The Congress is a national party with a pan-India presence and it is quite natural that it should be the fulcrum of any national coalition against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav said on Sunday.
While the BJP backs Nitish Kumar as chief minister, Chirag isn't hiding his readiness for the role, reports Aditi Phadnis.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday said he might not campaign for the by-elections to a couple of assembly segments in the state where his current ally Rashtriya Janata Dal is locked in a straight contest with his former alliance partner Bharatiya Janata Party.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sounded the poll bugle in Bihar, where assembly elections are due this year, calling for 'an NDA government, once again', which would protect the state from the 'evil intentions' of the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress combine.
Yadav said all parties have joined hands against the BJP in the Bihar assembly, and added "now this is going to be replicated across the whole country".
According to Khemka's family members, his son was also shot dead by criminals six years ago in Hajipur.
Though this is the second charge-sheet filed by the CBI in the case before a special court here, it is the first time that Tejashwi Yadav has been named as an accused.
Yadav scion also promised to scrap the notification in Bihar chief minister's tenure of the retirement of government employees at the age of 50.
INDIA bloc parties are set to raise issues such as the Pahalgam attack, US President Trump's claims of brokering a ceasefire, and concerns over electoral roll revisions in Bihar during the Parliament's Monsoon session.
"This is not a manifesto, it is our pledge to bring a change which is set to become true. Every sector has been taken into consideration while preparing this manifesto so that we can make Bihar a happy, better and prosperous state," Tejashwi Yadav said while releasing vision document.
Yadav also called for firming up of an Opposition alliance to take on the BJP in the 2024 general elections, suggesting that the Congress must focus on over 200 seats on which it is in direct fight with the saffron party, while taking a 'backseat' in states where regional parties are a formidable force.
Ahead of Holi, controversial statements by leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its ally Janata Dal-United in Bihar have heated up politics in the state which goes to the polls this winter.
In the tweet, Yadav had claimed that the result in the assembly segment of Araria district proved that Kumar owed the success of his party in 2015 assembly polls to the alliance with the RJD and not the other way round.
Shukla claimed that the current Nitish Kumar-led dispensation would be ousted after the elections and people have started protesting against the ruling alliance leaders in public meetings.
All eyes are on the JD-U's national executive meeting on June 29 in New Delhi, where a decision in this regard may be taken.
The 33-year-old, who steered his party to an impressive show in the Bihar assembly polls last year thereby emerging out of the shadow of his father Lalu Prasad, underscored that the opposition needed to bring in "dhaar" (edge) and "nayaapan" (novelty) in its electoral issues.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar launched a scathing attack on his predecessor Rabri Devi, calling her appointment as Chief Minister "suspension-induced" during a heated debate in the state legislative council. The verbal sparring, marked by accusations and counter-accusations on law and order, saw Kumar accusing the RJD of being unable to handle Hindu-Muslim tensions and engaging in "mischief." Rabri Devi, in response, asserted her right to speak about her achievements during her tenure as Chief Minister. Kumar, however, retorted with a sharp, local phrase, dismissing Rabri Devi's claims. The exchange, which saw both sides engage in mudslinging, ended with the Chairman admonishing the opposition for their unruly behavior.
The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish details of deleted names from the voters list in Bihar, along with reasons for non-inclusion, to enhance transparency in the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll.
Police personnel removed him and his supporters from the protest site as they were holding the demonstration near a restricted area, and thus it was "illegal", a senior officer said.
A surge in violent crimes, including targeted killings, has raised concerns about law and order in Bihar. Police attribute the rise to the widespread availability of illegal firearms and ammunition.
If the TVK joins the NDA, there is every likelihood of the AIADMK winning an absolute majority in the 234 seat assembly and wanting to form a stand-alone government. In turn, it could mean that the BJP especially and the TVK equally so, will want to restrict the AIADMK's seat share closer to the cut-off figure, if only to ensure that EPS won't get the absolute majority that he desires (if the NDA won, that is) and will have to settle for a coalition government, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
As the election nears, political positions on prohibition are shifting.
The RJD leader said the coming to power of the Mahagathbandhan government with the JD-U, the RJD, the Congress and other parties uniting "augurs well for opposition unity".
Both Raghopur and Hasanpur seats will go to polls in the second phase of Bihar elections, on November 3. Notification has already been issued for phase-2 and nomination filing is currently underway.
'Laluji personally telephoned several Opposition leaders to attend the meeting.'
Villagers suggested that heavy rainfall over the preceding days may have contributed to the collapse, with a surge in Gandaki river potentially weakening the bridge's structure.
'We made a mistake. We misunderstood. Now all is well.'
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.
Old-timers seem not impressed with the idea of dropping from the RJD poster its jailed supremo who is acknowledged, across party lines, as the biggest crowd puller ever seen in Bihar's poitical arena.
Kumar's statement come hours after, Tejashwi took to Twitter daring the chief minister to swear on an affidavit that his son will never enter politics.
Another instance of bridge collapse came to the fore in Bihar on Thursday, making it the 10th such incident to have been reported from the state in just over a fortnight, an official said.
While politicians and pundits speculate a strong possibility of their coming together, the two young leaders, however, told prying journalists their meeting was a result of "family relations" that went back to ties shared by their fathers.
New faces may, however, be inducted in the council of ministers from the allies Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress, he told reporters during his visit to Madhubani on Wednesday as part of his 'Samadhan Yatra'.
'The 2020 assembly election was a Tejaswi Yadav election; whereas this is a Lalu Yadav election. It is his plan.'
Nitish Kumar, once seen as a potential rival to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, broke ranks with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance coalition on Tuesday to stake claim as head of the rival 'Mahagathbandhan' (Grand Alliance) to be the chief minister of Bihar for the eighth time.
Addressing a press conference barely a few hours before the campaign for the final phase of the elections came to a close, Paswan reiterated that the LJP will do well despite having gone solo in the elections and asserted, "We will help the BJP form the next government."
The RJD leader said he was being treated for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during the past month.
Kushwaha was absent at a get-together of the NDA in Patna on Thursday night and his party demanded that the next Lok Sabha and assembly polls be fought under his leadership.
The ED had registered a criminal case against the Lalu Prasad family members.
Misa Bharti's election office in a khatal is meant to symbolise an emotional connect with her parents Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi's caste, the Yadavs, who are considered traditional RJD voters.
