"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.
He assured all possible support from the Centre for the welfare of Bihar.
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'.
A day after he likened Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray to saitan (devil), Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday demanded stern action against him for his remarks against north Indians and the Chhath festival.
The Bihar CM will have make good on his poll promises of a clean administration, providing piped water, toilets, pucca roads and unemployment allowance
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.
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.
Altogether 160 MLAs voted in favour of the confidence motion while no vote was cast against the same.
The Nitish Kumar government has the support of 132 MLAs.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, arrived in Delhi on Tuesday and linked up with rest of the Indian team, many of whom were playing in the two-Test series against West Indies.
'...the electoral playing field is tilted significantly in its favour.'
Nitish Kumar has again proven that he is a master of the art of changing governments.
Jan Suraaj Party leader Prashant Kishor on Tuesday claimed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United would have been bundled up with just 25 seats had his government not given Rs 10,000 to 60,000 beneficiaries in each constituency just before the assembly elections and promised Rs 2 lakh to 1.5 crore women across the state under self-employment initiatives.
'Women from all castes and religions voted for Nitish Kumar as it was his last election.'
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has supported anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare's 'jantantra rally' that began in Patna on Wednesday. Kumar also noted that such rallies were needed to awaken the people of the country.
Ravichandran Ashwin stressed that Washington Sundar must be treated as a frontline bowling all-rounder and given a full quota of overs to build confidence with the bat as well.
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.
'At the moment, we are supporting the Nitish Kumar-led government.' 'When the time comes for this government to fall, it will.'
Ever since Nitish embarked on the slippery path of trying to unite the Opposition against the BJP, he has repeatedly rebutted suggestions that the exercise was aimed at bringing himself centre stage. The problem is: It is not enough if he says so. Others have to say so as well, especially Congress, observes Aditi Phadnis.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday declined to speak on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha, saying he avoided doing so in matters involving court order.
'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.'
All eyes will be on Shubman Gill when Ranji Trophy resumes on Thursday after India's Test and ODI captain decided against taking a break and opting to turn up for Punjab against Saurashtra in a key Group B clash in Rajkot.
'Inter-state jealousies' over social performance are contributing to increased focus on health, Gates said during a press conference in Geneva.
Virat Kohli's stroke-filled 91-ball 93 set up India's win in the series opener against New Zealand.
Allies since the 1990s, the JD-U and the BJP have in the recent past squabbled on issues ranging from Agnipath, caste census, population law and ban on loudspeakers.
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.
'I will go to Rail Bhawan around 11:00 am,' he said.
India's absolute dominance at home will come under examination when they meet a determined New Zealand in the decisive third ODI at the high-scoring Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday, with the three-match series locked at 1-1.
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.'
Senior Janata Dal-United leader Dhananjay Singh pitched for Opposition unity ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and said party workers in Uttar Pradesh want Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to contest the elections from the state's Phulpur constituency.
'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.'
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.
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.
Kohli's 124 in vain as New Zealand beat India by 41 runs in 3rd ODI to clinch series 2-1
After the tough talk and retaliation, Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday appeared keen on not breaking its alliance with Janata Dal-United in Bihar while Chief Minister Nitish Kumar kept the cards close to his chest.
Nitish will join the SRH squad soon as they will open their IPL 2025 campaign on March 23 against Rajasthan Royals at Hyderabad.
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.
Describes the results as a "vote for change and good governance."
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