent on them.
'There will be no change of seats for Delhi, Assam and Maharashtra.' 'Andhra, J&K, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, West Bengal and Telangana will lose seats while there will be an increase for MP, UP, Bihar, Haryana, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh.' 'It is a big mistake if you make it a north-south issue.'
Kumar will be administered the oath of office by Governor Phagu Chauhan at a simple ceremony inside the Raj Bhavan at 2 pm.
Voters of Bihar have made it clear that their aspiration and priority are development alone, Modi said in a series of tweets, adding that the people's blessings for the NDA's good governance show what are the state's dreams and expectations.
Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor has begun a fast unto death in Patna, demanding the cancellation of a recent examination held by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC). Kishor's hunger strike comes after he gave a 48-hour ultimatum to the Nitish Kumar government to act on the demand, raised by aggrieved candidates who allege the exam was rigged. The administration has declared the hunger strike illegal as it is not the designated site for protests.
Opposition MLAs on Wednesday held a parallel assembly session chaired by RJD leader Bhudev Choudhary in the lawns of the Bihar Assembly, even as proceedings went on in the state legislature.
A maximum of 19 candidates are trying their luck from Nwaada constituency while there are just four aspirants each at Dhoraiya, Sikandra and Sahar.
A top BJP leader from Bihar told ANI that Fadnavis is going to play a crucial role in the Bihar assembly election and he is associated with the Bihar BJP on purpose
'Logic, Research, Science Are Modi Government's Limitations.'
The development can change the power dynamics within the ruling alliance, even if it manages to retain power in the state and Kumar continues to be chief minister.
There were seven candidates in the fray for the six seats.
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