Mokama will witness one of this Bihar assembly election's hottest battles as Janata Dal-United candidate Anant Singh takes on the Rashtriya Janata Dal's Veena Devi, whose husband Surajbhan Singh, like her JD-U rival, is considered one of the state's tough guys or as they say in these parts, a Bahubali.
'The seats which we would be contesting have been identified. Respective candidates have also been finalised. Four non-performing sitting MLAs will be replaced with fresh faces.'
The Rajya Sabha elections saw several candidates elected unopposed, including Sharad Pawar and Ramdas Athawale, while Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana prepare for contested elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his Bihar assembly poll campaign, asserting that the NDA under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will break all previous electoral records. He criticized the INDIA bloc and highlighted the NDA's cohesiveness and development efforts in Bihar.
Rashtriya Lok Dal president Jayant Chaudhary on Friday said the Centre won his heart with the announcement of Bharat Ratna to former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. 'Dil Jeet Liya,' he posted on X.
The ruling National Democratic Alliance on Friday secured a thumping majority in the Bihar Assembly, winning 202 seats in the 243-member House, as results for all the constituencies were declared by the Election Commission.
He also wished his estranged brother, Tejashwi Yadav, on his 36th birthday, wishing him the best and a bright future.
Hema Malini is a rare Bharatiya Janata Party star politician who has been asked to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election for a third time.
The BJP is willing to offer two Lok Sabha seats, including Baghpat which is currently represented by its MP Satya Pal Singh, to the RLD and may also give it a Rajya Sabha seat, they added.
'JD-U is not ready to take the political risk of playing second fiddle to the BJP in state politics.'
The Samajwadi Party and Congress have announced that they will contest together under the INDIA bloc.
Here is a look at how prominent leaders are faring in the contest.
Bihar's upcoming elections are marked by the significant presence of candidates from political families, raising questions about ideological commitments and democratic principles.
RJD president Lalu Prasad's daughter Rohini Acharya criticised her family members for allegedly destroying a legacy, hinting at internal conflicts within the party.
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.
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.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the NDA won 64 seats -- 62 bagged by the BJP and two by Apna Dal.
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.
Nitish Kumar is poised to lead the NDA government in Bihar, with key political developments unfolding ahead of the swearing-in ceremony. The article covers the election of the NDA leader, cabinet allocation discussions, and reactions to the election results, including Prashant Kishor's claims and the family feud within Lalu Prasad's family.
Following is the list of the major winners and losers of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Janata Dal-United and the Rashtriya Janata Dal in the Bihar assembly polls.
Smaller allies of the ruling NDA in Bihar, including HAM and RLM, have expressed resentment over the seat-sharing arrangements announced for the upcoming assembly elections, raising concerns about the alliance's unity.
Nine seats are going to polls in Uttar Pradesh, four in Punjab and one in Kerala.
'The name will be declared at the right time.'
'If you want a bright future of Bihar and your children, I urge you not to vote for anyone with a criminal background or corrupt candidates even if they belong to your caste.'
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J P Nadda and several other top leaders of the NDA.
Jan Suraaj Party leader Prashant Kishor on Tuesday claimed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United would have been bundled up with just 25 seats had his government not given Rs 10,000 to 60,000 beneficiaries in each constituency just before the assembly elections and promised Rs 2 lakh to 1.5 crore women across the state under self-employment initiatives.
'Modi and Shah made it clear that the next government will be led by Nitishji.'
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.
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.
While the results of the bypolls will not directly impact the composition of the 403-member state Assembly, the contest is being seen as a prestige fight between the BJP and opposition parties.
AIMIM's Bihar state president Akhtarul Iman, the party's lone MLA in the state, has written to RJD president Lalu Prasad, formally requesting inclusion in the grand alliance.
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 Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress's alliance in Uttar Pradesh came under scrutiny as both parties did not hold a single joint campaign for the bypolls to nine assembly seats. While both parties maintained that the alliance is strong, BJP ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) claimed a crack in the alliance. The Congress opted out of the bypolls and announced coordination committees for all nine seats to support the SP. However, the absence of joint rallies raised questions about the alliance's strength. The SP campaign was spearheaded by its chief Akhilesh Yadav, while the Congress cited its leaders' busy schedules in Maharashtra and Jharkhand for the lack of joint campaigns. The bypoll results will be announced on November 23.
Appreciating the central government for conferring Bharat Ratna to Charan Singh, he said that this decision proves that Modi understands the sentiment and character of the nation.
Having struck a seat-sharing deal, leaders of the Janata Dal-United and the Bharatiya Janata Party sat across the table in Patna on Monday to thrash out, among other things, constituencies they planned to swap or give up in favour of smaller allies in Bihar.
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.
The BJP and JD(U) will each contest on 101 seats in the Bihar assembly elections, while the LJP will field candidates on 29 seats. Other NDA partners will contest on fewer seats.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) gave a huge blow to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance by winning 43 seats out of total 80 Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh, as per the Election Commission.
Janata Dal-United supremo Nitish Kumar is set to be sworn-in as Bihar chief minister for a record 10th time on Thursday, days after the National Democratic Alliance secured a landslide victory in the assembly elections.
Electoral fortunes of 1,302 candidates, including over half a dozen ministers in the Nitish Kumar government, will be sealed on Tuesday with 3.70 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise across 122 assembly segments in the second and final phase of the Bihar polls.
