The INDIA bloc has released its manifesto for the Bihar assembly polls, promising jobs, restoration of the old pension scheme, and free power, among other things.
The National Democratic Alliance was set to sweep the Bihar assembly polls, surging ahead in over 200 of 243 seats on Friday with the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as single largest party with about 90 per cent strike rate, reaffirming the popularity and campaign clout of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the face of the ruling alliance through the poll battle in the highly sensitive political state.
Less than a month before assembly polls in Bihar, a Delhi court on Monday framed charges against Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi and their son and leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav in the alleged IRCTC scam case.
The former Bihar minister, who lost the election from Mahua assembly seat, voiced his sentiments in support of his sister Rohini Acharya in a post on his X handle, blaming the crisis on 'Jaichand', a metaphor for traitors.
Modi will stay in Patna overnight after the road show and address election meetings on May 13 in three Lok Sabha constituencies: Hajipur, Vaishali and Saran.
Senior BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Choubey has expressed his desire to see Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the Deputy Prime Minister. However, the JD(U) and the RJD have dismissed Choubey's remarks as inconsequential, with the JD(U) pointing to Amit Shah's recent statement that Nitish Kumar is the coalition's leader for the upcoming assembly polls. The RJD has also ridiculed Choubey's statement, stating that the BJP is looking to get rid of Nitish Kumar and that Tejashwi Yadav will be the next Chief Minister of Bihar.
Rohini Acharya, daughter of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, on Sunday recounted the events that took place during the family feud following Mahagathbandhan's crushing defeat in the Bihar elections.
Rahul Gandhi said he never wanted to speak on the particular issue, but decided to do so after BJP's Surya questioned the patriotism of the Congress party. Singh maintained that the book had not been published.
'This election was won because of Nitish Kumar's face and his policies.'
'We have been struggling with problems, but we want to elect Tejashwi to see him as the next chief minister.'
'CM face ko lekar NDA mein koi confusion nahi hai, Nitish Kumar hi NDA ke CM face hai'.
'Talking about boycotting polls is simply a move to galvanise party leaders, workers, and supporters for the big political fight.'
Nitish Kumar may be in the chief minister's chair again, but with the BJP grabbing the home department and the assembly speaker's post, the real power in Bihar has shifted unmistakably, reports MI Khan.
Modi accused Congress and RJD leaders of insulting 'Chhathi Maiyya' to gain votes in the Bihar elections.
His inheritance was a double-edged sword because the NDA was understandably interested only in highlighting that part of the RJD's tenure in government that evokes kidnapping, extortion, and lawlessness.
As the Bihar assembly results swept in, Patna's Veerchand Patel Marg, the city's political artery, split into two starkly different worlds, with celebrations at the BJP and JD(U) offices and disappointment at the RJD headquarters.
When pressed further, as to whether the doors were still open for the former ally, Prasad, who has known Kumar since their days as student leaders in the 1970s, replied "these are always open (khula hi rahta hai)".
A string of welfare schemes and promises tests the state's budget, which is already heavily dependent on central support and spends little as capital outlay.
Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav on Wednesday dropped hints that the Mahagathbandhan helmed by his party might bring on board former Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras, whom the National Democratic Alliance has sidelined in favour of estranged nephew Chirag Paswan.
'The RJD is a family centric party and its top leadership's main concern is only to promote the family.'
It drew condemnation from the ruling NDA in Bihar which reprimanded the Leader of the Opposition for his choice of words.
Senior BJP leaders, including Amit Shah and J P Nadda, met with party leaders and allies to discuss the upcoming Bihar polls. Seat-sharing arrangements with NDA partners are expected to be announced soon.
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."
Speculation is rife in Bihar about Chief Minister Nitish Kumar potentially moving to the Rajya Sabha, leading to discussions about a possible BJP chief minister and a role for Kumar's son, Nishant. Senior BJP leaders have dismissed the rumours.
Aditaynath alleged that the Congress, RJD and SP were "embracing" criminals in Bihar and allowing infiltrators to compromise with the state's security.
Acharya's clarification comes close on the heels of a couple of cryptic tweets, which had triggered speculations that the medical graduate-turned-homemaker, who was the party's candidate from Saran in last year's Lok Sabha polls, was unhappy with the clout of her younger brother Tejashwi Yadav.
A woman in Gayaji has alleged that she was gang-raped inside an ambulance which drove her to a hospital after she fainted during a government recruitment test, police said on Saturday.
The opposition INDIA bloc has declared RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections.
Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter Rohini Acharya on Sunday charged cohorts of her brother Tejashwi Yadav with accusing her of donating a 'bad' kidney to her father, 'in exchange for crores of rupees and a party ticket'.
The present strength of the electoral college is 781 as six seats are vacant in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha. This puts the majority mark at 391. The NDA has 425 MPs, while the opposition camp has the backing of 324.
The RJD leader on Wednesday had accused senior BJP leader and Muzaffarpur Mayor, Nirmala Devi and her two relatives of "having dual voter ID cards".
The Election Commission of India (ECI) asserts that major political parties participated in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, deploying booth level agents despite opposing the exercise in the Supreme Court. The ECI defends its authority to conduct the revision to maintain the integrity of elections.
Confusion prevailing in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) showed little signs of let up on Saturday, with just two days to go before the filing of nomination papers for the second and final phase of assembly elections comes to a close.
Prasad was approached with queries by journalists at the airport, where he had reached, alongside son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, to board a flight to Delhi for the coalition meeting on Tuesday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance is expected to achieve a clear majority in Rajya Sabha after bye-elections for 12 seats scheduled next month, which would help the party get the nod for key legislations such as the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
'If Nitish Kumar were to depart from this alliance, it would signal substantial instability in central government politics.'
As US President Donald Trump claimed that India will significantly reduce Russian oil imports by year-end, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday hit back by criticising him for making announcements on behalf of New Delhi.
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.
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.
