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.
Appearing on national television to mark the silver jubilee of the party he founded in 1997 after breaking away from the Janata Dal, Prasad, who is suffering from many ailments and convalescing at his MP daughter Misa Bharti's residence in New Delhi, recalled his struggles for OBC quota and the fight for the rights of the weaker sections.
The JD-U leader rubbished speculations that he was maintaining an eloquent silence on the issue because of anxieties about tarnishing his own image for probity by aligning with "tainted" politicians and could even be thinking of breaking away with the "Mahagathbandhan", which besides RJD, also includes Congress and the Left.
The Janata Dal-United-Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress government will face a confidence vote in the Bihar assembly on Wednesday, August 24, next, and it is quite likely that the BJP will do all it can to defeat the trust vote.
Samajwadi Party MP R K Chaudhary's demand to replace the Sengol installed next to the Lok Sabha Speaker's chair with a copy of the Constitution triggered a war of words on Thursday, with opposition leaders backing him, and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party castigating him for 'disrespecting' Indian and Tamil culture.
A three-judge Supreme Court bench will hear petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, on April 16. The petitions, including those by politicians and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, were filed in the top court challenging the validity of the newly-enacted law. The Centre has filed a caveat in the apex court, seeking a hearing before any order is passed.
According to the Election Commission data, 30 out of the state's 40 Lok Sabha seats went to the BJP-led coalition in the latest elections, a sharp drop compared with 39 in 2019 and lower than the tallies of 2014 (31) and 2009 (32).
Nearly 13.04 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 9 am on Wednesday in 43 assembly constituencies in Jharkhand where voting is underway in the first phase, officials said.
Kishor claimed that Nitish may go for a tie-up with the BJP again if situation demands so.
The Janata Dal-United's decision to break its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party not only changed the political equation in Bihar but also created a buzz in the political circle from Patna to Delhi that whether Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman and JD-U MP Harivansh will continue on his post or going to resign.
Lalu's word is final in the RJD when even when he is serving a long jail sentence after being convicted in fodder scam cases.
While Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar repeatedly appealed to the protesting members to take their seats, the unrelenting MPs continued to raise slogans.
The application, filed through advocate AP Singh, said, "The Acts were passed hastily without adequate discussion... Inherent weaknesses of the agricultural sector cannot be addressed by way of monetization of farmers."
A Patna court has directed the police to lodge an FIR against RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, his MP sister Misa Bharti and some other political figures on the complaint of a person who has alleged he was duped of Rs 5 crore with the promise of a Lok Sabha ticket in the 2019 general elections.
He had already been granted bail in the Chaibasa Treasury Scam case in October 2020, and in the Deoghar Treasury Scam case in February 2020.
The bill seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies.
The Congress on Tuesday suffered a major upset in Himachal Pradesh at the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Rajya Sabha elections which were marred by cross-voting in all the three states though it won three seats in Karnataka while the saffron party pocketed an extra seat in Uttar Pradesh.
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha leader Derek O' Brien met the agitating farmers at the Singhu border in the afternoon.
The Enforcement Directorate has issued a fresh summons to Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav in the railway land-for-jobs scam case, asking him to appear on January 5, official sources said on Saturday.
The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav and his father and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav for questioning in the railways land-for-jobs money laundering case probe, official sources said on Wednesday.
Lalu Prasad's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav on Friday turned up at a function hosted by Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras, triggering speculations about the maverick RJD leader, who wears his religious fervour on the sleeves, cosying up to BJP-led NDA which his father has always fought tooth and nail.
Ravi Shankar Prasad in Patna Sahib, Ram Kripal Yadav in Pataliputra, R K Singh in Arrah and Ashwani Choubey in Buxar are all having a tough time.
A day after Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad fielded his daughter Misa Bharti as party nominee to contest from the Patliputra seat in Patna, a senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ramkirpal Yadav has revolted against him. He is now set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party to contest against Misa.
In the last five years, 480 candidates with declared cases related to hate speech have contested elections to state assemblies, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the ADR said.
The poll is scheduled for July 17 and the counting of votes will take place on July 20.
This comes after the agency conducted searches at his residence earlier in the day in connection with the case.
Besides Defence Minister Singh (Lucknow), Minister of Women and Child Development Irani (Amethi), those in the fray are Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishor (Mohanlalganj) and Minister of State of Consumer Affairs Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti (Fatehpur).
The Congress, which had fought nine, lost all but managed to retain Kishanganj.
The Opposition said the judgement will strengthen the hands of a government.
Chosen for the country's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna a day ahead of his birth anniversary, Karpoori Thakur has been the veritable 'Jan Nayak' or people's hero of politics in Bihar, whose legacy parties cutting across ideologies seek to claim.
She reached the office of the federal probe agency in central Delhi around 11 am and left around 6 pm.
Kumar visited the Paras Hospital, where Prasad has been admitted since Monday, a day after he had a fall at his home and fractured his shoulder.
Shahabuddin approached three senior lawyers, of whom Jethmalani has reportedly agreed to argue his case.
The ED said AB Exports Pvt Ltd is a "shell" or fake company owned by Prasad's son and Bihar deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and Chanda Yadav (another daughter of the RJD chief) and its registered address is the bungalow located in the New Friends Colony area.
The RJD leader's second daughter is not a politician, but has a clean image, which may endure her to Nitish Kumar.
Referring to last year's dramatic turn of events in Maharashtra, which saw the Shiv Sena severing ties with the BJP and forming government with ideological rivals Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress, Sena MP Sanjay Raut said his party had shown what happens 'when word is not kept' by an alliance partner.
The alliance adopted a resolution to this effect and said its theme for the elections will be "Judega Bharat, Jeetega India, (India will unite, India will win)".
JD-U on Friday dismissed the Samajwadi Party-driven formation of a 'Third Front' for the Bihar polls and said that there was "only one front" in the state.
"The conduct of opposition leaders in the Upper House of Parliament on Sunday was shameful, irresponsible and utter disrespect to parliamentary rules and dignity," Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
The ED had launched raids on Friday at multiple locations linked to Prasad's family members including that of his son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav in Delhi.
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