Congress leader Rahul Gandhi jokingly mentioned ongoing discussions with RJD president Lalu Prasad regarding marriage, following a suggestion from Prasad's son to Union Minister Chirag Paswan.
Call it political opportunism or sagacity, his moves, in effect, have not allowed the Bharatiya Janata Party to appoint its own chief minister to date, despite enjoying a near hegemonic status nationally and the best performance in recently held assembly polls where the saffron party bagged 89 seats, followed by the Janata Dal-United with 85.
Internal discord within the INDIA bloc has led to alliance partners contesting against each other in at least eight assembly seats in Bihar. The Congress, RJD, and Left parties are facing challenges in seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming elections.
Lalu's son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, however, sought to downplay the remarks made by his father, in an interview to a local news channel, claiming that the RJD supremo had merely tried to satisfy the curiosity of the prying media.
The party's state unit chief, Mangani Lal Mandal, made the remark a day after the state building construction department issued a notification directing Rabri Devi to shift to 39, Hardinge Road, which has been "earmarked" as the residence of the leader of the opposition in the legislative council.
Tej Pratap was expelled a day after he reportedly confessed on social media to being "in a relationship" with a woman named Anushka.
Ashok Gehlot convinced the RJD leadership that the Congress had no issue about declaring Tejashwi as the Mahagathbandan's chief minister face.
Yadav, who recently quit the Rashtriya Janata Dal over differences with party president Lalu Prasad Yadav, is an accused in the killing of Communist Party of India leader Ajit Sarkar.
Bihar assembly Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary on Sunday called on Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav, at a time when the state was witnessing a big political churn.
A face-off between the government and the opposition was erupted on Wednesday after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla read out a resolution condemning the imposition of Emergency and termed the decision by then prime minister Indira Gandhi an attack on the Constitution.
'The RJD is a family centric party and its top leadership's main concern is only to promote the family.'
'I have come to know that the sociology department of Harvard University is doing a research on me,' he said.
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and Janata Dal-United president Sharad Yadav were on Friday admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi after they complained of uneasiness.
'Age matters and the way Tejashwi has been doing an aggressive campaign, only a young leader like him can do it.'
Rashtriya Janata Dal President Lalu Prasad on Saturday escaped unhurt when a makeshift wooden platform raised at a Yagna site in Saran district collapsed.
Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday met Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav, apparently with the mandate to defuse tensions with the ally, which has plunged the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) into turmoil in poll-bound Bihar.
The jovial RJD chief, known for his earthy humours, apparently could not digest that his party drew a blank in its stronghold Bihar and also in the neighbouring Jharkhand.
Aishwarya, the estranged daughter-in-law of RJD president Lalu Prasad, claims that the expulsion of her husband Tej Pratap Yadav from the party was a "drama" enacted with an eye on upcoming Bihar assembly polls. She also accuses her in-laws of ruining her life by getting her married to Tej Pratap.
With nominations for the first phase of Bihar elections closing soon, the INDIA bloc is struggling to finalize seat sharing, while the NDA has announced its candidates. Key political figures are actively campaigning.
He is the longest serving president of a political party in the country.
Amidst speculation over the NDA seat-sharing deal in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar distributed JD(U) tickets, while the BJP announced its first list of candidates. The INDIA bloc also faces internal challenges as parties prepare for the upcoming elections.
The RJD chief is on a three-day parole to attend his elder son Tej Pratap Yadav's marriage in Patna on Saturday.
Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav on Tuesday said he was in favour of extending reservation benefits to Muslims but emphasised that it should be based on social backwardness and 'not on the basis of religion'.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday accused Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and the Congress of helping former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda allegedly amass black money, a charge rubbished as "ridiculous" by the RJD supremo.
Rashtriya Janata Dal President Lalu Prasad on Saturday said that Congress was in a strong position in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections mainly due to hard work done by Rahul Gandhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the record turnout in the first phase of the Bihar assembly polls indicates people's trust in the NDA government. He predicted victory for the NDA, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and lauded the Election Commission for conducting successful elections.
Notwithstanding its grand headquarters at the prime ITO area in the national capital, Lalu Prasad Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal continues to occupy an office in VP House at a meagre rent of Rs 333 per month.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has questioned Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's mental health and ability to govern, citing recent 'erratic' behaviour. The allegations have sparked a sharp response from Kumar's party.
Some glaring facts have come out from the affidavits filed by the two sons of Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad as the documents indicate that the younger son is aged one year more than his elder brother.
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 former deputy chief minister was replying to queries about the JD-U president's outburst inside the assembly on Tuesday where he had told Yadav, "It was I who helped your father Lalu Prasad, the RJD president, become the leader of opposition when he did not have the support of even his own caste men."
Gangster-turned-politician Dular Chand Yadav, once known for rubbing shoulders with the who's who of politics in Bihar, was allegedly shot dead near the state capital during an election campaign on Thursday, police said.
Rashtriya Janata Dal President Lalu Prasad Yadav's two of the most trusted senior IAS officers have been moved into departments held by the party patron's sons in the Bihar cabinet.
'Laluji personally telephoned several Opposition leaders to attend the meeting.'
'They have no chance of winning if free and fair polls are conducted.'
The Bihar unit of Samajwadi Party, which had protested over denial of seats in the grand alliance for Bihar Assembly polls, claimed to have fruitful talks with the alliance partners Rashtriya Janata Dal President Lalu Prasad and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over seat sharing.
In a body blow to Rashtriya Janata Dal before next year's Lok Sabha polls, its President Lalu Prasad was on Monday convicted by a special CBI court in Ranchi in the fodder scam corruption case that disqualifies him from Parliament and renders him ineligible for contesting elections for at least six years.
Emerging from the meeting at 10 Circular Road residence of former Chief Minister Rabri Devi where he met RJD president Lalu Prasad, Raj Ballabh Yadav told reporters it was a courtesy visit to extend greetings of Durga Puja.
Following their landslide victory in the Bihar assembly polls, NDA leaders have begun discussions on forming a new government. Key coalition partners visited Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's residence, expressing support for his continued leadership. The article also touches on political developments within the RJD and reactions to the election results.
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