The Bihar government has rejected demands to review its prohibition law, which has been in place for a decade, despite concerns raised by members of the ruling NDA about financial losses to the state.
The National Democratic Alliance is busy with government formation in Bihar after its historic victory, and plans to distribute ministerial portfolios using the same formula as ticket allocation. Nitish Kumar will stay on as chief minister, while the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) are likely to get one deputy chief minister each.
Manjhi's political journey took a dramatic turn when, in 2014, he was unexpectedly anointed Chief Minister by Nitish Kumar, who had resigned after a disastrous Lok Sabha election.
Accompanied by his son Santosh Suman, Manjhi met Shah at his residence in New Delhi.
Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United supremo Nitish Kumar on Friday thanked people of the state for giving a 'landslide' victory for the ruling National Democratic Alliance in the assembly polls.
'Rahul Gandhi has promised me to give a Congress ticket to contest the polls.'
A new Bihar government headed by Jitan Ram Manjhi as the 32nd Chief Minister was sworn in on Tuesday evening.
'We share and support the ideology of the NDA and will not work against the NDA.'
'I fail to understand why when Rahul Gandhi himself gave me hope that I would contest the polls, how come other Congress leaders did not consider my name?'
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.
'This campaign reeks of communalism, which is why it is being opposed.'
Intense lobbying continues among NDA partners in Bihar to finalize cabinet berths and the Assembly Speaker post ahead of the swearing-in ceremony. Consensus is being sought between BJP and JD(U) for the Speaker's position, while new faces are expected in the cabinet. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for November 20.
'Age matters and the way Tejashwi has been doing an aggressive campaign, only a young leader like him can do it.'
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.
Kuswaha told reporters at the airport that "Everything will be fine. With this hope and belief, we are going to Delhi."
'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.'
'Modi and Shah made it clear that the next government will be led by Nitishji.'
The NDA released its manifesto for the Bihar assembly polls, promising jobs, infrastructure development, and social welfare programs.
NDA partners engage in intense lobbying to finalize cabinet berths ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the new Bihar government led by Nitish Kumar. The new cabinet is expected to include fresh faces from BJP and JD(U), along with representation from smaller alliance partners.
Less than 10 days are left for filing of nomination papers for the first phase of the Bihar polls.
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.
The Congress on Friday posted its second worst performance in Bihar's electoral history, managing to win only six of the over 50 seats it contested and losing deposits in most seats as its 'vote chori' pitch failed to make any impact on the ground.
In a surprise move, former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi resigned on Tuesday as member of the state legislative assembly, according to his close aide Danish Rizwan.
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.
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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the NDA's victory in the Bihar assembly elections as a win for good governance, development, and social justice. He congratulated alliance partners and thanked the people of Bihar for their support.
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.
Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter Rohini Acharya on Sunday charged cohorts of her brother Tejashwi Yadav with accusing her of donating a 'bad' kidney to her father, 'in exchange for crores of rupees and a party ticket'.
A shoe was on Monday hurled at Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi by a youth during his weekly public interaction programme 'Janata Durbar' at his residence in Patna.
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.
Bihar's upcoming elections are marked by the significant presence of candidates from political families, raising questions about ideological commitments and democratic principles.
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.
Cracks appear within Bihar's ruling NDA alliance as partners bicker over seat sharing ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM demands a respectable number of seats, while Chirag Paswan's LJP seeks more than initially agreed upon.
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 name will be declared at the right time.'
Bihar will have a new chief minister chosen by Nitish Kumar who on Monday refused to take back his resignation despite repeated pleas by Janata Dal-United legislators to continue in office.
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.
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.
This is the first time a JD-U leader has openly expressed fears about the party's future.
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