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.
Nitish has warned that FDI in retail sector will destroy the local retailers across the country.
After the National Democratic Alliance swept the assembly polls in Bihar, rediff.com's N Ganesh spoke to Biharis in Mumbai to gauge their reactions to Nitish Kumar's impressive performance.
Concealed beneath the feat, which testifies to his political acumen and survival instincts, is the fact that the 72-year-old leader could never remain at peace with his allies which also made him change partners frequently.
If you can't control law and order, then resign, VHP tells NDA government in Bihar.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance appeared to register a landslide victory in Bihar, opening up impressive leads in more than 180 of the state's 243 assembly seats, with early trends also indicating that the saffron party was on track to post its biggest tally.
The speculations were triggered by Kumar's reference to the Rajya Sabha being "the only House" he has not been a member of.
Ten years after a dream electoral debut, which saw him become the deputy chief minister at a young age of 25, the heir apparent of party supremo Lalu Prasad finally won, after trailing for several rounds, from Raghopur, a RJD stronghold.
'But I would say given the importance of this series and given the conditions we think we are going to face, he (Nitish Kumar Reddy) might miss out in this Test this week.'
'This outcome is thoroughly unexpected.' 'I travelled extensively across villages, engaged in detailed discussions with residents, and consulted with party workers who had been canvassing from village to village, from one location to another, seeking grassroots feedback.' 'Not a single interlocutor suggested that there would be an NDA wave of this magnitude.'
The NDA in Bihar, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, strategically countered the Mahagathbandan's moves by implementing similar policies and announcements, effectively neutralising the MGB campaign promises and maintaining their political advantage.
'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.'
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's political opponents are trying to tarnish his reputation by highlighting the circumstances that led to the sacking of his Excise Minister Jamshed Ashraf in February.
Her lone engineer son, Nishant, lit the funeral pyre. Manju Sinha died in a private hospital in New Delhi on Monday after a prolonged illness.
The Bihar CM criticised Modi, alleging that he was trying to stifle freedom of speech and expression after a IIT-Madras students' group was de-recognised for being critical of the PM.
Tejashwi Yadav, the INDIA bloc's CM candidate, promised to scrap the Waqf (Amendment) Act if voted to power in Bihar, criticizing the current CM and the BJP.
On November 1, most of the star campaigners cancelled their campaign programmes as their helicopters remained grounded at Patna airport due to poor visibility and strong winds.
The ruling National Democratic Alliance decimated the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar on Friday to retain power and dealing a body blow to the Congress and ally Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Former Bihar CM Rabri Devi has been allotted a new residence by the Nitish Kumar government, requiring her to vacate the bungalow she has occupied for years. The decision has sparked reactions from RJD leaders and family members.
'Corruption has to be removed from the police force... government hospitals should improve to take care of the poor...' Biharis express their expectations from the chief minister.
'After the 2020 Bihar assembly polls when our party got only 43 seats and our ally the BJP got 73 seats, Nitish Kumar refused to become chief minister and assured the BJP that he will support the government led by anyone.' 'But the BJP's top leaders told Nitish Kumar that as the NDA contested the polls under his leadership, the next government will be headed by him.'
Voting is underway for the second and final phase of the Bihar assembly elections across 122 constituencies. Key candidates and political dynamics are in focus as the state decides its next government.
'By taking on the BJP, is Nitish rewriting the rules of identity politics, more sophisticated than his predecessor Lalu Yadav?'
Former Janata Dal-United president R C P Singh joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday in the presence of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, after which he accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, once his mentor, of compromising with crime and corruption in his pursuit of "kursi" (chair).
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.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Friday blamed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for coordinating a ''murderous attack'' against protesting members of the Opposition.
Members of allies, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Lok Janshakti Party, were left out from the cabinet expansion.
'For two months, Jitan Ram Manjhi kept a low profile. Once he was put in a place of power even though he had not acquired it himself, he thought he deserved it. He thought he must promote his own political career. Secondly, all those who were opposed to Nitish Kumar, either within the party or outside, started supporting him,' says Professor Prabhat Ghosh, director of the Asian Development Research Institute in Patna.
Kumar had recently dumped the 'Mahagathbandhan', of which the Rashtriya Janata Dal was a key constituent, and returned to the NDA fold to form the government with support of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United made public the names of candidates for all 101 seats it will be contesting in the assembly polls, with more than half of them from the backward and extremely backward classes.
Mumbai recovered from a batting collapse to take a 136-run lead over Karnataka on Day 2 of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final.
'India never began well, and that's one of the main reasons they weren't able to chase these big scores,'
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.
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
As he snapped ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party, Bihar's caretaker chief minister Nitish Kumar has once again been pitched as a prime ministerial candidate for the 2024 elections by some, but a majority of the Opposition still view the Janata Dal-United leader with suspicion citing his numerous 'U-turns'.
He assured all possible support from the Centre for the welfare of Bihar.
Nitish Kumar requested Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to deal with such divisive elements with an iron fist. "I expect the Maharashtra government to act tough and protect our students," Nitish Kumar said in Patna on Monday morning.
"Raj Thakeray is like a saitan, who has the habit of making remarks to continue being in the news by hurting people's sentiments and creating unnecessary controversy," a usually soft-spoken Nitish Kumar remarked.
Now it's all jibes about his chameleon-like politics and fading grip on the administration. But there was a time Nitish had the BJP trembling in the state, points out Aditi Phadnis.
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