'If the NDA returns with the BJP substantially ahead of the JD-U, a BJP CM bid becomes plausible; if the gap is narrow or JD-U holds pivotal seats, continuity with Nitish is the lower-risk option.'
'When the time comes, we will take a decision following a discussion with the alliance partners.'
'The BJP will use Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha to check Nitish Kumar.' 'They will not allow him to function freely as before.'
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar engaged in a heated exchange with Leader of the Opposition Rabri Devi in the Legislative Council, dismissing her as "inconsequential" without her husband, RJD president Lalu Prasad. The spat stemmed from RJD MLCs wearing badges promoting quota hikes passed during Tejashwi Yadav's tenure as Deputy CM, which Nitish Kumar perceived as an attempt to claim credit for the populist move. Kumar also remarked that Rabri Devi was only propped up by her husband when he was in trouble, referring to her becoming Chief Minister in 1997 while Lalu Prasad faced corruption charges. The war of words between the two rivals has intensified, with the RJD accusing Kumar of losing his mental balance and being unfit to rule.
'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.'
The ruling National Democratic Alliance in Bihar on Monday sparred with the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal over items allegedly stolen from a government bungalow recently vacated by Tejashwi Yadav, to whom it was allotted while he was the state's deputy chief minister.
In a strongly worded statement, Kumar deplored the journalist-turned-politician's participation in a function where "even your Chairman, the Honourable Vice President, was not present".
Lalu's son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, however, sought to downplay the remarks made by his father, in an interview to a local news channel, claiming that the RJD supremo had merely tried to satisfy the curiosity of the prying media.
Prasad was approached with queries by journalists at the airport, where he had reached, alongside son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, to board a flight to Delhi for the coalition meeting on Tuesday.
'JD-U wants to emerge as the single largest party in Bihar after the next assembly polls by contesting more seats than the BJP.'
A livid Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday asked a representative of a private company to expedite a road project in Patna and even offered to touch his feet to speed it up.
The killings of Gopal Khemka and his son Gunjan, seven years apart, bear a striking resemblance, reports M I Khan.
A careful calculation of the BJP's support base seems to have been at work in the cabinet expansion that took place a day after the party's national president chaired a meeting of the "core group" here.
'There are differences over certain issues between the JD-U and BJP but we are in alliance and continuing.'
If it was Andhra Pradesh last Budget, it's poll-bound Bihar that has now turned to Centre with a list of demands. How the NDA government is delivering on promises.
The Group of Ministers (GoM) on goods and services tax (GST) rate rationalisation, which convened in Goa on Wednesday, reviewed the GST rates for over 100 items, including textiles, handloom goods, agricultural products, fertilisers, and educational materials. However, no consensus was reached on any of the items, with further discussions scheduled for next month in Delhi.
'They (INDIA bloc leaders) were not doing anything. Nothing happened after the first meeting of INDIA bloc that took place in Patna last year. Now, I have come back to the same place, where I was earlier (with NDA)'
The opposition BJP charged Kumar with "bringing shame" to the state's women by speaking of the procreation process in detail.
Singh, considered close to RJD president Lalu Prasad and his family, was charged with raising slogans against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on February 13, during a heated exchange in the House.
A day after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar formed the government in Bihar in alliance with the National Democratic Alliance, hectic lobbying started for the post of assembly speaker, and other legislators to be included in the council of ministers.
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.
A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran passed the order on a bunch of petitions which had opposed the legislations brought by the Nitish Kumar government in November 2023.
Though the extended tenure of incumbent president JP Nadda ends on June 30, a recent amendment in the BJP's constitution has empowered its apex body, the Parliamentary Board, to take a call related to a president, including his term, in "emergency" situations.
'The assailants knocked at the gates of Yadav's house around 5.30 am and opened fire as soon as he opened the gates,' the Bihar Police tweeted.
It is a double century with a difference for the cricketer turned politician, who is the lead campaigner for the Opposition Mahagathbandhan in the state.
A look at the star arrivals.
On the issue of whether chapters related to the first Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Keshav Baliram Hedgewar are being removed in Karnataka, he said India is a land of diversity.
'The Congress should have played a more active role to take care of the needs of regional parties. It failed.' 'Taking this into account, Nitishji took the final decision with the full support of the JD-U.'
This will be the first time the BJP has got more seats than Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led JD-U in Bihar, underscoring the change in their equations after they joined hands a few months back.
'Singh was forced to submit his resignation to Nitish Kumar few days ago and convinced to announce his offer to resign at the party meeting.'
Saini's elevation as Haryana chief minister fits in with a pattern that has gathered pace in the BJP after the Congress and its allies like the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar began making an aggressive bid to woo the largest group of communities and politically most significant, especially in Hindi-speaking states, by pushing for a caste census.
The rumours have primarily been about the impending resignation of JD-U national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan', for alleged proximity towards ally Rashtriya Janaat Dal at the expense of loyalty to his own party.
The Congress on Wednesday questioned the Election Commission's move to get a post on electoral bonds scheme deleted from social media platform X and said that the issue raised in the post makes the government 'extremely uncomfortable'.
The governor accepted Kumar's resignation, and asked him to continue as caretaker CM till a new government is formed, they said.
'When he was sidelined in the INDIA bloc, it was was the turning point because it badly hurt Nitish's ambition.' 'After that, he decided to damage INDIA by changing sides.'
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.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah himself sounded more open to such a possibility in a recent interview.
Bihar assembly Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary on Sunday called on Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav, at a time when the state was witnessing a big political churn.
At the core of Nitish Kumar's decision was a cold political calculation. He assessed that the RJD's support base was unlikely to vote for JD-U candidates in the Lok Sabha polls. He was unsure of winning even half a dozen if he stayed with the RJD and the Congress.
The speculation was triggered after Shravan Kumar, a Bihar minister, who is also the Janata Dal-United's in-charge for UP, said there were 'demands' that the party boss enter the fray from the adjoining state.
