The opposition INDIA bloc has declared RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections.
BJP-led NDA gave five seats to the Chirag Paswan-led LJP (Ram Vilas).
The RJD, which has been voicing apprehensions that the SIR might have been carried out to "help" the BJP-led NDA, also urged the EC to divulge details of the 3.66 lakh persons whose names were deleted from the final electoral roll published earlier this week.
Those joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's council of ministers for the first time include three former chief ministers -- Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana) and H D Kumaraswamy (Karnataka).
The BSP leader won the Bijnor Lok Sabha seat in 1989, her first electoral triumph.
Former Bihar Chief Minister and senior Janata Dal-United leader Ram Sundar Das died in Patna on Friday due to age-related problems. He was 95.
The numbers were revealed some concerns arose, says Chirag Paswan
Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan on Tuesday fired a salvo at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and said that he should now enjoy the power as November 8 will bring an end to his delight.
The Janata Dal (United), an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has sought an extension in the tenure of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) scrutinising the bills proposing simultaneous elections. The party argued that the committee, which has only met once, requires more time for extensive consultations. Meanwhile, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), another BJP ally, has demanded a "special industrial package" for Bihar, highlighting the state's low per capita income compared to the national average.
Lalu Prasad Yadav's wife Rabri Devi and daughter Misa Bharti lost from Saran and Pataliputra seats respectively in Bihar to BJP candidates. MI Khan reports.
Paswan's statement came on a day when he was excoriated by Union Minister Prakash Javadekar, who called the LJP leader a "vote Katua" (splitter of votes) and accused him of trying to create a confusion by harping on his equations with senior leaders of the saffron party.
Paswan also asserted that he has been working on his 'Bihar first, Bihari first' agenda for a long time and had informed the BJP leadership about his differences with the Kumar-led government well in advance.
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.
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
Left to its machinations, the BJP would have loved to cut Nitish down to size, but it can't afford to do so as the JD-U is in alliance with the BJP at the Centre, and cannot form a government on its own in Bihar. For now, both need each other: Nitish for legitimacy, the BJP for numbers, points out Ramesh Menon.
Speaking to the media, Paswan said, "I am beginning Ashirvad Yatra from Hajipur because it was my father's karmbhoomi. We will hold this yatra in every district. Our only aim is to take everyone's blessings.
During Emergency Indira Gandhi acquired absolute power. Lakhs of political opponents, students, activists were arrested.
An analysis of the upcoming Bihar elections, focusing on the key players, alliances, and issues that will shape the outcome. The article examines the strength of the ruling NDA coalition led by Nitish Kumar and the challenge posed by the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, as well as the potential impact of Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party.
Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas leader Chirag Paswan is planning to convene a meeting of Scheduled Caste MPs of different parties as he works to mobilise support ahead of his party filing a review plea in the Supreme Court against its judgment allowing sub-categorisation of reservation within the community.
'Without our support Nitish Kumar wouldn't have become chief minister.' 'After the government was formed we became ministers, but our agenda remained the same: Amit Shah had promised reservation for Nishads.' 'He wouldn't listen, so we went to UP and contested 52 seats in the 2022 elections. He didn't like the idea of rebellion.' 'He saw that this man, coming from Bombay, is very sharp. He's made four MLAs now, tomorrow he'll make 40. A time will come when they will make it 125.' 'They bought our MLAs and ousted us from the government.'
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Union minister Chirag Paswan, who joined politics after a failed Bollywood debut, has no plans to make a comeback in films and also jokes that he is such a 'bad actor' that even his Lok Sabha colleague and first co-star, Kangana Ranaut, will not agree to share the screen space with him again.
As the election nears, political positions on prohibition are shifting.
With all rituals connected to veteran Dalit leader's death ending Tuesday, Chirag is all set to hit the political campaign now.
In separate letters to Chirag Paswan and Pashupati Paras, the poll panel said it has allotted the name 'Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas)' and the election symbol 'Helicopter' to the Chirag Paswan group.
Paswan demanded the imposition of President's Rule in the state followed by fresh elections.
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 was a minister under six different prime ministers, hardly out of government since he was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1977, observes Virendra Kapoor.
Modi will accompany on July 25 from Rashtrapati Bhavan to 12 Janpath as a courtesy.
Lok Janshakti Party president Ram Vilas Paswan on Friday said that the President's rule in Jharkhand was a temporary solution and elections were the only way out if no party or combination was able to form a government soon.
The LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan made the announcement ahead of his meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
'Dynastic politics has become a tool of convenience for political parties. The BJP does not hesitate to accept it when it comes to its own alliance or party candidates. The same goes for the others.'
The party is likely to take a decision in a couple of days, with the nomination for the first phase of three phase-polls set to begin from October 1, they said.
The BJP's MoSha leadership are past masters in encouraging defections from their allies if it helped their party capture the chief minister's chair. In Bihar, they are not sure if JD-U MPs and MLAs would be willing to cross over to the BJP if the Nitish leadership came on top -- and the NDA crossed the halfway mark together, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Acrimonious scenes were on Monday witnessed in the Rajya Sabha as members from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Lok Janshakti Party and Nationalist Congress Party clashed over the issue of reported low Muslim representation in admissions to private schools in Delhi. The sharp exchanges during Zero Hour also led to a heated argument between Ram Vilas Paswan, who raised the issue and BJP members, who alleged that Paswan was casting aspersions on P J Kurien (in the Chair).
A directional landmine blast took place at Baroa, 17 km from Salboni, from where the West Bengal CM, Paswan, state industry minister Nirupam Sen and industrialist Sajjan Jindal were returning after laying the foundation stone of Jindal Steel Works plant, police said.
Amid indications of unease between his party and RJD, LJP president Ram Vilas Paswan on Wednesday met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to urge her to take the lead in finalising the alliance in Bihar as "clarity" was required on seat-sharing among the allies.
The actor-turned-politician whose criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has grown progressively sharper, didn't figure on the BJP's list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls.
Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan on Thursday said the creamy layer should not be excluded from reservation benefits while Congress leader Digvijay Singh said Parliament was supreme in policy issues.
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