JD-U national president RCP Singh reacted with a sense of vindication to the developments in the party founded by late Ram Vilas Paswan, whose son has been left cornered in a revolt led by the former's younger brother Pashupati Kumar Paras and supported by four other MPs, including nephew Prince Raj.
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Asked how many seats the Congress would fight on, Singh said they would be flexible in seat sharing.
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.
Biren Singh relinquished the post on February 9 last year amid rumblings within the state BJP seeking a change of leadership in strife-torn Manipur.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Patna to discuss election strategy. The meeting aims to dispel rumors of strained relations and solidify the NDA alliance ahead of upcoming assembly polls.
The invite to Paswan from the BJP assumes significance as this made it clear that the LJP remains a member of the NDA despite walking out of the alliance in Bihar during the state assembly polls.
Singh targeted the Congress using a 'snakes and ladders' analogy, saying the party will fall to zero from 99 after being bitten by a snake -- referring to the grand old party winning 99 seats in the Lok Sabha polls.
Kishor had claimed that Nitish Kumar asked him to lead the JD-U.
The agenda would also include organisational polls and a fresh membership drive, though "national role for Nitish" is likely to dominate the narrative.
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.
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.
The TDP and JD-U will have a lot to answer inside Parliament, day after day, session after session, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The development comes a day ahead of the announcement of the panchayat and municipal poll results.
A statement to this effect was made in Patna by RCP Singh, a close aide of Kumar, amid buzz on cabinet expansion at the Centre.
The JD-U Rajya Sabha MP said Nitish Kumar has built his image such that makes him the best fit for being the convenor of the opposition grouping.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United on Monday announced its low-profile top office-bearer Anil Hegde as its candidate for the by-election to a Rajya Sabha seat which has been necessitated by the death of multiple-term MP, King Mahendra.
A SWOT analysis of the NDA coalition led by Nitish Kumar as Bihar heads into assembly elections, examining its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats against the INDIA bloc.
Both the BJP and the JD-U abetted the LJP split but interestingly, independently. And there hangs a tale of conflicting interests, gamesmanship, subterfuge, and retribution, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
'If the NDA returns with the BJP substantially ahead of the JD-U, a BJP CM bid becomes plausible; if the gap is narrow or JD-U holds pivotal seats, continuity with Nitish is the lower-risk option.'
Campaigning has concluded for the second and final phase of the Bihar assembly elections, marking the end of a month-long intense political battle. Key candidates and prominent leaders from various parties held rallies and roadshows to woo voters.
Tyagi, however, added his party was imposing no condition on the BJP over the issue of Cabinet berths.
If women voters are mobilised in big numbers to the voting booths on November 6 and 11 by the Nitish Kumar-led NDA, then it will be quite difficult for the Tejashwi Yadav-led Mahagathbandhan to defeat the incumbent government, points out Sheela Bhatt.
Unlike his National Democratic Alliance allies who rushed to the spotlight soon after the NDA won a historic mandate in the 2025 Bihar assembly election, Nitish Kumar stayed away from the public eye on Friday, November 14.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar praised the Narendra Modi government's support for the state's progress and urged voters to support the NDA in the upcoming assembly elections. He also criticized Lalu Prasad's governance and dynastic politics.
The JD-U insisted that its decision to fight the polls independently will have no impact on its ties with the BJP in Bihar.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD-U launched a frontal attack on ally BJP, asking it to rein in 'loudmouth leaders' whose 'arrogance' had cost it an old partner like the Shiv Sena.
Apart from outlining its future plans for the development of Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar led party also referred to poll promises made by the rival Grand Alliance, including approving 10 lakh jobs, and sought to know from where would they manage Rs 5 lakh crore additional money that will be required for fulfilling their 'lofty' announcements.
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.
According to political observers, the AIMIM sees a catchment area in Bihar, where Muslims are more than 17 per cent of the total population but have never got a proportionate representation in the state legislature.
Senior Janata Dal-United leader Dhananjay Singh pitched for Opposition unity ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and said party workers in Uttar Pradesh want Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to contest the elections from the state's Phulpur constituency.
JD-U leaders believe Prashant Kishor's entry would benefit its case for contesting a larger number of seats in Bihar in next year's general election.
Voters in Bihar's Jehanabad and Ghosi express their hopes for change, particularly regarding job creation and development, in the upcoming government following the state elections.
It was speculated that Rohini was "unhappy" over the expulsion of Tej Pratap Yadav from the party. However, during the assembly elections, she was seen campaigning for Tejashwi.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar seems intent on mending fences with estranged former colleagues as part of the spadework for posing a credible challenge to the Bharatiya Janata Party's national hegemony.
Bihar's upcoming elections are marked by the significant presence of candidates from political families, raising questions about ideological commitments and democratic principles.
Party vice-president Prashant Kishor and general secy Pavan Varma voice disappointment over the JD-U backing the Bill in LS. Urge Nitish to 'reconsider' stand.
JD-U national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan, who addressed a press conference in Patna, however, dismissed queries about Kumar's absence at the NITI Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the terse remark 'you should ask the chief minister'.
Shatrughan Sinha and Kirti Azad certain to be axed along with Union minister R K Singh and former minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
BJP backed to the hilt Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as its leader in the state and rebuffed a rebellious Chirag Paswan, while acknowledging his Lok Janshakti Party as an ally 'at the Centre'. At a press conference which was attended by top leaders of the JD-U headed by Kumar and the BJP, it was made clear that 'only those who accept the chief ministers leadership will be deemed to be a part of the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar'.
