Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Wednesday frowned upon the recalcitrance shown by his Agriculture Minister Sudhakar Singh, who belongs to the Rashtriya Janata Dal, but sought to put the ball in the court of his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, the party's de facto leader.
JD-U supremo Nitish Kumar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, a day after the BJP lost the Bankipur assembly by-election in Patna. The meeting, which included other JD-U leaders, occurred amidst recent political changes in Bihar, where Nitish Kumar had resigned as Chief Minister and a BJP leader took charge.
Since when have elections become rocket science that you need to hire highly-priced specialists?And even if in the age of social media every party needs to present its best face, is Prashant Kishor the only one with such expertise, especially when his record is mixed with more losses than election wins to his credit? asks Virendra Kapoor.
The move effectively makes him the second most powerful person in the party.
'Excited to start my new journey from Bihar!' he tweeted.
JD-U leaders believe Prashant Kishor's entry would benefit its case for contesting a larger number of seats in Bihar in next year's general election.
Kishor held out the possibility of Jan Suraaj metamorphosing into a political party at a latter stage.
Prashant Kishor was the brain behind many of Narendra Modi's popular programs such as 'chai pe charcha' during the Lok Sabha polls
The group of 23 leaders, who had written to Gandhi last year seeking an overhaul of the organisation, are also learnt to have objected to his joining the Congress as the matter was discussed among them at a meeting, the sources said.
The strategist is expected to visit Punjab for 2-3 days in mid-February for an early assessment.
Kishor had claimed that Nitish Kumar asked him to lead the JD-U.
Kishore said the Congress and its supporters are bigger than any individual and Gandhi should not be stubborn that it must be him who will deliver for the party despite repeated failures.
Prashant Kishor feels that the Congress is a national party that can counter the BJP.
Some Congress leaders consider Kishor as an "overrated" person and argue that in 2017 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, he led to the decline of the party.
Kishor, who earlier worked with the BJP but turned into its strident critic of late, reacted with indignation, saying he would retire from public life if the allegations were proven true. He also asserted that those levelling the allegation against him should apologise.
A formal invitation for the rally had been sent to Kishor, a senior TMC leader told PTI.
The JD-U leader said that the change in stance was prompted by country-wide agitations. He also said that the govt would with for a favourable SC verdict on CAA.
JD-U MLA Anant Singh, a prominent 'strongman' in Bihar politics, has openly defied his party by campaigning for Jan Suraaj Party candidate Anuj Singh in the Patna Graduate constituency legislative council polls.
Kishor posted a tweet 'thanking' Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi for their 'formal and unequivocal' rejection of the NRC. He also reassured the people of Bihar that the CAA and NRC will not be implemented in the state. However, JD-U's ally BJP got rankled by Kishor's move and made contrary claims.
A Mumbai sessions court has refused to overturn a magistrate's order directing police to register an FIR against an erstwhile trustee of the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust. The FIR pertains to allegations of fund misappropriation and harassment that allegedly led to the death of trustee Kishor Mehta. The court found the magistrate's order to be "well within jurisdiction."
He was accompanied by TMC MP and the chief minister's nephew, Abhishek Banerjee.
Poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Tuesday asked Rahul Gandhi to impress upon the Congress to "officially" announce that the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens will not be implemented in the states ruled by the party. Kishor, the vice president of Janata Dal-United, also thanked the former Congress president for joining the "citizens' movement" against CAA and NRC, a reference to Congress's sit-in protest at Raj Ghat on Monday.
The resignation of Kandolkar and two other leaders, who had contested on the TMC symbol, came as another setback for the Mamata Banerjee-led party which is struggling to retain its flock in Goa since the poll debacle.
"Mr Modi has utterly failed. It is clear by now that we (NDA) cannot deliver more than this (since 2014)," he said.
Kishor, whose team I-PAC is working in planning TMC's election campaign, in his latest tweet said that one of the key battles for democracy in the country will be fought in the West Bengal.
The former Union minister said it is 'quite heartening' to see that Gandhi has taken up the initiative to involve Kishor to come out with a strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and the party's revival plan.
The poll strategist was the main force behind Kumar's campaign strategy in Bihar.
From devising a seat-sharing formula for the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar for the 2019 Lok Sabha election to wooing young voters, the former poll strategist has ensured his position as number 2 within the party.
Congress' poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Tuesday held a two-hour meeting with Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is trying to cobble together an alliance of like-minded parties ahead of Uttar Pradesh assembly polls due early next year.
Bihar police are investigating multiple past incidents of molestation and moral policing across several districts, including Kishanganj, Banka, and Samastipur, following recent public outrage. These cases, some months or even a year old, involve vigilante groups harassing individuals, often for inter-faith interactions, and have led to arrests and significant political controversy.
Police in Jamui, Bihar, have arrested two main accused in the molestation of a minor girl, bringing the total arrests to five. The arrests followed an encounter where the accused were injured. The incident, captured in a viral video, has ignited a fierce political debate between the ruling NDA and opposition parties over law and order in the state.
A day after holding marathon talks with Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, Congress poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Monday held closed-door meeting with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav
A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's comment that there was no United Progressive Alliance anymore, Kishor, who has earlier been political advisor to various parties, also called for democratically electing the opposition leadership.
"If they (some leaders) persist (with G-23) that means there is a vested interest for a few of them to work against the Congress party which we don't subscribe to and rather oppose it," the former Union minister said.
Senior leaders of the party -- Prashant Kishor and Pavan Varma -- have slammed the legislation calling it 'unconstitutional' and urged Nitish Kumar to rethink his support in Parliament.
Kishor claimed that Nitish may go for a tie-up with the BJP again if situation demands so.
Here's an analysis of the style and strategy of the man who did the magic for Narendra Modi and then Nitish Kumar and whom the Congress has now hired.
These meetings with Pawar has fuelled speculations about the possibility of opposition parties coming together to form a third front against the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Kishor, who has been vocal about his opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), said Kumar needs to spell out whether he is with the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi or those who support Nathu Ram Godse.
Poll strategist Prashant Kishor alleges that the BJP pressured three Jan Suraaj Party candidates to withdraw from the Bihar elections, accusing the ruling NDA of threatening opposition candidates and urging the Election Commission to ensure candidate security. The BJP denies the allegations.
