A day after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar formed the government in Bihar in alliance with the National Democratic Alliance, hectic lobbying started for the post of assembly speaker, and other legislators to be included in the council of ministers.
"The electorate of Bihar yearn for a change and for this they want the Congress, LJP and JD (U) to unitedly fight the assembly elections," he said.
Concealed beneath the feat, which testifies to his political acumen and survival instincts, is the fact that the 72-year-old leader could never remain at peace with his allies which also made him change partners frequently.
Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Ram Vilas Paswan said on Monday that his ministry would cut the prices of life saving and other important drugs by bringing more drugs under the 'price monitoring system' and also check the manufacture and
Three million tonnes of buffer stock, where the government bears the interest and insurance cost, was announced by the Centre only for a year and that period is ending in June.
LJP sources said the BJP's defeat in the five state polls have ignited a rethink in the party over its ties with the saffron party.
Steel and Fertilisers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Friday asserted that government would pursue reservation for socially backward classes in the private sector as per commitment made in the Common Minimum Programme.
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.
Steel Minister Ram Vilas said in a meeting that the prime minister could intervene, if need be, to provide iron ore blocks to Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of ArcelorMittal, for his two proposed 12 mn tonne steel plants in India. The world's biggest steelmaker has signed MoUs with Jharkhand and Orissa governments to set up greenfield steel plants wherein it will invest a total of Rs 80000 cr. ArcelorMittal has already been allotted two coal blocks, one each, in Orissa and Jharkhand.
In his poll rallies, Modi framed Pitroda's comments in his wider onslaught against the Congress, asserting that they have exposed its hidden agenda and that the party has become so removed from the country's social and family values that it wants to legally rob people of their assets and lifelong savings they want to bequeath to their children.
"Lok Janshakti Party spent the year 2012 in Jan Sampark Yatra. We worked on all issues, be it Rs. 82,000 crores large-scale corruption or 6,000 MNREGA scandal or people dying after consuming illicit liquor. We conducted the Jan Sampark Yatra on all these issues in 2012 and we announced that we would take out a yatra in 2013. It is after intense thinking that we named this yatra as Bihar Bachao yatra," Paswan told mediapersons here.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com does a deep dive into four elections when Narendra Modi resorted to anti-Muslim fervour and points out that Hindu-Muslim politics does not necessarily mean victory for the BJP.
Lok Janshakti Party supremo Ram Vilas Paswan and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rajeev Pratap Rudy on Thursday won their respective Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar.It has been reported that the BJP and its partner Janata Dal -United are optimistic about winning three seats, while the Rashtriya Janata Dal and LJP appear confident of winning both the seats they are contesting.The RJD-LJP alliance has the support of 68 MLAs, against the requirement of 76.
The Janata Dal-United supremo was replying to queries from journalists in Darbhanga district which he visited as part of his state-wide mass outreach programme 'Samadhan Yatra'.
A women offers prayers to the Sun God on the occasion of the Chhath Puja in Bhubaneswar.
Exigencies of electoral politics and individual ambitions often stoke family feuds and sibling rivalries.
Jaitley said there was no place for a debate or argument on the issue of dissolution of the state Assembly, which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Sharing the stage with foe-turned-friend Ram Vilas Paswan, Narendra Modi on Monday attacked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying Bihar has become a safe haven for terrorists as he has failed to act tough in his bid to win over Muslim votes.
Paswan asked the two UPA allies to explain why a Muslim should not be made the chief minister.
A day after the dissolution of the Bihar assembly, Paswan claimed that he had been receiving telephone calls from Muslim leaders thanking him for his "tough stand" over having a Muslim chief minister for the state
'The Congress is trying to reinvent itself -- the caste census demand, OBC emphasis, the anti-corporate thrust, especially on Adani etc -- all this is not standard Congress strategy.'
In an embarrassment to the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar, one of its MLAs has been accused of hurting Hindu sentiments by allegedly berating Goddess Lakshmi and Saraswati and Lord Hanuman.
Last week, a panel of judges headed by the Chief Justice of India ordered that Karnan be transferred to the Calcutta high court. The junior judge reacted that he would fight the order and asked the Chief Justice of India to "not interfere" with his jurisdiction, and also stayed his own transfer order.
The 27 special rally trains are ferrying supporters to the Patna rally from different parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa.
On the sets of One and Only, a romantic film starring newcomer Chirag, son of Lok Janshakti Party's president Ram Vilas Paswan.
Scenes from the National Democratic Alliance meeting at the Ashoka Hotel in New Delhi, July 18, 2023.
Paswan, who undertook a visit to the worst-hit areas of Upper Assam, said the state government has not started relief work in many camps. He suggested that relief work should be speeded up.
A day after the Delhi high court rejected a petition filed by Reena Pawan, Chirag Paswan's mother, against the eviction process of the 12, Janpath bungalow allotted to her late husband Ram Vilas Paswan in 1990, the Union housing and urban affairs ministry completed the process of eviction.
BJP sources said a meeting of the National Democratic Alliance is expected to take place soon to highlight its growing strength and to dispel the impression that the departure of some of its oldest allies such as the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, Shiromani Akali Dal and the Janata Dal-United have the left the saffron party without a major partner.
Chemical and Fertiliser Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Friday unveiled an expansion plan for government sector undertakings involved in the production of steel and particularly Steel Authority of India.
Lok Jan Shakti chief Ram Vilas Paswan said that he does not see the possibility of the alliance fighting the next elections as a combined force throughout the country and feels it is too early to name Manmohan Singh as the Prime Ministerial candidate. He said that it was possible to have a pre-poll alliance in some states, but not in every state.
If the party's members aren't sure what it stands for, see no path to wealth or power, and endure control by a dynasty, which, almighty as it is within the party, cannot get them the votes, they are likely to explore options, notes Shekhar Gupta.
This is the first meeting between Gandhi and Kumar since the latter walked out of the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar and formed a 'Mahagathbandhan' government with the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Congress and outside support of the Left.
The march began at the historic Gandhi Maidan, and Paswan and his supporters were detained near the Income Tax roundabout, about 4 km away, as they tried to proceed to the Raj Bhavan in Patna's high-security zone, shouting slogans against the government and carrying placards that read 'Bihar Bachao' (Save Bihar).
Leaders of 38 parties have confirmed their participation in a meeting of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to be held in the national capital on Tuesday, Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda said.
The Lok Janshakti Party chief is unhappy with Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Prasad Yadav for reportedly denying him the railway ministry.
He was administered the oath of office by Governor Rajendra Arlekar at the Raj Bhavan in Patna.
An ugly spat ensued after a JD-U spokesman took potshots at state BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal over his offer of help to family members of those who died in a hooch tragedy in West Champaran district last year.
Paswan's announcement came following a meeting of the LJP national executive which endorsed his leadership and hit out at a faction headed by his paternal uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras for its work against the party's constitution.
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