A close aide of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday confirmed that a 'proposal' to make the Janata Dal-United president convener of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) came up at the meeting of coalition leaders through virtual mode.
"He (Manjhi) was in constant touch with BJP leaders. He recently met several BJP leaders... He wanted to be part of the June 23 meeting of opposition leaders... but I had apprehensions that he might leak issues/matters that will be discussed on June 23.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday appealed to Janata Dal (United) and Shiv Sena to review their decision to support the UPA's Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee in the election for the top post and asked the two parties to back NDA's candidate P A Sangma instead.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah himself sounded more open to such a possibility in a recent interview.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party falling short of a majority in the Lok Sabha and needing the National Democratic Alliance partners to form the government at the Centre, Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United head Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party's N Chandrababu Naidu have emerged as potential kingmakers.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday defended its decision to contest the presidential poll in which its has endorsed the former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma's candidature against the United Progressive Alliance nominee Pranab Mukherjee and said that the election for the top post was an integral part of democracy.
The comprehensive television coverage to members of Congress' first family during election campaign in Uttar Pradesh has drawn the ire of Janata Dal United, which smells a "paid news" syndrome behind it.
The Opposition INDIA bloc on Friday finalised a 14-member coordination-cum-election strategy committee comprising members of various parties, and it will function as the alliance's highest decision-making body and start work on seat-sharing immediately, sources said.
Besides, the department has sought an explanation from officials concerned for the collapse of bridges in East Champaran on June 23 and in Madhubani on June 26.
'We will be happy if Nitishji becomes convenor of INDIA.'
Nitish slammed the opposition and expressed confidence that they will be defeated in the next Lok Sabha elections.
Janata Dal-United Member of Parliament Shivanand Tiwari on Monday questioned the government's decision to give the Bharat Ratna to Sachin Tendulkar and not to legendary hockey player Dhyan Chand.
A statement from the Fortis Memorial Research Institute said Yadav was brought to the emergency ward in an unconscious and unresponsive state.
President Droupadi Murmu hosted a dinner for the outgoing Union council of ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Chaudhary alleged that the BJP "hates Bihar" after having lost power in the state, which is "back in the centre-stage of national politics" since the opposition meeting hosted in Patna by Nitish Kumar.
The Central Bureau of Invesigation on Monday approached the Rajya Sabha secretariat seeking documents related to fake travel bills allegedly submitted by a Janata Dal-United MP against whom a case has been registered for making such claims.
Addressing media persons after launching an email system that would link the party to every booth as envisaged by him, Rajnath said: "Last time too we had tied up with JD-U, which went on to win five out of the 25 seats that were allotted to them." The BJP Central Election Committee will meet on April 10 to clear the names of candidates, who would be given tickets to contest elections.
In a post on Twitter on Wednesday, the 28-year-old also named the Janata Dal-United as a client during the 2010 Bihar elections and brought up some caste surveys carried out in Uttar Pradesh by SCL India -- the parent company of CA.
Endorsing Nobel laureate Amartya Sen's views against Narendra Modi, the Janata Dal - United on Tuesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party leader was not fit to be the prime minister and his arrival on the national stage has resulted in focus shifting from burning issues to non-issues.
Leader of the opposition in the assembly, Vijay Kumar Sinha of the Bharatiya Janaat Party, sat next to Choudhary and he was seen exchanging pleasantries with Kumar.
Cracks were visible in the Opposition unity ahead of Tuesday's meeting convened by Congress to ramp up attack on demonetisation and alleged "personal corruption" of the prime minister, with Left parties and the Janata Dal-United unlikely to attend it.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Monday for the first time targeted Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is considered close to him, by saying that ongoing Lok Sabha polls outcome will prove the impact of the Janata Dal-United's decision to end its alliance with the BJP.
The BJP hopes to deepen its support among backward castes, especially the Extremely Backward Classes, in Bihar following the announcement of Bharat Ratna for former chief minister Karpoori Thakur, a leader who enjoys admiration from backward satraps of various hues.
Rajnath came down heavily on the National Conference-Congress alliance over its poll promise of restoring Article 370 and said it is impossible as long as the BJP is there.
The Mahagathbandhan's seat-sharing announcement comes a day after the filing of nomination papers for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls was over.
There are unconfirmed reports that the BJP has offered to appoint Paras as governor and a berth in the Bihar cabinet to his nephew Prince Raj. M I Khan reports.
Bihar Industry and Disaster Management minister Renu Kumari Kushwaha on Monday evening resigned from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's cabinet and the Janata Dal-United party. Kushwaha is set to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Khagaria seat as a Lok Janshakti Party nominee. LJP has joined hands with the Bharatiaya Janata Party in Bihar.
Kumar said that Rahul Gandhi's claim that the caste survey in the state was held under the Congress' pressure was 'nonsensical'.
'BJP's ultimate ambition is to control Bihar independently.'
In a village of Rajputs, the vote is for Modi even though the BJP is not contesting from here.
The first meeting of leaders of the National Democratic Alliance after the election results was held at caretaker Prime Minister Narendra D Modi's residence in New Delhi on Wednesday, June 5, 2024.
'Despite being Bihar chief minister twice and an MLA for over three decades, he and my mother used to stay in a jhopri in our village.'
Predictably, many RJD leaders, including its spokesperson Sarika Paswan, shared the video of Kumar who had lambasted the party's president Lalu Prasad and the latter's wife Rabri Devi for their alleged dismal performance as chief ministers of Bihar.
'Modi's image has no takers among the masses.'
'The longevity of the government is a doubt for me because when the going gets tough, there could a be a point in time where there might be pressure, from within the party or from the allies.'
The increased numbers of the Opposition bloc would mean that their MPs are likely to head several more panels than the four that they did by the end of the term of the 17th Lok Sabha.
'Someone who cannot even take his cabinet into confidence, how will he take the NDA alliance into confidence?'
Gandhi said he was "waiting with open arms".
'Nitish Kumar has no vision for the people of the state. He also had no justifiable reason for ditching us and going back to the BJP-led NDA'
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