The home portfolio of Bihar, which Chief Minister Nitish Kumar kept with himself all through his nearly 20-year-long tenure, has been given to his deputy, BJP leader Samrat Chowdhury, this time, according to an official notification issued on Friday.
'Nitish Kumar previously held tight control over key ministries, but this concession (giving the home portfolio to the BJP) reflects either his weakened political position or a pragmatic acknowledgment of the BJP's growing dominance.'
"2005 se lekar aaj tak... logon ne dekha hai kaun sarkar chalata hai aur kaun sirf hawa banata hai, (From 2005 till today, people know who actually governs and who just makes noise)," said Ramesh Yadav, a booth worker from Nalanda who claimed he had attended every JD-U celebration since Nitish's debut win.
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.
This will be the first time the BJP has got more seats than Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led JD-U in Bihar, underscoring the change in their equations after they joined hands a few months back.
'No one can ignore PK's prediction about Nitish Kumar's party.'
Tejashwi Yadav and Prashant Kishore claim that a group of senior Janata Dal-United leaders and retired bureaucrats, locally dubbed the 'Bhunja Party', manages the state administration on Nitish Kumar's behalf.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed NDA parliamentarians, emphasizing that laws and regulations should serve the convenience of the common people and not cause harassment.
He added that opposition parties were assured that their concerns regarding the impact of the West Asia situation on India and the safety of Indian citizens were addressed in detail.
The decision taken about Kharge at the INDIA bloc meeting earlier this month had shocked the JD-U, which believed that its president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would be named as the convenor without being saddled with any chairperson, its leaders had then said.
People of Bihar wait with bated breath for Friday's counting of votes polled in the recent assembly elections, which will decide whether Janata Dal-United supremo Nitish Kumar, the state's longest-serving chief minister, will get a record fifth term or whether a change in government will be witnessed.
A striking poster featuring Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with a tiger, captioned 'tiger abhi zinda hai', appeared outside his residence as the NDA took an early lead in the assembly elections. The poster quickly became a focal point, with JD(U) workers celebrating it as a symbol of Kumar's political strength.
Kushwaha retorted saying that he could not leave the party without his share in the "paternal property".
The list included turncoats like Shyam Rajak, who returned to the JD-U, quitting RJD about a year ago, and don-turned-politician Anant Kumar Singh, who had filed nomination papers from the Mokama assembly seat on Tuesday.
Tej Pratap Yadav, the estranged son of Lalu Prasad Yadav, attended a feast hosted by BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha, sparking speculation about his political future.
Disgruntled Janata Dal-United leader Upendra Kushwaha on Monday resigned from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party, less than two years after returning to the party, and announced formation of the 'Rashtriya Loktantrik Janata Dal'.
The deceased has been identified as Saurav Kumar. Another person accompanying him, Munmun Kumar, was injured in the firing, they said.
'A tally less than 150, even if it is 120 or 130, shall be a defeat for me'
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United on Wednesday described as "high indiscipline" and "arbitrary" the support extended by its Nagaland unit to the newly formed government in that state where the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance returned to power.
''Now the roads in Bihar are as good as any other Indian state. The power sector has improved.' 'Connectivity, law and order, gender justice...' 'Bihar now stands for all these things that were totally absent when it was under jungle raj.'
The Indian government addressed opposition concerns regarding the West Asia crisis in an all-party meeting, outlining its strategy for ensuring the security of the Indian diaspora, fulfilling energy needs, and maintaining diplomatic relations with key partners. The government also dismissed Pakistan's reported mediation efforts.
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.
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.
Party sources are tight-lipped about the fate of Tyagi, who is a trusted aide of Kumar, the party's supreme leader, but has reportedly often left the latter embarrassed by going public on issues without waiting for a nod from the boss.
'This combination of immaturity and desperation somehow becomes lethal; it is unhealthy for democracy'
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.
'The possibility of Nitish Babu continuing at least for some time is very much there, but don't rule out the artistic possibility of a leadership change executed very elegantly.'
Rajya Sabha elections in Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana were marred by allegations of cross-voting and 'horse trading', leading to suspensions and warnings from the Congress party.
While it is evident that the INDIA bloc has not shut its doors on Nitish Kumar, those within the NDA are hopeful that the JD-U's support base would benefit them as well
Despite claims that he is tired and unwell, Nitish Kumar has addressed 84 election rallies, urging voters to give him 'one more chance'.
In the recent Bihar elections, a majority of state ministers from the ruling NDA secured victories in their respective constituencies, with only one minister losing their seat.
Startling allegations of backstabbing were made against the Bharatiya Janata Party by MLAs and MPs of the Janata Dal-United on Tuesday at a meeting in Patna after which Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar pulled the plug on the alliance.
'Nitish Kumar may be marginalised as an office-holder, but that is not the same thing as the disappearance of Nitish Kumar's politics.'
Bharti is apparently miffed at not being included into the cabinet after Singh was on Tuesday in the cabinet expansion inducted for the third time as minister.
Former poll strategist Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party fails to win any seats in the Bihar assembly elections, while his prediction about JD(U)'s performance proves inaccurate. The article analyzes Kishor's political journey and future prospects.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United on Saturday maintained that 'there is no confusion' among the 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) partners in Bihar.
Barring dissident MLC Rameshwar Mahto, who has an axe to grind against some ministers close to the CM, legislators and office bearers of the party chose to give the session a wide berth.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar sparked controversy after pulling the hijab off a newly recruited AYUSH doctor's face during an appointment ceremony. The incident has drawn criticism from opposition parties.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has convened a meeting of Janata Dal-United MLAs and MPs on Tuesday to discuss the scenario that has emerged following the exit of former national president R C P Singh, party chief Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan said on Monday.
Manjhi's son Santosh Suman, who is a minister in the Nitish Kumar cabinet, made the statement a day after reports emerged that a seat-sharing formula has been arrived at in the National Democratic Alliance, and the HAM was likely to get only one of the state's 40 constituencies.
