Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) on Friday asserted that the party was "firmly with INDIA coalition" but wanted the Congress to do "introspection" with regard to alliance partners and sharing of seats. State JD(U) president Umesh Singh Kushwaha made the statement, refuting rumours that his party, headed by the chief minister, was thinking of a return to the BJP-led NDA. "All is well in Bihar's ruling Mahagathbandhan and the media speculations are driven by some agenda," Kushwaha told reporters. He also said, "I met the CM yesterday as well as today. It is a routine affair. There is no truth in the rumours doing the rounds. We also reject the rumours that party MLAs have been asked to rush to Patna". He also made light of Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, who is in RJD, sitting far from each other at the Republic Day parade, asserting that "we are firmly with INDIA coalition". Kushwaha, however, said, "We want the Congress, which is our alliance partner, to do some ...
This came a day after the Trinamool Congres (TMC) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ruled out any seat adjustment with the Congress in West Bengal and Punjab, respectively, in a big setback to the alliance
Former JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lalan' on Saturday vowed to sue media outfits carrying reports that he had plotted a rebellion against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, in favour of the latter's deputy and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. Lalan issued a statement to the effect a day after he stepped down from the top party post, following which his proposal that Kumar take over as the national president was unanimously accepted. The strongly worded statement alleged that reports carried in "one major newspaper and some news channels" were "completely misleading, false and aimed at tarnishing my reputation". He pointed out that contrary to the claim made in these reports that on December 20 he had attended a meeting of a handful of JD(U) MLAs at a Bihar minister's residence, "I was in Delhi, to attend the meeting of INDIA bloc, along with the honourable CM. I even attended a meeting of party MPs at his Delhi residence later in the evening". Lalan, whose friendship with Nitish .
Lalan Singh had earlier denied that he was going to step down from the JD(U) 's top post
Rumours were afloat in Bihar on Tuesday that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's key aide Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lalan' has told the former he wanted to step down as JD(U) national president. At the state headquarters of the party here, leaders had a tough time fending off queries of journalists, who also wanted to know whether speculations of a rift between Kumar and Lalan, on account of growing proximity of the latter towards RJD president Lalu Prasad, had a grain of truth. "You speak of fissures in the JD(U). I say there is not even a scratch, asserted state minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, who had turned up at the party office on his weekly round. Chaudhary also blamed the rumours surrounding Lalan in the media, saying, "We, in the party, have heard nothing of that sort, but you people give things whatever spin you wish and then drop it when it suits your news cycle". He evaded a direct reply when asked whether Lalan was likely to make a formal offer of his resignation at the JD(U)'s meet
JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh "Lalan" on Monday said that he saw "a BJP hand" behind a petition filed in the Patna High Court against the recent hike in quotas for socially deprived castes. Lalan made the statement reacting to reports that a Public Interest Litigation was filed last week which will come up for hearing in due course. "It is all the BJP's doing. The party is anti-reservations. It had got its supporters to challenge quotas for extremely backward classes in local body polls. But the design was foiled and municipal elections were held with seats reserved for EBCs," he told reporters here. "The BJP was again at work when attempts were made to derail the caste survey ordered by the Nitish Kumar government. When petitions filed by BJP supporters could not stand on merit, the Centre chipped in and the Solicitor General of India opposed the survey in the Supreme Court," he added. The JD(U) chief expressed confidence that the recently passed legislations raising the quan
Jamui MP and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan has claimed that the Janata Dal (United) led by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will witness a major split in the coming months.
JD(U) is the third non-Congress party of the INDIA bloc after the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to announce candidates for the MP polls
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday rubbished speculations in a section of the media about his party JD(U)'s return to the BJP-led NDA, with which it snapped ties around a year ago, and said his prime concern was to strengthen opposition INDIA bloc. Responding to reporters' queries on the speculations, Kumar said, "Kya faltu baat hai" (what rubbish!). The JD(U) leader, who is a key figure in the anti-BJP INDIA coalition, also voiced his disapproval of party colleagues talking about him having "all qualities for making a good PM". "I have already told my party colleagues not to make such statements. My only wish is to strengthen the unity of the INDIA alliance. I am working only in this direction," he said. Bihar Assembly Deputy Speaker and senior JD(U) leader Maheshwar Hazari had said that no one is more capable of becoming the PM candidate of the INDIA alliance than Nitish Kumar. On a question on possibility of cabinet expansion, Kumar put the ball in his deputy Tejashwi
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday said the caste-based survey in the state has been completed and the state government would soon make the data public. He asserted that the caste survey would be beneficial for all sections of the society. Talking to reporters here, Kumar said, "The caste-based headcount exercise in the state has been completed. Now the data is being compiled and it will soon be made public". "The caste-based survey in the state is beneficial for all. It will enable the government to work for the development of various sections of society, including those who are deprived. This will help us to know which areas require development. Let the detailed data come, I am sure that other states will also follow it", he said. On some political parties opposing the caste-based headcount, Kumar claimed that the decision to hold the caste-based survey was taken after a unanimous decision taken by the leaders of all political parties, including the BJP, in the state. "
"He is being troubled unnecessarily...Those at the Centre have been troubling everyone no one is being spared," Nitish said
The JD(U) on Saturday jeered at BJP leaders from Bihar over their party's list of new national office-bearers, claiming they were ignored as the ruling party does not expect to do well in the state in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. JD(U) spokesperson Rajib Ranjan said only one leader from Bihar has found a place in the new list of the BJP's vice presidents, general secretaries and secretaries while there are eight of them from Uttar Pradesh. No Bihar BJP leader has been made either a vice president or a general secretary, he noted. "Its top leaders, including the prime minister and the home minister, make claims about special affection for Bihar. But the list has exposed them. They should answer as to what kind of special affection they have for Bihar that they don't find any leader from the state for a national leadership role," Ranjan said It shows that the BJP has lost any hope of doing well in Bihar and has realised it will be wiped out from the state in the 2024 polls, he claimed.
Catch all the latest updates from across the globe here
CM Nitish Kumar is spearheading the Opposition gathering, scheduled for June 23, to discuss methods to better challenge the BJP in the upcoming elections
"We will match the date with every opposition political party and then decide about the meeting. For now, the scheduled meeting on June 12 stands postponed," said Nitish
JD(U) chief spokesman Neeraj Kumar on Monday lashed out at Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh for taking part in the inauguration of the new Parliament building despite boycott of the function by the party. 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". "The party had sent you to the Rajya Sabha in recognition of your contributions to journalism. But when a dark chapter in the history of parliamentary democracy in the country, you traded intellectual integrity for your high office", said the JD(U) spokesman. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the party's supreme leader, had defended the boycott of the function terming it as "an attempt to change history by those who had made no contribution to the freedom struggle". More than 20 parties opposed to the BJP had boycotted Sunday's function, insisting that President Draupadi Murmu, and not Prime
He also uploaded a two-and-a-half minute video showing how Delhi police used force and dragged the protesting wrestlers at Jantar-Mantar
Former Janata Dal (United) president R C P Singh joined the BJP here on Thursday in the presence of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, once his mentor, of compromising with crime and corruption in his pursuit of "kursi" (chair). Once a close confidant of Nitish Kumar, Singh had a fallout with him last year as he was seen by his party to be veering closer to the BJP as the differences between the two parties grew leading to the subsequent severance in their ties. Joining the BJP, he took a swipe at his former mentor, saying Kumar had compromised with his stand against crime and corruption in his love for the chair. He will be left with nothing in Bihar, Singh said and lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his work for the poor and overall leadership of the country. In his strong remarks against the Bihar chief minister, Singh mocked him as "palti maar" (someone who keeps taking a U-turn) and said he was and will remain "PM (palti ...
"The opposition unity is going in the right direction. BJP leaders are feeling uneasy thinking what will happen when all opposition parties will come together on one platform," said Abhishek Jha
Ten regional parties, including the DMK, BJD, YSR Congress, JDU and the AAP, have declared receiving Rs Rs 852.88 crore donations through electoral bonds in 2021-22, according to an NGO working for electoral reforms. The total income of 36 regional parties for the financial year was Rs 1,213 crore, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said in a report, citing official data. The report analysed the total income and expenditure incurred by 36 out of 54 regional parties during 2021-22, as declared by these parties in their audit reports submitted to the Election Commission on India. "Ten regional parties -- DMK, BJD, TRS, YSR-Congress, JDU, SP, AAP, SAD, MGP and TDP -- have declared receiving donations through electoral bonds worth Rs 852.88 crore...for 2021-22," it said. The TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samithi) has subsequently renamed as the Bharat Rashtra Samithi. The party is in power in Telangana. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which is currently in power in Tamil Nadu