Earlier today, former RJD candidate Madan Shah broke down in public, claiming that he was promised a ticket by the Rashtriya Janata Dal for the upcoming 2025 Bihar assembly polls.
Meet the maverick serial election contester who shares his name with current Bihar's best known politician.
A Delhi court has ordered the framing of charges against RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, his family, and others in the alleged land-for-job scam, accusing Yadav of using his railway ministry position for personal gain.
'I am not angry with my son. He will always have my blessings. Tej Pratap will now stay with the family.'
'Both Rahul and Modi are the same in the way they run their parties. Modi too wants faceless people and so does Rahul Gandhi.'
RJD president Lalu Prasad has expelled his elder son, Tej Pratap Yadav, from the party for six years for "irresponsible behavior" and snapped all family ties with him. The decision comes after a viral Facebook post claimed that Yadav, a former Bihar minister, was "in a relationship" with a young woman.
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.
'In times of adversity, families unite, but the reverse is happening in the Lalu family.'
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accuses the NDA of plotting to steal the Bihar assembly elections, alleging collusion with the Election Commission and voter roll manipulation.
'This will be a close election. At least now, it appears that the NDA has an edge.'
'The question for the TMC is not whether it can hold its bastions, but whether it can expand effectively into regions where the BJP already possesses a good ecosystem.'
'We have been struggling with problems, but we want to elect Tejashwi to see him as the next chief minister.'
'If the RJD loses it would be out of power for nearly 25 years. Meanwhile, the JD-U will have survival issues if it gets less number of seats.'
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.
A seasoned politician and two-term Member of Parliament, Dr Shakeel Ahmad, who has served as a Union minister and senior Congress leader, resigned from the Congress party, marking the end of his decades-long association with an organisation that his family has been part of for three generations. In an interview with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff he speaks why he quit the party.
Mokama will witness one of this Bihar assembly election's hottest battles as Janata Dal-United candidate Anant Singh takes on the Rashtriya Janata Dal's Veena Devi, whose husband Surajbhan Singh, like her JD-U rival, is considered one of the state's tough guys or as they say in these parts, a Bahubali.
'Stalin's intention is plain and simple.' 'The DMK wants to convert what is an 'incumbency-centred' election for the party-led alliance into one more 'Modi/BJP election' after Stalin's successive success in 2019 and 2021, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Without our support Nitish Kumar wouldn't have become chief minister.' 'After the government was formed we became ministers, but our agenda remained the same: Amit Shah had promised reservation for Nishads.' 'He wouldn't listen, so we went to UP and contested 52 seats in the 2022 elections. He didn't like the idea of rebellion.' 'He saw that this man, coming from Bombay, is very sharp. He's made four MLAs now, tomorrow he'll make 40. A time will come when they will make it 125.' 'They bought our MLAs and ousted us from the government.'
Former Union railway minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, on Sunday, said that the Railway's mismanagement led to the stampede at the New Delhi railway station.
Nowhere are the stories of the coming election better told than on the roads of Bihar.
'If the BJP had its way, it would sideline him in favour of someone else. But that's not feasible. There is no vote catcher in Bihar for the BJP.'
'I want to ask the entire nation and the opposition. Can a Chief Minister, Prime Minister, or any leader run the country from jail?'
The former deputy chief minister was replying to queries about the JD-U president's outburst inside the assembly on Tuesday where he had told Yadav, "It was I who helped your father Lalu Prasad, the RJD president, become the leader of opposition when he did not have the support of even his own caste men."
Ahead of the impending assembly polls, the rising crime graph and poor law and order situation have led to demands being revived to adopt UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's 'bulldozer' and police encounter policy in Bihar to deal with criminals.
Only in the event of the RSS managing to force Modi into accepting a consensual candidate, will the party not continue to 'being' the 'next Congress', observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
On Judgement Day, Lalu Yadav ultimately paid the price for 15 years of misrule in Bihar.
Nishant Kumar's demand that the NDA name Nitish Kumar as its chief ministerial nominee is seen as a gambit to consolidate the CM's position in the ruling alliance.
During Emergency Indira Gandhi acquired absolute power. Lakhs of political opponents, students, activists were arrested.
With Lalu Yadav's conviction in the fodder scam case, an alliance between the Congress and Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United should have been easier, but that may not be the case. Lalu and his militant Yadav clan will not make way for the two parties so easily, says Sheela Bhatt.
The United Progressive Alliance government's decision to go ahead with an ordinance allowing convicted MPs and MLAs to continue in office and contest elections is a clear move to help out beleaguered Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.
'The clearest interpretation of the November 8 mandate is that the backwards, Dalits and minorities, and a huge proportion of women cutting across caste and class, displayed massive consolidation to the extent that despite chipping of votes by the Left Front, by the Third Front and by the BSP, Mahagathbandhan candidates won, and in many cases by huge margins,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
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.
A sudden surge in political attacks in Bihar has stunned leaders of both the ruling National Democratic Alliance and the Opposition Mahagathbandhan.
Days after Nitish Kumar attacked the RSS and urged all non-BJP parties to unite, RJD Chief Lalu Yadav backed the Bihar CM to become next PM.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed concerns about the Congress party's leadership role within the INDIA bloc, raising questions about their ability to justify their position. Abdullah highlighted a sense of disquiet among some allies, who feel the Congress isn't doing enough to earn its leadership position. While praising Sonia Gandhi's leadership, he also criticized the alliance's lack of consistent engagement and called for more structured communication to address potential disagreements. Abdullah's comments suggest underlying tensions within the opposition alliance, particularly regarding the Congress's electoral performance and seat distribution strategies.
'What social justice is Tejashwi talking about?' 'Muslims in Bihar are asking we are 18%, and you are giving us 2 seats.'
On Wednesday, October 27, the old political warhorse returned to the election trail, campaigning for the October 30 by-elections to the Kusheshwar Asthan and Tarapur assembly seats in Bihar.
The move comes after the ministry of civil aviation wrote a letter to the BCAS informing that it had decided to revoke permission granted in 2009 allowing Lalu Yadav and his wife's vehicle to drive up to the tarmac.
Bharti accused the media of distorting her statement, attributing it to the BJP's agenda.
In a tweet in Hindi, Lalu said, "Met the country's senior most socialist friend Shri Mulayam Singhji and enquired about his wellbeing. We have common concerns and fight about farmers, inequality, the poor and the unemployed."
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