Shah said that the BJP hoped the Dalit nominee would be unanimously selected as the President.
The BJP-led NDA leaders have attacked RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav for his statement that Bihar assembly polls is a fight between 'backward versus forward' forces.
LJP candidate from Matihani constituency, Raj Kumar Singh defeated Janata Dal-United's Narendra Kumar Singh aka Bogo Singh by a slender margin of 333 votes.
Nitish also denied that Rashtriya Janata Dal spokesman Shivanand Tiwari would join the JD-U.
As the Opposition on Wednesday held its first meeting on the presidential election, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party reached out to several parties across the political spectrum to build a consensus choice for the top constitutional post with senior party leader Rajnath Singh speaking to Sharad Pawar, Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and Naveen Patnaik, sources said.
Other prominent candidates among the 904 in the fray are Union minister Anurag Thakur, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti.
In a poor village of daily wage earners in Siwan, Bihar, people speak about their hard lives and why they vote.
The BJP's manifesto speaks about the Prime Minister's vision of making 'Atmanirbhar Bihar'.
Jha will contest against National democratic Alliance's nominee Harivansh of the Janata Dal-United.
BJP heavyweights Smriti Irani, Arjun Munda, Ajay Mishra Teni and Kailash Chaudhary were among the 13 Union ministers who tasted defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states forced the BJP to rely on allies to form the government.
There is little doubt that the prime minister's own charisma exceeds that of his party, but 2024 is proof that no party can ultimately depend on one person to deliver victory all the time, points out R Jagannathan.
Paswan also said that BJP leaders were free to throw barbs at the LJP, as part of their "coalition dharma", but he would always hold Prime Minister Narendra Modi in high regard.
Paswan headed a meeting of the party's parliamentary board from Bihar in which the state government was criticised for its over reliance on bureaucracy, with some LJP leaders claiming that Kumar is no longer a popular face, sources said.
Rumblings of discontent in the Bharatiya Janata Party followed the party's disastrous performance in Bihar assembly elections on Sunday.
Describes the results as a "vote for change and good governance."
The fight would become more interesting as both candidates hail from Bihar, where the assembly elections are to be held soon, making it effectively a JD-U versus RJD contest.
Kushwaha said a delicious "kheer" can be prepared with milk from the Yadavs and rice from the Kushwahas.
As long as he enjoys the PM's blessings, the BJP president's position is safe.
The no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition against the National Democratic Alliance government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was defeated by voice vote in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
Leave alone taking forward the seat-sharing talks with the existing and probable allies, the Mahagathbandhan remains an amorphous entity weeks before the first phase of polling on October 28, a situation that will make the rival NDA camp, which in any case looks sitting pretty, all the more happier.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and its National Democratic Alliance partners - the Janata Dal-United and Lok Janshakti Party -- on Monday formally announced their alliance for the Delhi assembly polls, asserting that it will send a "strong" political message across the country.
As the BJP does soul searching for its humiliating defeat in Bihar polls, senior party leader Arun Jaitley on Monday admitted "irresponsible statements" made during elections "changed the narrative".
Voting was underway on Friday in 102 Lok Sabha seats spread across 21 states and Union territories in the first of the seven phases of the world's largest electoral exercise, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging voters to exercise their franchise in record numbers.
The RJD polled the highest vote share in Bihar, but it was not reflected in the number of seats it won.
'...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.
The marathon polling process to elect the 18th Lok Sabha ended on Saturday with the seventh phase of elections witnessing an approximate voter turnout of 62.36 per cent, amid clashes between Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party supporters in Sandeshkhali and some other parts of West Bengal.
'The Mallahs may remain divided between the two competing coalitions in Bihar,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
Janata Dal-United president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan on Saturday alleged that political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor was 'working for' the Bharatiya Janata Party, as part of its 'conspiracies' to find a firm foothold in Bihar.
The JD(U)-BJP alliance also lambasted the actress for lodging a 'baseless' first information report against the sisters of the deceased actor and questioned the 'support' extended to her by the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra, for 'reasons the Shiv Sena knows better'.
The RJD tweeted, "In almost 10 seats, the Nitish administration is delaying the count and not giving certificates to the winning candidates. Sitting in the CM's residence, Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi are putting pressure on DMs and ROs through phone calls by the CM's principal secretary to decide closely contested seats in their favour."
The LJP rebels are likely to join the JD-U formally on July 7.
Aiming to end the 25-year rule of Lalu-Nitish combine in Bihar, the National Democratic Alliance will formally launch on Thursday its campaign for the crucial assembly polls scheduled later this year with BJP president Amit Shah set to flag off 160 'parivartan raths' from Patna.
If we get a chance to form the next government at the Centre, all backward states will get special category status, Kumar said.
Kumar had recently dumped the 'Mahagathbandhan', of which the Rashtriya Janata Dal was a key constituent, and returned to the NDA fold to form the government with support of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
National Democratic Alliance allies on Monday put up a united front amid vocal demands being made by some parties on their share of seats in Bihar polls but the crucial issue of seat-sharing was not discussed at their maiden joint meeting chaired by Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah.
Gopalkrishna Gandhi also called up Kumar to say thanks.
The former Union minister joined the UPA after holding talks with the Congress leadership.
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