Patna, Bihar: JDU MLA Sudhanshu Shekhar says, “I am loyal towards my leader…I have given all the details in the FIR… I am under no pressure… I got a huge offer… I was offered a ministry and Rs. 5 crore… I received a call through the Internet. They wanted to meet me but I did not give them time…”
Tag: Bihar politics
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‘This child is everything to us’: Bihar CM Nitish on Tejashwi
By Express News Service
PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday created a flutter in political circles by describing his deputy and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as ‘his child’ and is ‘everything to us’.
Giving a clear indication that he was ready to hand over his CM post to Tejashwi at any time, Nitishwhile putting his hand on Tejashwi’s shoulders said, “He is my child, he is everything to us. We are doing good work together for the state.” He had reached the Chief Secretariat on Saturday morning to offer floral tributes to the first Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Krishna Singh.
While answering questions from journalists on his statement of friendship with the BJP, he said that his statement was misinterpreted. He had made the statement at the convocation ceremony of Mahatma Gandhi Central University in Motihari.
He added that he never spoke about the party (BJP). He clarified that he was referring to the work done in the interest of Bihar through his initiatives but the media did not cover it and instead focused on trivial issues.
Nitish’s display of affection for Tejashwi is not new. Last year, after breaking ties with the BJP in August and forming the government with the great alliance, Nitish declared Tejasvi as his successor. He has already announced that Tejashwi will lead the grand alliance in the 2025 Bihar assembly election
Nitish’s announcement has prompted senior JD (U) leader and former union minister Upendra Kushwaha to quit the party and float his own Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal (RLJD).
State Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh said, “There is no issue with Tejashwi Prasad Yadav holding the CM post. The grand alliance had contested the 2015 state assembly election by projecting him as the CM candidate.”
Meanwhile, former Union Minister and BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “I will answer and give an effective answer, but now who is whose child and who is whose father? It works in the state of Bihar and let it work. But I would like to say that father (Lalu) expects his son (Tejashwi) to become the Chief Minister soon, now it remains to be seen when his uncle (Nitish) leaves the chair.” Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday created a flutter in political circles by describing his deputy and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as ‘his child’ and is ‘everything to us’.
Giving a clear indication that he was ready to hand over his CM post to Tejashwi at any time, Nitish
while putting his hand on Tejashwi’s shoulders said, “He is my child, he is everything to us. We are doing good work together for the state.” He had reached the Chief Secretariat on Saturday morning to offer floral tributes to the first Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Krishna Singh.While answering questions from journalists on his statement of friendship with the BJP, he said that his statement was misinterpreted. He had made the statement at the convocation ceremony of Mahatma Gandhi Central University in Motihari.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
He added that he never spoke about the party (BJP). He clarified that he was referring to the work done in the interest of Bihar through his initiatives but the media did not cover it and instead focused on trivial issues.
Nitish’s display of affection for Tejashwi is not new. Last year, after breaking ties with the BJP in August and forming the government with the great alliance, Nitish declared Tejasvi as his successor. He has already announced that Tejashwi will lead the grand alliance in the 2025 Bihar assembly election
Nitish’s announcement has prompted senior JD (U) leader and former union minister Upendra Kushwaha to quit the party and float his own Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal (RLJD).
State Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh said, “There is no issue with Tejashwi Prasad Yadav holding the CM post. The grand alliance had contested the 2015 state assembly election by projecting him as the CM candidate.”
Meanwhile, former Union Minister and BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “I will answer and give an effective answer, but now who is whose child and who is whose father? It works in the state of Bihar and let it work. But I would like to say that father (Lalu) expects his son (Tejashwi) to become the Chief Minister soon, now it remains to be seen when his uncle (Nitish) leaves the chair.” Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
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Uproar in Bihar assembly over ED raids at residences of Tejashwi, family members
Express News Service
PATNA: The Bihar assembly witnessed noisy scenes over the recent Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s raids on the residential premises of deputy chief minister Tejashwi and others as RJD demanded the enactment of a law to stop central agencies from conducting raids without prior permission from the state government.
As the House was re-assembled after Holi vacation and ED raids on the premises of Tejashwi’s residence in New Delhi, his three sisters and associates of RJD chief Lalu Prasad in connection with money laundering case related to the alleged land-for-jobs scam, RJD MLA Bhai Birendra said that legal provisions should be made, making it mandatory for ED and CBI to take prior permission from the state government before taking any action in the state. He said that such provisions had been made in West Bengal and other states and these should be made in Bihar too.
CBI had also recently questioned former chief minister Rabri Devi in the state capital and Lalu Prasad in New Delhi in connection with the land-for-jobs scam.
It is alleged that those wishing to secure group ‘D’ posts in the railway gifted or sold land parcels at cheap rates to the Lalu family when the RJD chief was the railway minister in the former UPA-I government from 2004 to 2009.
Addressing the speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary, RJD MLA Bhai Birendra said that the Centre was misusing the central agencies like ED and CBI. He also appealed to the chief minister Nitish Kumar who was present in the house to enact a law to make it mandatory for the central agencies to take prior permission from the state government before taking any action in the state.
The speaker, however, asked the RJD MLA to resume his seat and let the house conduct its normal proceedings.
MLAs belonging to Congress and left parties also registered their protest in the House against the questioning of Lalu and his associates in the case. MLAs from CPI (ML) and other left parties carrying placards demanded a check on the ED raids. They also alleged that the raids conducted on the premises ofLalu and his family members were politically motivated.
Congress legislative party leader Ajit Sharma alleged that the Centre was misusing ED and CBI as it was perturbed over the grand alliance`s ‘edge’ on Bihar`s all 40 Lok Sabha seats. Attempts are being made by the Centre to harass the state`s opposition parties which are getting stronger all the time, he added.
On the other hand, BJP MLA Haribhushan Thakur Bachol said Tejashwi should resign from the post for the sake of an “impartial” probe in a money laundering case related to the land-for-jobs scam. He contended that Tejashwi could influence the investigation into the case if he continued in his post.
Meanwhile, Tejashwi returned from New Delhi on Monday and met with Nitish who was sitting in his official chamber of the assembly. He apprised the CM of details of ED raids conducted at his residence and also at the residences of his sisters.
Tejashwi later tweeted, “We are not ‘fake entire political science people but socialist people of real public science. We have political land (strength), courage and character to fight against BJP leaders’ falsehoods, rumours and fake political cases. Listen Sanghis, we have people’s power if you have money powerand guile.”
PATNA: The Bihar assembly witnessed noisy scenes over the recent Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s raids on the residential premises of deputy chief minister Tejashwi and others as RJD demanded the enactment of a law to stop central agencies from conducting raids without prior permission from the state government.
As the House was re-assembled after Holi vacation and ED raids on the premises of Tejashwi’s residence in New Delhi, his three sisters and associates of RJD chief Lalu Prasad in connection with money laundering case related to the alleged land-for-jobs scam, RJD MLA Bhai Birendra said that legal provisions should be made, making it mandatory for ED and CBI to take prior permission from the state government before taking any action in the state. He said that such provisions had been made in West Bengal and other states and these should be made in Bihar too.
CBI had also recently questioned former chief minister Rabri Devi in the state capital and Lalu Prasad in New Delhi in connection with the land-for-jobs scam.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
It is alleged that those wishing to secure group ‘D’ posts in the railway gifted or sold land parcels at cheap rates to the Lalu family when the RJD chief was the railway minister in the former UPA-I government from 2004 to 2009.
Addressing the speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary, RJD MLA Bhai Birendra said that the Centre was misusing the central agencies like ED and CBI. He also appealed to the chief minister Nitish Kumar who was present in the house to enact a law to make it mandatory for the central agencies to take prior permission from the state government before taking any action in the state.
The speaker, however, asked the RJD MLA to resume his seat and let the house conduct its normal proceedings.
MLAs belonging to Congress and left parties also registered their protest in the House against the questioning of Lalu and his associates in the case. MLAs from CPI (ML) and other left parties carrying placards demanded a check on the ED raids. They also alleged that the raids conducted on the premises of
Lalu and his family members were politically motivated.Congress legislative party leader Ajit Sharma alleged that the Centre was misusing ED and CBI as it was perturbed over the grand alliance`s ‘edge’ on Bihar`s all 40 Lok Sabha seats. Attempts are being made by the Centre to harass the state`s opposition parties which are getting stronger all the time, he added.
On the other hand, BJP MLA Haribhushan Thakur Bachol said Tejashwi should resign from the post for the sake of an “impartial” probe in a money laundering case related to the land-for-jobs scam. He contended that Tejashwi could influence the investigation into the case if he continued in his post.
Meanwhile, Tejashwi returned from New Delhi on Monday and met with Nitish who was sitting in his official chamber of the assembly. He apprised the CM of details of ED raids conducted at his residence and also at the residences of his sisters.
Tejashwi later tweeted, “We are not ‘fake entire political science people but socialist people of real public science. We have political land (strength), courage and character to fight against BJP leaders’ falsehoods, rumours and fake political cases. Listen Sanghis, we have people’s power if you have money power
and guile.” -
Ask Tejashwi about cabinet expansion, says Bihar CM Nitish amid Congress’ demands
Express News Service
PATNA: Close on the heels of Bihar Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh’s fresh demand for cabinet expansion, chief minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday threw the ball in the court of his deputy and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.
“You should ask this question from him (Tejashwi),” said Nitish while responding to queries by media persons about much-awaited cabinet expansion.
CM Nitish was on his ‘Samadhan Yatra’ in Jamui on Saturday. When reminded of Congress’ repeated demand for cabinet expansion, the chief minister said that they (Congress) should speak to Tejashwi Yadav on the issue. However, he also revealed that Congress leaders had talked to him about a possible expansion of the cabinet.
Earlier in the day, Akhilesh Prasad Singh said that he had talked to the chief minister about cabinet expansion. “Nitish ji has assured that cabinet expansion will take place after ‘Samadhan Yatra’,” he added. The state Congress chief’s statement assumed significance in the wake of recent remarks of Tejashwi who had ruled out the possibility of cabinet expansion in near future.
Akhilesh, who is also a Rajya Sabha member, said that he was hopeful of getting at least two ministerial berths during cabinet expansion. At present grand old party has two ministers—Afaque Alam and Murari Gautam after the grand alliance government was formed in the state last August.
At a function held in Patna on Thursday, Tejashwi had said, “There will be no cabinet expansion now. I do not understand at first how the discussion on it started. No proposal for the cabinet expansion is not under consideration.”
Tejashwi’s remark on the cabinet expansion came in the backdrop of speculation over the cabinet expansion with Congress getting two ministerial berths. Tejaswhi’s point-blank refusal of the cabinet expansion had, however, come as a rude shock for Congress legislators who were hopeful of being inducted into the council of ministers.
Nitish had also said that the cabinet would be expanded after ‘Kharmas’ (considered an inauspicious period in the Hindu calendar) that ended on January 14. In addition to Congress, two leaders from RJD can also be inducted into the state cabinet.
The grand alliance in Bihar is facing turmoil from within as JD (U) parliamentary board chairman Upendra Kushwaha has raised a banner against Nitish by accusing him of not giving him proper respect in the party even as he had merged his own political outfit, Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) with JD(U). The controversy that erupted over the remarks against Ramcharitmanas has also yet to be settled.
On the other hand, RJD has yet to take action against former agriculture minister Sudhakar Singh for making uncharitable remarks against Nitish although a show cause notice was issued to the minister. Singh, who is the son of state RJD president Jagdanand Singh has already replied to the notice but ithas to be seen how the party leadership acts on it.
In the given situation, the cabinet expansion was already looking like a remote possibility, remarked a political analyst.
PATNA: Close on the heels of Bihar Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh’s fresh demand for cabinet expansion, chief minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday threw the ball in the court of his deputy and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.
“You should ask this question from him (Tejashwi),” said Nitish while responding to queries by media persons about much-awaited cabinet expansion.
CM Nitish was on his ‘Samadhan Yatra’ in Jamui on Saturday. When reminded of Congress’ repeated demand for cabinet expansion, the chief minister said that they (Congress) should speak to Tejashwi Yadav on the issue. However, he also revealed that Congress leaders had talked to him about a possible expansion of the cabinet.
Earlier in the day, Akhilesh Prasad Singh said that he had talked to the chief minister about cabinet expansion. “Nitish ji has assured that cabinet expansion will take place after ‘Samadhan Yatra’,” he added. The state Congress chief’s statement assumed significance in the wake of recent remarks of Tejashwi who had ruled out the possibility of cabinet expansion in near future.
Akhilesh, who is also a Rajya Sabha member, said that he was hopeful of getting at least two ministerial berths during cabinet expansion. At present grand old party has two ministers—Afaque Alam and Murari Gautam after the grand alliance government was formed in the state last August.
At a function held in Patna on Thursday, Tejashwi had said, “There will be no cabinet expansion now. I do not understand at first how the discussion on it started. No proposal for the cabinet expansion is not under consideration.”
Tejashwi’s remark on the cabinet expansion came in the backdrop of speculation over the cabinet expansion with Congress getting two ministerial berths. Tejaswhi’s point-blank refusal of the cabinet expansion had, however, come as a rude shock for Congress legislators who were hopeful of being inducted into the council of ministers.
Nitish had also said that the cabinet would be expanded after ‘Kharmas’ (considered an inauspicious period in the Hindu calendar) that ended on January 14. In addition to Congress, two leaders from RJD can also be inducted into the state cabinet.
The grand alliance in Bihar is facing turmoil from within as JD (U) parliamentary board chairman Upendra Kushwaha has raised a banner against Nitish by accusing him of not giving him proper respect in the party even as he had merged his own political outfit, Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) with JD(U). The controversy that erupted over the remarks against Ramcharitmanas has also yet to be settled.
On the other hand, RJD has yet to take action against former agriculture minister Sudhakar Singh for making uncharitable remarks against Nitish although a show cause notice was issued to the minister. Singh, who is the son of state RJD president Jagdanand Singh has already replied to the notice but it
has to be seen how the party leadership acts on it.In the given situation, the cabinet expansion was already looking like a remote possibility, remarked a political analyst.
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Upendra Kushwaha is free to leave JD(U), says Bihar CM Nitish Kumar
Express News Service
PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said on Monday that rebel JD(U) parliamentary board chairman Upendra Kushwaha is free to leave the party and go anywhere he wishes.
Talking to media persons during his ongoing ‘Samadhan Yatra’, Nitish said that if somebody comes to the party and then decides to leave, then he is free to leave the party at his will.
Nitish’s reaction comes ahead of Kushwaha’s two-day party workers’ meeting in Patna on February 19 and 20. On Sunday, Kushwaha had written an open letter to workers inviting them to meet to discuss the ‘existing situation’ in JD(U). He alleged in the letter that the party was getting weakened due to internal factors.
Toeing similar lines, JD(U) national president and MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh aka Lalan Singh said that Kushwaha was no longer holding the post of the party’s parliamentary board chairman. “Kushwaha is not holding any party post,” remarked Singh, dropping ample hints that there was no possibility of any rapprochement between Kushwaha and the party’s top leadership.
ALSO READ | ‘Will leave JD(U) only after getting my share in party’: Kushwaha brings up Nitish’s claim in 1994
Though there has not been any formal announcement about Kushwaha losing his party post, Singh’s remark shows the party’s top leadership has made up its mind for a final showdown with Kushwaha sooner than later.
Singh also accused Kushwaha of provoking workers against the party leadership. He said that the party had given him full respect but now he was working against it.
Earlier Nitish had said, “I promoted Kushwaha by making him an MLA but he left the party. When he re-joined the party, I made him a Rajya Sabha member but he again left the party. Now he has returned to the party for the third time but I do not know what has happened in the last two months. I have been asking to talk to him but he is not doing so for reasons best known to him.”
Making an oblique reference to the BJP, Nitish said that Kushwaha had adopted such an aggressive approach that he was getting support from the saffron party. “If somebody is speaking against me every day, it only hints that he has struck a deal with the other party (BJP),” he claimed.
State JD(U) president Umesh Kushwaha alleged that Upendra Kushwaha had entered into a deal with another party and was talking about saving the party.
Reacting to Kushwaha’s two-day workers’ meeting, the leader of opposition in the legislative council Samrat Chaudhary said, “The BJP had nothing to do with the Kushwaha episode. It’s an internal matter of the JD(U). But he (Kushwaha) should be given his share for which he is asking.”
PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said on Monday that rebel JD(U) parliamentary board chairman Upendra Kushwaha is free to leave the party and go anywhere he wishes.
Talking to media persons during his ongoing ‘Samadhan Yatra’, Nitish said that if somebody comes to the party and then decides to leave, then he is free to leave the party at his will.
Nitish’s reaction comes ahead of Kushwaha’s two-day party workers’ meeting in Patna on February 19 and 20. On Sunday, Kushwaha had written an open letter to workers inviting them to meet to discuss the ‘existing situation’ in JD(U). He alleged in the letter that the party was getting weakened due to internal factors.
Toeing similar lines, JD(U) national president and MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh aka Lalan Singh said that Kushwaha was no longer holding the post of the party’s parliamentary board chairman. “Kushwaha is not holding any party post,” remarked Singh, dropping ample hints that there was no possibility of any rapprochement between Kushwaha and the party’s top leadership.
ALSO READ | ‘Will leave JD(U) only after getting my share in party’: Kushwaha brings up Nitish’s claim in 1994
Though there has not been any formal announcement about Kushwaha losing his party post, Singh’s remark shows the party’s top leadership has made up its mind for a final showdown with Kushwaha sooner than later.
Singh also accused Kushwaha of provoking workers against the party leadership. He said that the party had given him full respect but now he was working against it.
Earlier Nitish had said, “I promoted Kushwaha by making him an MLA but he left the party. When he re-joined the party, I made him a Rajya Sabha member but he again left the party. Now he has returned to the party for the third time but I do not know what has happened in the last two months. I have been asking to talk to him but he is not doing so for reasons best known to him.”
Making an oblique reference to the BJP, Nitish said that Kushwaha had adopted such an aggressive approach that he was getting support from the saffron party. “If somebody is speaking against me every day, it only hints that he has struck a deal with the other party (BJP),” he claimed.
State JD(U) president Umesh Kushwaha alleged that Upendra Kushwaha had entered into a deal with another party and was talking about saving the party.
Reacting to Kushwaha’s two-day workers’ meeting, the leader of opposition in the legislative council Samrat Chaudhary said, “The BJP had nothing to do with the Kushwaha episode. It’s an internal matter of the JD(U). But he (Kushwaha) should be given his share for which he is asking.”
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Nitish Kumar: Running strong despite twists and turns
By Agencies
The longest-serving chief minister of any Hindi- speaking state, Nitish Kumar seems to have acquired an aura of indispensability when it comes to the highest seat of power in Bihar.
A crafty politician, he kept the BJP guessing till the eleventh hour before severing ties with the ally, following unanimous sentiments in his JD(U) that it was to be blamed for the party’s dwindling fortunes.
Kumar then clinched a new deal in no time with the opposition which, bereft of power and coherence, welcomed him with open arms.
In a political career spanning four decades, Kumar, 71, has kept at bay taints of corruption, nepotism and misgovernance, leaving critics with little except opportunism as a stick to be beaten with.
Born on March 1, 1951 in Bakhtiyarpur, a nondescript town on the outskirts of Patna, to an Ayurvedic practitioner-cum-freedom fighter father, Kumar is an electrical engineer by training.
During his days at the Bihar Engineering College, now known as NIT, Patna, he became active in student politics and got associated with the JP movement’, which introduced him to many of his future associates, including Lalu Prasad and Sushil Kumar Modi.
His first electoral success came in the 1985 assembly elections, which the Congress swept though he managed to win the Harnaut seat for Lok Dal.
Five years later, he moved to Delhi as an MP from the now- abolished seat of Barh.
ALSO READ | Nitish Kumar sworn in as Bihar CM, Tejashwi his deputy
After another half a decade, when the Mandal wave was at its peak and Prasad was reaping its dividends, Kumar sided with George Fernandes to float the Samata Party, which would later morph into the JD(U) and share power with BJP at the Centre and, 2005 onwards, in the state.
His first five years as chief minister are recalled with admiration even by critics, marked by vast improvements in restoration of law and order in a state that made headlines for massacres by rivalling militias and kidnappings for ransom.
A product of the Mandal churn, the Kurmi leader also realised that he did not have the advantage of belonging to a populous caste group and created sub-quotas among OBCs and Dalits, who were called Ati Pichhda’ (EBC) and Mahadalits, which was resented by the dominant Yadavs and Dusadhs (supporters of Ram Vilas Paswan).
He also gave patronage to Pasmanda Muslims which, besides his ability to keep Hindutva vigilantes in check, endeared him to the minority community despite an old alliance with the BJP.
ALSO READ | Nitish was uncomfortable with BJP, claims Prashan Kishor
Kumar brought in measures like free bicycles and school uniforms for school-going girls, which won him much adulation and the exuberant public mood saw him returning to power in 2010, leading the JD(U)-BJP coalition with a landslide victory in assembly polls.
The period, however, also saw the end of the Atal-Advani era in BJP and Kumar ended up locking horns with Narendra Modi, then his Gujarat counterpart whom he never allowed to campaign in Bihar, and snapped ties with the saffron party in 2013.
He survived in power as the JD(U) was formidably placed in the assembly, but stepped down in 2014, owning moral responsibility for the party’s drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections, wherein it returned with a dismal tally of just two seats.
In less than a year, he was back as chief minister, elbowing out his rebellious protege Jitan Ram Manjhi with ample support from the RJD and the Congress and came to be seen, nationally, as a potential challenger to the Modi juggernaut.
The Grand Alliance that came into being with JD(U), Congress and RJD coming together, won the 2015 assembly polls handsomely, but came apart in just two years.
ALSO READ | ‘Sushasan Babu’ or ‘Paltu Ram’? Meet Nitish Kumar, master of the art of changing governments
Kumar returned to the NDA in 2017, hoping to get some traction by virtue of taking a stand against corruption taint on his then deputy Tejashwi Yadav.
His tie-up with the BJP, now in power at the Centre with a brute majority, proved to be electorally successful though his own stature seemed to diminish, as evident from the 2020 assembly poll results in which the JD(U) could win under 45 seats in the 243-strong House.
The BJP’s aggressive style, seeking to vanquish adversaries and gobble up allies, appears to have got the goat of Kumar, who now seems to have decided that he is better off with his former allies who showed limited ambition.
Whether common ground with his new allies with regard to communalism and social justice will be strong enough a glue to hold the coalition together will be known in the days to come.
Cynics may view the move as a survival tactic on his part, but Kumar’s parting ways with the BJP has held out the promise of infusing fresh vigour in the dispirited opposition in the country.
The longest-serving chief minister of any Hindi- speaking state, Nitish Kumar seems to have acquired an aura of indispensability when it comes to the highest seat of power in Bihar.
A crafty politician, he kept the BJP guessing till the eleventh hour before severing ties with the ally, following unanimous sentiments in his JD(U) that it was to be blamed for the party’s dwindling fortunes.
Kumar then clinched a new deal in no time with the opposition which, bereft of power and coherence, welcomed him with open arms.
In a political career spanning four decades, Kumar, 71, has kept at bay taints of corruption, nepotism and misgovernance, leaving critics with little except opportunism as a stick to be beaten with.
Born on March 1, 1951 in Bakhtiyarpur, a nondescript town on the outskirts of Patna, to an Ayurvedic practitioner-cum-freedom fighter father, Kumar is an electrical engineer by training.
During his days at the Bihar Engineering College, now known as NIT, Patna, he became active in student politics and got associated with the JP movement’, which introduced him to many of his future associates, including Lalu Prasad and Sushil Kumar Modi.
His first electoral success came in the 1985 assembly elections, which the Congress swept though he managed to win the Harnaut seat for Lok Dal.
Five years later, he moved to Delhi as an MP from the now- abolished seat of Barh.
ALSO READ | Nitish Kumar sworn in as Bihar CM, Tejashwi his deputy
After another half a decade, when the Mandal wave was at its peak and Prasad was reaping its dividends, Kumar sided with George Fernandes to float the Samata Party, which would later morph into the JD(U) and share power with BJP at the Centre and, 2005 onwards, in the state.
His first five years as chief minister are recalled with admiration even by critics, marked by vast improvements in restoration of law and order in a state that made headlines for massacres by rivalling militias and kidnappings for ransom.
A product of the Mandal churn, the Kurmi leader also realised that he did not have the advantage of belonging to a populous caste group and created sub-quotas among OBCs and Dalits, who were called Ati Pichhda’ (EBC) and Mahadalits, which was resented by the dominant Yadavs and Dusadhs (supporters of Ram Vilas Paswan).
He also gave patronage to Pasmanda Muslims which, besides his ability to keep Hindutva vigilantes in check, endeared him to the minority community despite an old alliance with the BJP.
ALSO READ | Nitish was uncomfortable with BJP, claims Prashan Kishor
Kumar brought in measures like free bicycles and school uniforms for school-going girls, which won him much adulation and the exuberant public mood saw him returning to power in 2010, leading the JD(U)-BJP coalition with a landslide victory in assembly polls.
The period, however, also saw the end of the Atal-Advani era in BJP and Kumar ended up locking horns with Narendra Modi, then his Gujarat counterpart whom he never allowed to campaign in Bihar, and snapped ties with the saffron party in 2013.
He survived in power as the JD(U) was formidably placed in the assembly, but stepped down in 2014, owning moral responsibility for the party’s drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections, wherein it returned with a dismal tally of just two seats.
In less than a year, he was back as chief minister, elbowing out his rebellious protege Jitan Ram Manjhi with ample support from the RJD and the Congress and came to be seen, nationally, as a potential challenger to the Modi juggernaut.
The Grand Alliance that came into being with JD(U), Congress and RJD coming together, won the 2015 assembly polls handsomely, but came apart in just two years.
ALSO READ | ‘Sushasan Babu’ or ‘Paltu Ram’? Meet Nitish Kumar, master of the art of changing governments
Kumar returned to the NDA in 2017, hoping to get some traction by virtue of taking a stand against corruption taint on his then deputy Tejashwi Yadav.
His tie-up with the BJP, now in power at the Centre with a brute majority, proved to be electorally successful though his own stature seemed to diminish, as evident from the 2020 assembly poll results in which the JD(U) could win under 45 seats in the 243-strong House.
The BJP’s aggressive style, seeking to vanquish adversaries and gobble up allies, appears to have got the goat of Kumar, who now seems to have decided that he is better off with his former allies who showed limited ambition.
Whether common ground with his new allies with regard to communalism and social justice will be strong enough a glue to hold the coalition together will be known in the days to come.
Cynics may view the move as a survival tactic on his part, but Kumar’s parting ways with the BJP has held out the promise of infusing fresh vigour in the dispirited opposition in the country.
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WATCH| Bihar BJP MLA sits on SHO’s chair in police station demanding case diary
By IANS
PATNA: A video of BJP MLA Murari Mohan Jha sitting on SHO’s chair in Keoti police station in Bihar’s Darbhanga district and demanding the case dairy has gone viral on social media. According to sources, Jha went to the police station on receiving a complaint that two youths were allegedly assaulted by the SHO. He wanted to examine the cases registered in the dairy.
स्टेशन डायरी गायब मिली तो बीजेपी विधायक ने SHO की क्लास लगा दी… वीडियो दरभंगा का है जहां विधायक मुरारी मोहन झा निरीक्षण करने पहुंचे थे#Darbhanga #SHO #MurariMohanJha #ViralVideo pic.twitter.com/4yjUszLcfA
— Gourav Sharma (@hindgourav) April 2, 2022
In the video, the politician is seen sitting on the SHO’s chair and demanding a station diary from the officer. He is also seen shouting at the officers to call the station manager (Munsi) before him. Shiv Kumar Yadav, the SHO, however, has denied the assault charges. He said that neither he nor any of the cops of his police station have beaten anyone.Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Tejashwi Yadav slammed the Nitish Kumar government for letting the BJP lawmaker occupy the chair of SHO and shouted at him in the police station. “Chief Minister Nitish Kumar likes interference. The BJP MLA domineeringly sits in the chair of SHO and demands for the case diary. He wants to take his share from the police officials who earned through the nexus of criminals and mafias. The police department comes under the chief minister,” he tweeted.
“In Bihar, NDA is running a circus, not Sarkar (Government),” Tejashwi further tweeted.
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Congress’ exit from allinace with RJD move to revive party in Bihar
Express News Service
PATNA: With the entry of trio-Kanhaiya Kumar, Jignesh Mevani and Hardik Patel in Bihar politics, the Congress party took an exit from its political alliance with the RJD in Bihar on Friday. The party made an announcement that it will not onlt contest in the bypolls alone but also contest all 40 Lok Sabha seats in 2024.
The turning point in Congresss political strategy happened when Kanhaiya Kumar, Jignesh Mevani and Hardik Patel reached Bihar as star campaigners to party’s candidates in upcoming bypolls.
The discomfort between Bihar’s main opposition RJD and the Congress Party became evident soon after the induction of Kanhaiya Kumar into the Congress Party.
The Congress Party is staking claim on the Kusheshwar Asthan Assembly seat in Darbhanga, elections for which will be held on October 30.
The discord in the Grand Alliance also came to the fore recently when the Congress sought to field its candidate for bypoll to Kusheshwar Asthan – a seat which it had contested in the 2020 state elections, in line with the Grand Alliance’s seat-sharing pact – but the RJD went ahead and named its nominees from both the constituencies.
General Secretary of AICC and senior Congress leader of Bihar Tariq Anwar said “The assembly by-elections in two seats in have definitely given a lesson that the Congress should now stand on its own feet. It will not be appropriate to depend on the crutches of any other party for a long time”.
“The Congress Party is fully geared up with its leaders like Kanhaiya Kumar and others to register victory on both the assembly seats in Kusheshwarasthan and Tarapur. Our party is not in friendly fight with the RJD. Rather, we are fighting to win with the massive supports of people,” said Bhakat Charan Das, the state in-charge of Bihar Pradesh Congress Party.
Enthused at the arrival of party’s trio-Kanhaiya Kumar, Jignesh Mevani and Hardik Patel in Bihar for campaigning as start campaigners, Das announced that the Congress Party will contest on all 40 LS seats in Bihar in 2024 alone.
“The Congress Party is preparing itself for the next LS elections to take on the NDA. Since our party is the grand old national party, our responsibility is to save the nation and save the state also”, Das said, accusing the RJD of having betrayed the alliance with RJD in the Grand Alliance.
Adopting a tit-for-tat stand against the RJD, Das told the media that if the RJD can not give the Congress Party respect, how can the RJD expect the same from Congress party?
He categorically denied that the Congress party and RJD were in friendly fight in the upcoming bypolls.
Putting faith in new trioof the Congress, Das said that Kanhaiya, Jignesh and Patel will certainly strengthen the party.
Kanhaiya Kumar, speaking on Friday, for the first time after joining Congress Party, asked the people to save freedom by being with the Congress Party.
According to sources, the RJD was never in favour of Kanhaiya’s entry into the Congress Party as he was seen with a potential to emerge as a rival against Tejashwi Yadav.
In Bihar’s politics, Kanhaiya Kumar has entered as the third bachelor politician after Tejashwi Yadav and Chirag Paswan, who pulls the crowd.
According to Dr Nawal Kishor-national spokesperson of RJD, the Bihar assembly held in 2000, February 2005 and October 2005, the RJD had won the Kusheshwar Asthan seat.
Meanwhile, sources said the possibility for forging a new alliance of RJD with LJP(Ram Vilas), led by Chirag Paswan, has increased more after the splits in alliance with the Congress Party.
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Congress’ exit from alliance with RJD move to revive party in Bihar
Express News Service
PATNA: With the entry of trio-Kanhaiya Kumar, Jignesh Mevani and Hardik Patel in Bihar politics, the Congress party took an exit from its political alliance with the RJD in Bihar on Friday. The party made an announcement that it will not only contest in the bypolls alone but also contest all 40 Lok Sabha seats in 2024.
The turning point in Congress’ political strategy happened when Kanhaiya Kumar, Jignesh Mevani and Hardik Patel reached Bihar as star campaigners to party’s candidates in upcoming bypolls.
The discomfort between Bihar’s main opposition RJD and the Congress Party became evident soon after the induction of Kanhaiya Kumar into the Congress Party.
The Congress Party is staking claim on the Kusheshwar Asthan Assembly seat in Darbhanga, elections for which will be held on October 30.
The discord in the Grand Alliance also came to the fore recently when the Congress sought to field its candidate for bypoll to Kusheshwar Asthan – a seat which it had contested in the 2020 state elections, in line with the Grand Alliance’s seat-sharing pact – but the RJD went ahead and named its nominees from both the constituencies.
General Secretary of AICC and senior Congress leader of Bihar Tariq Anwar said “The assembly by-elections in two seats in have definitely given a lesson that the Congress should now stand on its own feet. It will not be appropriate to depend on the crutches of any other party for a long time”.
“The Congress Party is fully geared up with its leaders like Kanhaiya Kumar and others to register victory on both the assembly seats in Kusheshwarasthan and Tarapur. Our party is not in friendly fight with the RJD. Rather, we are fighting to win with the massive supports of people,” said Bhakat Charan Das, the state in-charge of Bihar Pradesh Congress Party.
Enthused at the arrival of party’s trio-Kanhaiya Kumar, Jignesh Mevani and Hardik Patel in Bihar for campaigning as start campaigners, Das announced that the Congress Party will contest on all 40 LS seats in Bihar in 2024 alone.
“The Congress Party is preparing itself for the next LS elections to take on the NDA. Since our party is the grand old national party, our responsibility is to save the nation and save the state also”, Das said, accusing the RJD of having betrayed the alliance with RJD in the Grand Alliance.
Adopting a tit-for-tat stand against the RJD, Das told the media that if the RJD can not give the Congress Party respect, how can the RJD expect the same from Congress party?
He categorically denied that the Congress party and RJD were in friendly fight in the upcoming bypolls.
Putting faith in new trioof the Congress, Das said that Kanhaiya, Jignesh and Patel will certainly strengthen the party.
Kanhaiya Kumar, speaking on Friday, for the first time after joining Congress Party, asked the people to save freedom by being with the Congress Party.
According to sources, the RJD was never in favour of Kanhaiya’s entry into the Congress Party as he was seen with a potential to emerge as a rival against Tejashwi Yadav.
In Bihar’s politics, Kanhaiya Kumar has entered as the third bachelor politician after Tejashwi Yadav and Chirag Paswan, who pulls the crowd.
According to Dr Nawal Kishor-national spokesperson of RJD, the Bihar assembly held in 2000, February 2005 and October 2005, the RJD had won the Kusheshwar Asthan seat.
Meanwhile, sources said the possibility for forging a new alliance of RJD with LJP(Ram Vilas), led by Chirag Paswan, has increased more after the splits in alliance with the Congress Party.
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LJP dispute: Chirag Paswan, Pashupati Paras factions allotted separate names, poll symbols by EC
By PTI
NEW DELHI: The Election Commission allocated names and poll symbols to the Chirag Paswan and the Pashupati Kumar Paras factions as an interim measure on Tuesday, days after barring them from using the name of the Lok Janshakti Party or its symbol ‘bungalow’.
In separate letters to Paswan and Paras, the poll panel said it has allotted the name ‘Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas)’ and the election symbol ‘Helicopter’ to the Chirag Paswan group.
“Having considered your request, the commission has allotted the name ‘Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party’ for your group and has allotted the symbol ‘Sewing Machine’ as the symbol to be allotted to the candidate set up, if any, by your group in the current by-election,” the EC told Paras.
In an interim order on October 2, the EC had barred both the factions from using the name of Lok Janshakti Party or its symbol ‘bungalow’ till the dispute between the two is settled by the poll panel.
The interim order, signed by Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra and fellow Election Commissioners Rajiv Kumar and Anup Chandra Pandey, covers the October 30 bypolls to 30 assembly seats and three Lok Sabha seats across India, including two assembly constituencies in Bihar.
The order would “continue till the final determination of the dispute in the matter” according to provisions of the Election Symbol (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
The EC had said both the groups were free to choose the names of their liking, including, if they so desire, linkage with their parent party Lok Janshakti Party.
“Both the groups shall also be allotted such different symbols as they may choose from the list of free symbols notified by the Election Commission for the purposes of the current by-elections, including Kusheshwar Asthan and Tarapur assembly constituencies in Bihar,” the order had said.