News Analysis India

Tag: RJD

  • ‘Fall of BJP in Bihar will make ED, CBI also visit there, leading to reduce pressure on Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh’: Bhupesh Baghel

    Express News Service

    RANCHI: Taking a jibe at BJP Government’s fall in Bihar, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said that it will ultimately reduce pressure on Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh as ED and CBI will now also start visiting there. 

    Addressing a gathering of tribals from across the Country during the concluding ceremony of Jharkhand Janjatiya Mahotsav in Ranchi on Wednesday, Baghel said that BJP was trying to put a bouncer in Jharkhand, but Hemant Soren Government played hook shot leading to fall of their government in Bihar.

    Jharkhand had organized Jharkhand Janjatiya Mahotsav to mark International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, popularly known as World Tribal Day, for the first time on August 9-10, participated by the artists from tribal-dominated states, including the north-eastern states of India. Baghel was also invited there as chief guest for the closing ceremony.

    “I heard a few days back that some political crisis is being created here in Jharkhand. In terms of cricket, BJP was trying to put bouncer to topple the Hemant Soren Government, but they played a hook shot which led to the fall of their government in Bihar,” said Baghel. Now ED and CBI will also start visiting Bihar quite frequently, which will ultimately decrease the pressure on Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, he added.

    Referring to the green cover in the tribal-dominated states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, Baghel informed that they are not only fulfilling the oxygen requirement of the Country but also providing power requirements through large deposits of natural resources like coal and other minerals.

    Baghel further added that tribal-dominated states do not only provide oxygen but also provides power to the entire Country, further saying that the Central Government is trying to snatch the rights of tribal-dominated states.

    “We never disrupted its supply even in adverse situations but when it comes to our rights, whether the Central Government is able to help us,” questioned Chhattisgarh CM. He also warned the BJP not to judge tribal states like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh as weak states.

    “I just want to say that the tribal culture is one of the oldest cultures in this world, and it is our duty to conserve this primitive culture, which is capably being done by Jharkhand Government,” said Baghel. He also thanked Soren for celebrating World Tribal Day for two days and declaring a holiday on this day as done by him in Chhattisgarh.

    Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on the other hand said that everywhere there are discussions about protecting the forests, hills and rivers, but there is no discussion about protecting the tribal community.

    “Therefore, August 9 is like a resolution day for us so that the tribal community could raise their voice to make them reach to the people sitting on the top of the hierarchy,” said Soren. The tribal community has to fight many more battles for their rights, he added.

    RANCHI: Taking a jibe at BJP Government’s fall in Bihar, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said that it will ultimately reduce pressure on Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh as ED and CBI will now also start visiting there. 

    Addressing a gathering of tribals from across the Country during the concluding ceremony of Jharkhand Janjatiya Mahotsav in Ranchi on Wednesday, Baghel said that BJP was trying to put a bouncer in Jharkhand, but Hemant Soren Government played hook shot leading to fall of their government in Bihar.

    Jharkhand had organized Jharkhand Janjatiya Mahotsav to mark International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, popularly known as World Tribal Day, for the first time on August 9-10, participated by the artists from tribal-dominated states, including the north-eastern states of India. Baghel was also invited there as chief guest for the closing ceremony.

    “I heard a few days back that some political crisis is being created here in Jharkhand. In terms of cricket, BJP was trying to put bouncer to topple the Hemant Soren Government, but they played a hook shot which led to the fall of their government in Bihar,” said Baghel. Now ED and CBI will also start visiting Bihar quite frequently, which will ultimately decrease the pressure on Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, he added.

    Referring to the green cover in the tribal-dominated states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, Baghel informed that they are not only fulfilling the oxygen requirement of the Country but also providing power requirements through large deposits of natural resources like coal and other minerals.

    Baghel further added that tribal-dominated states do not only provide oxygen but also provides power to the entire Country, further saying that the Central Government is trying to snatch the rights of tribal-dominated states.

    “We never disrupted its supply even in adverse situations but when it comes to our rights, whether the Central Government is able to help us,” questioned Chhattisgarh CM. He also warned the BJP not to judge tribal states like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh as weak states.

    “I just want to say that the tribal culture is one of the oldest cultures in this world, and it is our duty to conserve this primitive culture, which is capably being done by Jharkhand Government,” said Baghel. 
    He also thanked Soren for celebrating World Tribal Day for two days and declaring a holiday on this day as done by him in Chhattisgarh.

    Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on the other hand said that everywhere there are discussions about protecting the forests, hills and rivers, but there is no discussion about protecting the tribal community.

    “Therefore, August 9 is like a resolution day for us so that the tribal community could raise their voice to make them reach to the people sitting on the top of the hierarchy,” said Soren. The tribal community has to fight many more battles for their rights, he added.

  • Pawar accuses BJP of finishing off regional allies; Fadnavis hits back

    By PTI

    PUNE: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of finishing off its regional allies gradually, and supported Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s decision to snap ties with the BJP.

    Speaking to reporters in Baramati town of Maharashtra’s Pune district, Pawar claimed the BJP was planning how to weaken the Shiv Sena and create a division in the party.

    Pawar’s party was a constituent of the previous Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government, which collapsed in June this year following a revolt by Sena MLA Eknath Shinde and 39 other legislators.

    Nitish Kumar had on Tuesday pulled the plug on his party JD(U)’s alliance with the BJP and resigned, and followed it up by staking claim to form a new government in Bihar with support of the opposition Grand Alliance.

    Notably, BJP national president J P Nadda recently said in the times to come only an ideology-driven party like the BJP will survive, while others ruled by families will perish.

    Pawar on Wednesday claimed that “the BJP national president in his address said regional parties do not have a future and they will not exist. He said it is only their party which will exist in the country.”

    “From this statement, one thing is clear, which was also the complaint of Nitish Kumar, that the BJP finishes off its allies gradually,” the NCP president said.

    Citing an example, Pawar said a party like the Akali Dal was with them (BJP).

    “Its leader Prakash Singh Badal was with them, but today the party is nearly finished in Punjab,” he said.

    In Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena and BJP were together for several years, he pointed out.

    “Today, the BJP is planning how the Shiv Sena can be weakened by creating a division in the party, and (present Maharashtra CM) Eknath Shinde and others helped,” he added.

    In doing this, the Shiv Sena was attacked by the party which was once its ally, he said.

    A similar picture was being seen in Bihar.

    Nitish Kumar, of the JD(U), and the BJP contested the last Assembly elections together, he said.

    “One more speciality of the BJP is that it joins hands with a regional party at the time of elections, but ensures the ally wins fewer seats. It happened in Maharashtra also,” Pawar claimed.

    When a similar picture was being witnessed in Bihar, the CM of the state got cautious well in advance and took the decision to snap ties with the BJP, he said.

    “No matter how much BJP leaders criticise Nitish Kumar, but he has taken a wise step. He took the decision anticipating the crisis the BJP was planning to bring on. I think he took a wise decision for his state and party,” Pawar said.

    Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday took a swipe at Sharad Pawar, saying that there was “something else” that was hurting more to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president.

    Fadnavis made the comment in the wake of Pawar’s criticism of the BJP, in which he accused it of finishing off its regional allies gradually.

    Pawar also said that the BJP was planning to weaken the Shiv Sena and create a division in the party.

    “There is something else that hurts Pawar more. Everyone knows it,” Fadnavis told reporters in Thane.

    Pawar’s party was a constituent of the previous Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, which collapsed in June this year following a revolt by Sena MLA Eknath Shinde and 39 other legislators.

    Fadnavis said, “In the last Bihar Assembly elections, the BJP had won more seats that the JD(U), but still Nitish Kumar was made chief minister. It is the BJP that takes care of its allies.”

    “If we are not in power in Bihar (now), we would be there tomorrow for sure,” he added.

    JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar on Wednesday took oath as Bihar chief minister for the eighth time, while RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav was administered the oath of office as deputy chief minister.

    The ceremony took place a day after Kumar snapped ties with the BJP-led NDA and joined hands with the RJD to form a ‘Mahagathbandhan’ government.

    On the expansion of the Shinde-led cabinet in Maharashtra, Fadnavis said, “There has already been a lot of speculation about the cabinet expansion in media already. But the speculation is going to be completely false. Once the portfolios are allocated, you will realise it.”

    A day earlier, CM Shinde expanded his cabinet, 41 days after taking the oath of office.

    A total of 18 MLAs, including nine each from the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena and the BJP, took oath as the cabinet ministers.

    PUNE: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of finishing off its regional allies gradually, and supported Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s decision to snap ties with the BJP.

    Speaking to reporters in Baramati town of Maharashtra’s Pune district, Pawar claimed the BJP was planning how to weaken the Shiv Sena and create a division in the party.

    Pawar’s party was a constituent of the previous Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government, which collapsed in June this year following a revolt by Sena MLA Eknath Shinde and 39 other legislators.

    Nitish Kumar had on Tuesday pulled the plug on his party JD(U)’s alliance with the BJP and resigned, and followed it up by staking claim to form a new government in Bihar with support of the opposition Grand Alliance.

    Notably, BJP national president J P Nadda recently said in the times to come only an ideology-driven party like the BJP will survive, while others ruled by families will perish.

    Pawar on Wednesday claimed that “the BJP national president in his address said regional parties do not have a future and they will not exist. He said it is only their party which will exist in the country.”

    “From this statement, one thing is clear, which was also the complaint of Nitish Kumar, that the BJP finishes off its allies gradually,” the NCP president said.

    Citing an example, Pawar said a party like the Akali Dal was with them (BJP).

    “Its leader Prakash Singh Badal was with them, but today the party is nearly finished in Punjab,” he said.

    In Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena and BJP were together for several years, he pointed out.

    “Today, the BJP is planning how the Shiv Sena can be weakened by creating a division in the party, and (present Maharashtra CM) Eknath Shinde and others helped,” he added.

    In doing this, the Shiv Sena was attacked by the party which was once its ally, he said.

    A similar picture was being seen in Bihar.

    Nitish Kumar, of the JD(U), and the BJP contested the last Assembly elections together, he said.

    “One more speciality of the BJP is that it joins hands with a regional party at the time of elections, but ensures the ally wins fewer seats. It happened in Maharashtra also,” Pawar claimed.

    When a similar picture was being witnessed in Bihar, the CM of the state got cautious well in advance and took the decision to snap ties with the BJP, he said.

    “No matter how much BJP leaders criticise Nitish Kumar, but he has taken a wise step. He took the decision anticipating the crisis the BJP was planning to bring on. I think he took a wise decision for his state and party,” Pawar said.

    Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday took a swipe at Sharad Pawar, saying that there was “something else” that was hurting more to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president.

    Fadnavis made the comment in the wake of Pawar’s criticism of the BJP, in which he accused it of finishing off its regional allies gradually.

    Pawar also said that the BJP was planning to weaken the Shiv Sena and create a division in the party.

    “There is something else that hurts Pawar more. Everyone knows it,” Fadnavis told reporters in Thane.

    Pawar’s party was a constituent of the previous Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, which collapsed in June this year following a revolt by Sena MLA Eknath Shinde and 39 other legislators.

    Fadnavis said, “In the last Bihar Assembly elections, the BJP had won more seats that the JD(U), but still Nitish Kumar was made chief minister. It is the BJP that takes care of its allies.”

    “If we are not in power in Bihar (now), we would be there tomorrow for sure,” he added.

    JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar on Wednesday took oath as Bihar chief minister for the eighth time, while RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav was administered the oath of office as deputy chief minister.

    The ceremony took place a day after Kumar snapped ties with the BJP-led NDA and joined hands with the RJD to form a ‘Mahagathbandhan’ government.

    On the expansion of the Shinde-led cabinet in Maharashtra, Fadnavis said, “There has already been a lot of speculation about the cabinet expansion in media already. But the speculation is going to be completely false. Once the portfolios are allocated, you will realise it.”

    A day earlier, CM Shinde expanded his cabinet, 41 days after taking the oath of office.

    A total of 18 MLAs, including nine each from the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena and the BJP, took oath as the cabinet ministers.

  • ‘Nitish now in front row of Opposition camp along with Mamata’: Shatrughan Sinha

    By PTI

    PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar stands in the “front row” of the opposition camp along with Mamata Banerjee and others to end the “Modi raj” in the country in the 2024 general election, former BJP leader and now Trinamool Congress MP Shatrughan Sinha said on Wednesday.

    Sinha said the JD(U) leader has given the BJP a taste of its own medicine after it dislodged governments of opposition parties in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

    On who among Kumar and Banerjee could emerge as the opposition face against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the next Lok Sabha poll, the actor-politician told PTI that the people of the country and leaders of the opposition parties would decide it at an “appropriate” time.

    Sinha, who had served as a cabinet minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, has become a Lok Sabha member from Asansol in West Bengal recently from Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC).

    Popularly called “Bihari Babu”, the actor-politician bid goodbye to the BJP after being denied a ticket from his native Patna Sahib seat in the 2019 general election.

    Before parting ways with the saffron party, Sinha had on several occasions targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home minister Amit Shah using the barb “one man party and two men army” against them.

    After leaving the BJP, Sinha had unsuccessfully contested from the Patna Sahib constituency on a Congress ticket in 2019.

    After lying low in the Congress, he switched over to Trinamool Congress and Banerjee chose him for the by-election in the Asansol Lok Sabha seat vacated by Babul Supriyo.

    “Better late than never, Nitish Kumar has given the BJP a taste of its own medicine that it administered in Madhya Pradesh and now in Maharashtra using its money power,” Sinha alleged.

    He was in his native place Patna on the day Kumar took oath as chief minister of Bihar for the eighth time along with deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav.

    “Due to his bold decision, Kumar today stands in the front row in the opposition camp along with Banerjee and others to lead the downfall of ‘Modi raj’ in the next Parliamentary election,” he said.

    Opposition parties have claimed the JD(U) breaking ranks with the BJP and joining hands with the RJD, Congress and others is an indication of the change in Indian politics, asserting that their vision to fight the saffron party and its “politics of intimidation” has gained momentum.

    Kumar, who has dumped the BJP for the second time after severing ties in 2013 and reconciling in 2017, is being talked about in the political circles as a probable opposition face against Modi in 2024 but many still view the JD(U) leader with suspicion citing his numerous ‘U-turns’.

    Also several other opposition leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi have hinted at prime ministerial ambitions.

    “The people of the country and the leaders of the opposition parties would decide who would be the face against Modi in the 2024 general election,” Sinha, who had earlier served as Lok Sabha member from Patna Sahib twice and also as Rajya Sabha MP on two occasions from the saffron party, said.

    The newly elected TMC MP from Asansol praised Banerjee and reiterated she would be a “game changer” in the next general election.

    Talking about BJP forming its governments in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra after defection in Congress and Shiv Sena respectively, Sinha said, “They (the BJP) had been indulging in the toppling game using money power”.

    “After khela (game) in West Bengal, the BJP has been cut to size following khela in Bihar,” he said using the famous punchline of the TMC during the West Bengal assembly polls in 2021.

    Sinha had served in the Vajpayee cabinet along with both Nitish Kumar and Mamata Banerjee and had on several occasions highlighted his cordial relationship with both of them.

    The septuagenarian Parliamentarian had praised West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for fighting the BJP and defeating it comprehensively in the assembly polls in the eastern state in 2021.

    PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar stands in the “front row” of the opposition camp along with Mamata Banerjee and others to end the “Modi raj” in the country in the 2024 general election, former BJP leader and now Trinamool Congress MP Shatrughan Sinha said on Wednesday.

    Sinha said the JD(U) leader has given the BJP a taste of its own medicine after it dislodged governments of opposition parties in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

    On who among Kumar and Banerjee could emerge as the opposition face against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the next Lok Sabha poll, the actor-politician told PTI that the people of the country and leaders of the opposition parties would decide it at an “appropriate” time.

    Sinha, who had served as a cabinet minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, has become a Lok Sabha member from Asansol in West Bengal recently from Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC).

    Popularly called “Bihari Babu”, the actor-politician bid goodbye to the BJP after being denied a ticket from his native Patna Sahib seat in the 2019 general election.

    Before parting ways with the saffron party, Sinha had on several occasions targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home minister Amit Shah using the barb “one man party and two men army” against them.

    After leaving the BJP, Sinha had unsuccessfully contested from the Patna Sahib constituency on a Congress ticket in 2019.

    After lying low in the Congress, he switched over to Trinamool Congress and Banerjee chose him for the by-election in the Asansol Lok Sabha seat vacated by Babul Supriyo.

    “Better late than never, Nitish Kumar has given the BJP a taste of its own medicine that it administered in Madhya Pradesh and now in Maharashtra using its money power,” Sinha alleged.

    He was in his native place Patna on the day Kumar took oath as chief minister of Bihar for the eighth time along with deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav.

    “Due to his bold decision, Kumar today stands in the front row in the opposition camp along with Banerjee and others to lead the downfall of ‘Modi raj’ in the next Parliamentary election,” he said.

    Opposition parties have claimed the JD(U) breaking ranks with the BJP and joining hands with the RJD, Congress and others is an indication of the change in Indian politics, asserting that their vision to fight the saffron party and its “politics of intimidation” has gained momentum.

    Kumar, who has dumped the BJP for the second time after severing ties in 2013 and reconciling in 2017, is being talked about in the political circles as a probable opposition face against Modi in 2024 but many still view the JD(U) leader with suspicion citing his numerous ‘U-turns’.

    Also several other opposition leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi have hinted at prime ministerial ambitions.

    “The people of the country and the leaders of the opposition parties would decide who would be the face against Modi in the 2024 general election,” Sinha, who had earlier served as Lok Sabha member from Patna Sahib twice and also as Rajya Sabha MP on two occasions from the saffron party, said.

    The newly elected TMC MP from Asansol praised Banerjee and reiterated she would be a “game changer” in the next general election.

    Talking about BJP forming its governments in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra after defection in Congress and Shiv Sena respectively, Sinha said, “They (the BJP) had been indulging in the toppling game using money power”.

    “After khela (game) in West Bengal, the BJP has been cut to size following khela in Bihar,” he said using the famous punchline of the TMC during the West Bengal assembly polls in 2021.

    Sinha had served in the Vajpayee cabinet along with both Nitish Kumar and Mamata Banerjee and had on several occasions highlighted his cordial relationship with both of them.

    The septuagenarian Parliamentarian had praised West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for fighting the BJP and defeating it comprehensively in the assembly polls in the eastern state in 2021.

  • JP movement to Advani rath yatra: How Bihar events have influenced national politics!

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Bihar is no stranger to being at the centre of a tectonic shift in national politics fuelled by turbulent regional forces.

    On Tuesday, a day filled with high drama, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar severed ties with ally BJP and embraced the Mahagathbandhan or grand alliance, bringing the spotlight on Bihar and its complex matrix of politics.

    From the landmark Bihar movement led by students in 1970s that emanated from Patna to stopping of Lal Krishna Advani’s Ayodhya rath yatra by then chief minister Lalu Yadav in Samastipur, these events have set off a chain of reactions that resulted in major ruptures in the realm of nation politics, throwing ruling parties out of seats of power or leading to rise of unexpected and at times unstable alliances.

    The Bihar movement, which eventually came to be known as the JP movement as veteran socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan spearheaded it, had a ripple effect from Patna to Delhi and the echoes of his fiery speeches at Gandhi Maidan in the Bihar capital had reverberations in Ramlila Maidan in the national capital.

    Narayan’s Bihar movement during the turbulent 70s eventually led to the Emergency from 1975-77.

    He exhorted college and university students in the state to throw themselves into what he had envisaged as a massive churn of Indian politics against corruption.

    Under the firebrand JP, the agitation in Bihar took the shape of a Sampoorna Kranti or total revolution and the initial demand for resignation of the then Ghafoor government in the state ultimately turned into a larger demand for dismissal of Indira Gandhi government.

    After the Emergency was over and general elections were held, Congress was ousted and a Janata Party-led government came into power with Morarji Desai as the prime minister.

    The JP movement has had such personal and emotional impact on many that Nitish Kumar, Lalu Yadav, Sushil Kumar Modi and Sharad Yadav, all of whom were engrossed in students politics back then, often describe themselves as “product of JP movement”.

    Both Lalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar, who perhaps bonded during the student movement, have had ‘friend-turned-foe-turned-friend’ moments in their careers, which also has impacted both regional and in turn national politics.

    RJD and JD(U), both descendants of the Janata Dal party, play a crucial role when it comes to stitching power alliances to form a government.

    And as Kumar returns to the Mahagathbandhan, from which he had walked out of in 2017 post the 2015 elections, many have also begun to speculate if the move will have ramifications on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

    Many student leaders in Patna, PTI spoke to, concurred that “this type of political crisis being seen currently is not new to Bihar” and “this instability” has impacted both regional and national politics.

    Aman Lal, student activist from Patna University and a member of All India Student Federation which will mark its 86th foundation day on August 12, said, “leaving aside the tenure of Sri Krishna Singh in the initial days (till 1961) in Bihar after Independence, the chief ministers who succeeded him, could not complete their terms.

    Only Lalu Prasad in 90s could complete his term, and then Nitish Kumar is the longest-serving CM of Bihar since 2005.

    ” Experts feel that big political leaders from Bihar have had a national aura largely, and that is also perhaps a factor due to which “what happens in Bihar, impacts India”.

    Besides, Jayaprakash Narayan, K B Sahay, Karpoori Thakur, Daroga Prasad Rai, B P Mandal, all of these were state leaders but also national leaders.

    Mandal Commission set up in 1979, and chaired by B P Mandal, who briefly served as chief minister of Bihar in late 1960s, had a massive impact throughout India, and protests were held, and many even attempted self-immolation.

    But, perhaps the event that led to stopping of the rath yatra by Advani in 1990 is one of key moments in political history of both Bihar and India at large, given the significance and sensitivity of the Ram Temple issue.

    The BJP patriarch had started the yatra from Somnath in Gujarat and was to culminate at Ayodhya.

    His swanky vehicle entered Bihar through areas which now fall in Jharkhand, amid chants of ‘Mandir wahin banayege’.

    Sensing it might trigger disturbance in communal harmony, then chief minister Lalu Yadav ordered IAS officer R K Singh to arrest Advani.

    BJP was then propping up the V P Singh government and arresting Advani could have led to its fall and set off a chain of violence.

    Singh halted the rath yatra in Samastipur in north Bihar and arrested Advani, prompting the BJP to withdraw support to V P Singh’s National Front government and resulting in its collapse.

    The event paved the way for the emergence of the saffron party as a formidable force on the country’s political firmament.

    Ironically, he later became a joint secretary in the union home ministry when Advani headed it.

    Kumar on Wednesday took oath as Bihar chief minister for the record eighth time at a no-frills ceremony held at Raj Bhavan in Patna.

    Soon after being sworn in, he asserted that the NDA government at the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to “worry” about its prospects in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

    He also rubbished the BJP’s claim that the new government will not last its full term and said his former ally “will be back where they were after the 2015 assembly polls”.

    Poll strategist Prashant Kishor in Patna told TV channels that Kumar was not comfortable in the alliance with the BJP and that is why he moved from one political formation to the other.

    How the current state of affairs in Bihar will play out in the long run, only time will tell.

    PTI KND ZMN 08101829 NNNN

    NEW DELHI: Bihar is no stranger to being at the centre of a tectonic shift in national politics fuelled by turbulent regional forces.

    On Tuesday, a day filled with high drama, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar severed ties with ally BJP and embraced the Mahagathbandhan or grand alliance, bringing the spotlight on Bihar and its complex matrix of politics.

    From the landmark Bihar movement led by students in 1970s that emanated from Patna to stopping of Lal Krishna Advani’s Ayodhya rath yatra by then chief minister Lalu Yadav in Samastipur, these events have set off a chain of reactions that resulted in major ruptures in the realm of nation politics, throwing ruling parties out of seats of power or leading to rise of unexpected and at times unstable alliances.

    The Bihar movement, which eventually came to be known as the JP movement as veteran socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan spearheaded it, had a ripple effect from Patna to Delhi and the echoes of his fiery speeches at Gandhi Maidan in the Bihar capital had reverberations in Ramlila Maidan in the national capital.

    Narayan’s Bihar movement during the turbulent 70s eventually led to the Emergency from 1975-77.

    He exhorted college and university students in the state to throw themselves into what he had envisaged as a massive churn of Indian politics against corruption.

    Under the firebrand JP, the agitation in Bihar took the shape of a Sampoorna Kranti or total revolution and the initial demand for resignation of the then Ghafoor government in the state ultimately turned into a larger demand for dismissal of Indira Gandhi government.

    After the Emergency was over and general elections were held, Congress was ousted and a Janata Party-led government came into power with Morarji Desai as the prime minister.

    The JP movement has had such personal and emotional impact on many that Nitish Kumar, Lalu Yadav, Sushil Kumar Modi and Sharad Yadav, all of whom were engrossed in students politics back then, often describe themselves as “product of JP movement”.

    Both Lalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar, who perhaps bonded during the student movement, have had ‘friend-turned-foe-turned-friend’ moments in their careers, which also has impacted both regional and in turn national politics.

    RJD and JD(U), both descendants of the Janata Dal party, play a crucial role when it comes to stitching power alliances to form a government.

    And as Kumar returns to the Mahagathbandhan, from which he had walked out of in 2017 post the 2015 elections, many have also begun to speculate if the move will have ramifications on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

    Many student leaders in Patna, PTI spoke to, concurred that “this type of political crisis being seen currently is not new to Bihar” and “this instability” has impacted both regional and national politics.

    Aman Lal, student activist from Patna University and a member of All India Student Federation which will mark its 86th foundation day on August 12, said, “leaving aside the tenure of Sri Krishna Singh in the initial days (till 1961) in Bihar after Independence, the chief ministers who succeeded him, could not complete their terms.

    Only Lalu Prasad in 90s could complete his term, and then Nitish Kumar is the longest-serving CM of Bihar since 2005.

    ” Experts feel that big political leaders from Bihar have had a national aura largely, and that is also perhaps a factor due to which “what happens in Bihar, impacts India”.

    Besides, Jayaprakash Narayan, K B Sahay, Karpoori Thakur, Daroga Prasad Rai, B P Mandal, all of these were state leaders but also national leaders.

    Mandal Commission set up in 1979, and chaired by B P Mandal, who briefly served as chief minister of Bihar in late 1960s, had a massive impact throughout India, and protests were held, and many even attempted self-immolation.

    But, perhaps the event that led to stopping of the rath yatra by Advani in 1990 is one of key moments in political history of both Bihar and India at large, given the significance and sensitivity of the Ram Temple issue.

    The BJP patriarch had started the yatra from Somnath in Gujarat and was to culminate at Ayodhya.

    His swanky vehicle entered Bihar through areas which now fall in Jharkhand, amid chants of ‘Mandir wahin banayege’.

    Sensing it might trigger disturbance in communal harmony, then chief minister Lalu Yadav ordered IAS officer R K Singh to arrest Advani.

    BJP was then propping up the V P Singh government and arresting Advani could have led to its fall and set off a chain of violence.

    Singh halted the rath yatra in Samastipur in north Bihar and arrested Advani, prompting the BJP to withdraw support to V P Singh’s National Front government and resulting in its collapse.

    The event paved the way for the emergence of the saffron party as a formidable force on the country’s political firmament.

    Ironically, he later became a joint secretary in the union home ministry when Advani headed it.

    Kumar on Wednesday took oath as Bihar chief minister for the record eighth time at a no-frills ceremony held at Raj Bhavan in Patna.

    Soon after being sworn in, he asserted that the NDA government at the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to “worry” about its prospects in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

    He also rubbished the BJP’s claim that the new government will not last its full term and said his former ally “will be back where they were after the 2015 assembly polls”.

    Poll strategist Prashant Kishor in Patna told TV channels that Kumar was not comfortable in the alliance with the BJP and that is why he moved from one political formation to the other.

    How the current state of affairs in Bihar will play out in the long run, only time will tell.

    PTI KND ZMN 08101829 NNNN

  • RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav: Born with a silver spoon, favourite of his father

    By PTI

    PATNA: After a dream debut seven years ago when he was sworn in as deputy chief minister after being elected MLA for the first time was followed by a slump in his political fortunes, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav has finally come back to center-stage as the kingmaker and deputy to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

    The 33 years old younger son of the charismatic Lalu Prasad had steered the party to an impressive performance in the tightly contested 2020 assembly polls when it won the largest number of 75 seats, belying those who thought he will flounder since Prasad was in jail and the heir apparent lacked acumen.

    Before Chief Minister Kumar decided to pick him as his deputy for a second time, Yadav was making waves as a doughty leader of the opposition, taking on the government of his father’s arch-rival on the floor of the assembly while in session, as well as on the streets.

    The dramatic realignment was preceded by a massive ‘Pratirodh’ (opposition) March against the NDA government at the Centre which he led on Sunday, rallying along Congress and the Left, in a clear signal that the opposition in the state had the appetite for a fight.

    Born on November 9, 1989, he is the youngest of all but nine siblings and has been a clear favourite of his father who seemed to have noticed political potential in him at a young age.

    Doted on by seven elder and one younger sisters, besides a temperamental elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav, the RJD heir apparent whom family members address by the nickname “Tarun” married his Chandigarh-based friend Rachel Iris, who has since adopted a new name “Rajshree”.

    Derided by his opponents for lacking formal education, Yadav had given up studies after flunking in Std IX at DPS, RK Puram.

    He has, however, demonstrated an ability to read the situation he finds himself in and make the best of it.

    Having decided early on in life that studies were not for him, Yadav chose not to cling to his cricketing aspirations after the much-needed big break eluded him though, by most accounts, he was a competent all-rounder.

    He announced his “retirement” from cricket just a couple of years before entering politics in 2015, at the tender age of 25.

    The new vocation came as a perfect pitch to bat on as he won from Raghopur in the assembly election comfortably, thanks to a formidable, albeit short-lived alliance forged by arch-rivals Kumar and Prasad.

    In addition to being his father’s favourite, Yadav exuded a maturity that was beyond his age which certainly played role in his rise.

    As fate would have it, Yadav’s name cropped up in a money laundering case, relating to illegal land transactions involving his father’s tenure as the Railway Minister in the UPA-1 government, when the scion himself was in his teens.

    The development drew heavy opposition fire and the JD(U) leader, conscious of his reputation for probity in public life, snapped ties with the RJD and ended up making a hasty return to the NDA.

    Yadav took the sudden loss of power in his stride and worked to keep the RJD party afloat while his father ended up behind bars following convictions in a number of fodder scam cases.

    Questions were raised about his ability to lead the party and the Grand Alliance after the Lok Sabha elections in which the opposition coalition conceded 39 out of 40 seats to NDA and the RJD itself drew a blank.

    He was ridiculed, by the then ruling JD(U)-BJP combine, as an “ill prepared student afraid of facing exams” when he demanded that the assembly elections be deferred in view of the global pandemic.

    However, once the poll schedule was announced, the fire in his belly was there for all to see.

    Yadav displayed ruthlessness in shunning dissenters and guile in winning over allies, including the CPI(ML) which has been bitterly opposed to the RJD especially since former JNU president Chandrashekhar was gunned down, in the early 1990s, allegedly by henchmen of the local MP Mohd.Shahabuddin.

    Naysayers may think that he has short-changed himself, meekly accepting a deputy’s instead of waiting it out till the Chief Ministership could be up for grabs.

    Supporters will, however, be on a roll in their belief that he has given it back to the BJP which had snatched power from the RJD through a “backdoor entry” five years ago.

    PATNA: After a dream debut seven years ago when he was sworn in as deputy chief minister after being elected MLA for the first time was followed by a slump in his political fortunes, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav has finally come back to center-stage as the kingmaker and deputy to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

    The 33 years old younger son of the charismatic Lalu Prasad had steered the party to an impressive performance in the tightly contested 2020 assembly polls when it won the largest number of 75 seats, belying those who thought he will flounder since Prasad was in jail and the heir apparent lacked acumen.

    Before Chief Minister Kumar decided to pick him as his deputy for a second time, Yadav was making waves as a doughty leader of the opposition, taking on the government of his father’s arch-rival on the floor of the assembly while in session, as well as on the streets.

    The dramatic realignment was preceded by a massive ‘Pratirodh’ (opposition) March against the NDA government at the Centre which he led on Sunday, rallying along Congress and the Left, in a clear signal that the opposition in the state had the appetite for a fight.

    Born on November 9, 1989, he is the youngest of all but nine siblings and has been a clear favourite of his father who seemed to have noticed political potential in him at a young age.

    Doted on by seven elder and one younger sisters, besides a temperamental elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav, the RJD heir apparent whom family members address by the nickname “Tarun” married his Chandigarh-based friend Rachel Iris, who has since adopted a new name “Rajshree”.

    Derided by his opponents for lacking formal education, Yadav had given up studies after flunking in Std IX at DPS, RK Puram.

    He has, however, demonstrated an ability to read the situation he finds himself in and make the best of it.

    Having decided early on in life that studies were not for him, Yadav chose not to cling to his cricketing aspirations after the much-needed big break eluded him though, by most accounts, he was a competent all-rounder.

    He announced his “retirement” from cricket just a couple of years before entering politics in 2015, at the tender age of 25.

    The new vocation came as a perfect pitch to bat on as he won from Raghopur in the assembly election comfortably, thanks to a formidable, albeit short-lived alliance forged by arch-rivals Kumar and Prasad.

    In addition to being his father’s favourite, Yadav exuded a maturity that was beyond his age which certainly played role in his rise.

    As fate would have it, Yadav’s name cropped up in a money laundering case, relating to illegal land transactions involving his father’s tenure as the Railway Minister in the UPA-1 government, when the scion himself was in his teens.

    The development drew heavy opposition fire and the JD(U) leader, conscious of his reputation for probity in public life, snapped ties with the RJD and ended up making a hasty return to the NDA.

    Yadav took the sudden loss of power in his stride and worked to keep the RJD party afloat while his father ended up behind bars following convictions in a number of fodder scam cases.

    Questions were raised about his ability to lead the party and the Grand Alliance after the Lok Sabha elections in which the opposition coalition conceded 39 out of 40 seats to NDA and the RJD itself drew a blank.

    He was ridiculed, by the then ruling JD(U)-BJP combine, as an “ill prepared student afraid of facing exams” when he demanded that the assembly elections be deferred in view of the global pandemic.

    However, once the poll schedule was announced, the fire in his belly was there for all to see.

    Yadav displayed ruthlessness in shunning dissenters and guile in winning over allies, including the CPI(ML) which has been bitterly opposed to the RJD especially since former JNU president Chandrashekhar was gunned down, in the early 1990s, allegedly by henchmen of the local MP Mohd.Shahabuddin.

    Naysayers may think that he has short-changed himself, meekly accepting a deputy’s instead of waiting it out till the Chief Ministership could be up for grabs.

    Supporters will, however, be on a roll in their belief that he has given it back to the BJP which had snatched power from the RJD through a “backdoor entry” five years ago.

  • Nitish was uncomfortable with BJP, claims Prashan Kishor

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Wednesday said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was not comfortable in the alliance with the BJP and that is why he moved from one political formation to the other.

    Kishor, once considered a close confidant of Kumar, said the impact of the political developments in Bihar will remain limited to the state at present. “They were unlikely to have an impact on the national level in the short-run,” he said.

    “From 2017 to 2022, he was with the BJP. But I never found him comfortable because of many reasons. He may have thought that let us experiment with Mahagatbandhan,” Kishor told television news channels in Patna.

    On reports that Kumar harbours prime ministerial ambitions, Kishor insisted the developments were strictly “Bihar-centric”. He said Bihar has seen six experiments in government formation since 2012-13 and Nitish Kumar has been a constant as the chief minister.

    “Since 2012-13, this is the sixth experiment as far as government formation is concerned. In all these six experiments, Nitish Kumar has remained the Chief Minister. And there has been no change in the situation in Bihar. I hope that the new government will do something good,” Kishor told Republic TV.

    Kishor told CNN News 18 that it will have to be seen whether the new government performs or not as the RJD and JD(U) have contradicting stances on a number of issues, including corruption.

    NEW DELHI: Poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Wednesday said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was not comfortable in the alliance with the BJP and that is why he moved from one political formation to the other.

    Kishor, once considered a close confidant of Kumar, said the impact of the political developments in Bihar will remain limited to the state at present. “They were unlikely to have an impact on the national level in the short-run,” he said.

    “From 2017 to 2022, he was with the BJP. But I never found him comfortable because of many reasons. He may have thought that let us experiment with Mahagatbandhan,” Kishor told television news channels in Patna.

    On reports that Kumar harbours prime ministerial ambitions, Kishor insisted the developments were strictly “Bihar-centric”. He said Bihar has seen six experiments in government formation since 2012-13 and Nitish Kumar has been a constant as the chief minister.

    “Since 2012-13, this is the sixth experiment as far as government formation is concerned. In all these six experiments, Nitish Kumar has remained the Chief Minister. And there has been no change in the situation in Bihar. I hope that the new government will do something good,” Kishor told Republic TV.

    Kishor told CNN News 18 that it will have to be seen whether the new government performs or not as the RJD and JD(U) have contradicting stances on a number of issues, including corruption.

  • JDU back in Opposition front once again as Nitish changes boat, to take oath as Bihar CM for record eighth time

    Express News Service

    Nitish Kumar would be sworn in for the record eighth time as Bihar chief minister at 2 PM on Wednesday with support from a new set of allies – RJD, Congress and the Left parties – after he decided to break alliance with the BJP and resign as the head of a coalition government with that party.

    During the course of the day, Kumar met Governor Phagu Chauhan twice; first to resign as the chief minister of the JD(U)-BJP coalition government, and a second time to stake claim to form a government with the support of 164 MLAs belonging to seven parties, including the RJD, Congress and the Left.

    Kumar gave a list of supporting MLAs to the Governor. The Governor invited him to form a new government on Wednesday.

    After putting in his paper as the chief minister, Nitish Kumar drove straight to former chief minister Rabri Devi’s house to discuss the formation of a new government with Rabri’s son and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. Discussions were also held with leaders of the Congress and Left parties.

    The decision to break the alliance with the BJP was taken at a meeting of JD(U) MPs and MLAs at Patna.

    Party leaders said that the chief minister had received reports that their coalition partner BJP was attempting to break the JD(U) MLAs to form a government minus Nitish Kumar.

    “Our leader Nitish Kumar has nipped the BJP’s ‘Operation Kamal’ in the bud. It was the chief minister’s alacrity that prevented the BJP from seizing power by breaking the JD(U) legislature party,” said a senior JD(U) leader.

    ALSO READ | Bihar developments: Deve Gowda expresses hope of Janata Dal Parivar re-emergence

    The first indication of JD(U)-BJP relations going irreconcilably bad came on Monday when the JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh lashed out at the BJP for breaching the coalition dharma by trying to defeat JD(U) candidates by using what he termed as the “Chirag model” where candidates belonging to Ramvilas Paswan’s son Chirag Paswan’s party were reportedly sponsored by the BJP against JD(U) candidates.

    Singh said the JD(U) survived that attack “but a fresh attempt is being made to damage our party.” JD(U) leaders said that the BJP was using former Union minister RCP Singh to split the JD(U).

    Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal accused Nitish Kumar of betraying the mandate of the 2020 assembly polls, and claimed that he will be “punished by the people of Bihar”.

    Kumar’s move was a reversal of his flip in 2017 when he left the Mahagathbandhan to rejoin the NDA.

    He had earlier deserted the NDA in 2013 after Narendra Modi was declared the Prime Ministerial candidate. This is the second time Nitish has left the BJP out in the cold in the last nine years.

    The Bihar assembly has an effective strength of 242 MLAs. The new coalition requires 121 MLAs for a majority.

    ALSO READ | Nitish’s volte-face with NDA: BJP suffers setback in Bihar but sees opportunity to grow

    The RJD has the highest number of 79 MLAs followed by the BJP (77) and the JD(U) with 44. The JD(U) also enjoys the support of four MLAs of former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha and one Independent.

    The Congress has 19 MLAs while the CPIML(L) has 12 and CPI and CPI(M) have two each. Besides, one MLA belongs to Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM.

    The political development in Bihar would have a big impact on the next Lok Sabha elections. CPIML(L) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said that with the new alignment of forces in Bihar, the state, which sends 40 MPs to the Lok Sabha, would be the main battleground in the 2024 general elections. The BJP-JD(U) alliance had won 39 out of the 40 seats in the 2019 elections.

    Bhattacharya said the BJP always had a dim view of its allies. He said BJP president J P Nadda’s recent statement that “regional parties have no future” reflects the party’s views.

    Tejashwi Yadav said history shows that the BJP has destroyed all its allies.

    Nitish Kumar would be sworn in for the record eighth time as Bihar chief minister at 2 PM on Wednesday with support from a new set of allies – RJD, Congress and the Left parties – after he decided to break alliance with the BJP and resign as the head of a coalition government with that party.

    During the course of the day, Kumar met Governor Phagu Chauhan twice; first to resign as the chief minister of the JD(U)-BJP coalition government, and a second time to stake claim to form a government with the support of 164 MLAs belonging to seven parties, including the RJD, Congress and the Left.

    Kumar gave a list of supporting MLAs to the Governor. The Governor invited him to form a new government on Wednesday.

    After putting in his paper as the chief minister, Nitish Kumar drove straight to former chief minister Rabri Devi’s house to discuss the formation of a new government with Rabri’s son and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. Discussions were also held with leaders of the Congress and Left parties.

    The decision to break the alliance with the BJP was taken at a meeting of JD(U) MPs and MLAs at Patna.

    Party leaders said that the chief minister had received reports that their coalition partner BJP was attempting to break the JD(U) MLAs to form a government minus Nitish Kumar.

    “Our leader Nitish Kumar has nipped the BJP’s ‘Operation Kamal’ in the bud. It was the chief minister’s alacrity that prevented the BJP from seizing power by breaking the JD(U) legislature party,” said a senior JD(U) leader.

    ALSO READ | Bihar developments: Deve Gowda expresses hope of Janata Dal Parivar re-emergence

    The first indication of JD(U)-BJP relations going irreconcilably bad came on Monday when the JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh lashed out at the BJP for breaching the coalition dharma by trying to defeat JD(U) candidates by using what he termed as the “Chirag model” where candidates belonging to Ramvilas Paswan’s son Chirag Paswan’s party were reportedly sponsored by the BJP against JD(U) candidates.

    Singh said the JD(U) survived that attack “but a fresh attempt is being made to damage our party.” JD(U) leaders said that the BJP was using former Union minister RCP Singh to split the JD(U).

    Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal accused Nitish Kumar of betraying the mandate of the 2020 assembly polls, and claimed that he will be “punished by the people of Bihar”.

    Kumar’s move was a reversal of his flip in 2017 when he left the Mahagathbandhan to rejoin the NDA.

    He had earlier deserted the NDA in 2013 after Narendra Modi was declared the Prime Ministerial candidate. This is the second time Nitish has left the BJP out in the cold in the last nine years.

    The Bihar assembly has an effective strength of 242 MLAs. The new coalition requires 121 MLAs for a majority.

    ALSO READ | Nitish’s volte-face with NDA: BJP suffers setback in Bihar but sees opportunity to grow

    The RJD has the highest number of 79 MLAs followed by the BJP (77) and the JD(U) with 44. The JD(U) also enjoys the support of four MLAs of former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha and one Independent.

    The Congress has 19 MLAs while the CPIML(L) has 12 and CPI and CPI(M) have two each. Besides, one MLA belongs to Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM.

    The political development in Bihar would have a big impact on the next Lok Sabha elections. CPIML(L) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said that with the new alignment of forces in Bihar, the state, which sends 40 MPs to the Lok Sabha, would be the main battleground in the 2024 general elections. The BJP-JD(U) alliance had won 39 out of the 40 seats in the 2019 elections.

    Bhattacharya said the BJP always had a dim view of its allies. He said BJP president J P Nadda’s recent statement that “regional parties have no future” reflects the party’s views.

    Tejashwi Yadav said history shows that the BJP has destroyed all its allies.

  • Congress likely to get four ministerial berths in new Nitish government as JDU chief reaches out to Gandhis

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Congress is likely to get four ministerial berths in the new government in Bihar as JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the BJP and joined hands with the RJD-led alliance, sources said on Tuesday.

    Sources said Kumar spoke to both Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi soon after resigning from his post of chief minister.

    He is also learnt to have thanked the Congress leadership for extending support in the formation of the new government.

    Besides the four ministerial berths, the Congress has also sought the post of Speaker of the state assembly, but Kumar is not keen on giving that, sources said.

    The Congress has 19 MLAs in the 243-member Bihar Assembly while the JD(U) has 45, RJD 79, CPI(ML) 12, and CPI and CPI(M) each have two legislators.

    The BJP has 77 MLAs in Bihar while the Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) has 4.

    The House has one Independent MLA while one seat is vacant.

    Bihar Congress president Madan Mohan Jha and the party’s in-charge of Bihar affairs Bhakta Charan Das were present at the meeting of Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi Yadav and leaders of other parties.

    All 19 legislators of the Congress later attended a dinner meeting at the residence of the CLP leader in the Bihar assembly in Patna.

    Top Congress leadership in Delhi however, remained silent on the developments in Bihar and confabulations over the new government formation in the state.

    Earlier, the Congress said it will be a part of the non-BJP alliance in Bihar to help strengthen secular forces.

    The party said that like in Maharashtra where it helped stitch together the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government by supporting the Shiv Sena which was ideologically different from it, it will align with Kumar who has been with them in the past.

    “Ours is an ideological battle and we are not fighting for power. The Congress will support any non-BJP government and help strengthen secular forces,” Congress general secretary Tariq Anwar earlier told PTI.

    “Because Nitish Kumar is leaving the BJP and coming over, we will support him,” he said, adding the Congress will take whatever steps that are needed to strengthen secular forces and defeat the communal forces.

    Taking a swipe at the BJP, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, tweeted, “In March 2020, Modi sarkar postponed COVID-19 lockdown to engineer the fall of the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh.

    Now, it cuts short Parliament session knowing its coalition government in Bihar is going.

    What goes up must come down!” A meeting of the RJD-led Grand Alliance, comprising the Left and the Congress, also took place at Rabri Devi’s house, where all the MLAs are said to have signed a letter to support Kumar.

    Nitish Kumar is understood to have told JD(U) legislators and MPs, at a meeting he convened at his official residence, that he had been driven against the wall by the BJP which tried to weaken his party, first by propping up Chirag Paswan’s rebellion and later through its former national president RCP Singh.

    Relations between the BJP and the JD(U) have been worsening in the wake of disagreements over a host of issues including caste census, population control and the ‘Agnipath’ defence recruitment scheme.

    JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar spoke with Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and expressed his gratitude to them for supporting him after he broke ties with the BJP, Congress sources said on Tuesday.

    The sources also said Congress will have “active participation” in the government that will be formed by the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) and the JD(U).

    On a day of fast-moving political developments, Kumar met Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan twice — first to hand in his resignation as the NDA chief minister and then after being elected leader of the Mahagathbandhan to stake claim for the top job in the state once again.

    Kumar said he submitted a list of 164 MLAs to the governor who will decide when the oath-taking can take place.

    The effective strength of the Bihar Assembly is 242 and the magic figure is 122.

    Earlier in the day, Congress had said it will support any non-BJP government in Bihar to help strengthen secular forces.

    The Congress has 19 legislators in the Bihar Assembly.

    Swearing in of Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav as Chief Minister and Deputy CM respectively will take place at 2 pm on Wednesday, highly placed sources said here.

    It will be a simple ceremony to be held inside Raj Bhavan.

    More ministers will be inducted into the cabinet at a later stage, sources in Kumar’s JD(U) and Yadav’s RJD said.

    Kumar, who dumped the BJP-led NDA earlier in the day, will be taking oath as the CM for the eighth time.

    He will be heading a coalition of seven parties which is supported by an Independent.

    NEW DELHI: The Congress is likely to get four ministerial berths in the new government in Bihar as JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the BJP and joined hands with the RJD-led alliance, sources said on Tuesday.

    Sources said Kumar spoke to both Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi soon after resigning from his post of chief minister.

    He is also learnt to have thanked the Congress leadership for extending support in the formation of the new government.

    Besides the four ministerial berths, the Congress has also sought the post of Speaker of the state assembly, but Kumar is not keen on giving that, sources said.

    The Congress has 19 MLAs in the 243-member Bihar Assembly while the JD(U) has 45, RJD 79, CPI(ML) 12, and CPI and CPI(M) each have two legislators.

    The BJP has 77 MLAs in Bihar while the Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) has 4.

    The House has one Independent MLA while one seat is vacant.

    Bihar Congress president Madan Mohan Jha and the party’s in-charge of Bihar affairs Bhakta Charan Das were present at the meeting of Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi Yadav and leaders of other parties.

    All 19 legislators of the Congress later attended a dinner meeting at the residence of the CLP leader in the Bihar assembly in Patna.

    Top Congress leadership in Delhi however, remained silent on the developments in Bihar and confabulations over the new government formation in the state.

    Earlier, the Congress said it will be a part of the non-BJP alliance in Bihar to help strengthen secular forces.

    The party said that like in Maharashtra where it helped stitch together the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government by supporting the Shiv Sena which was ideologically different from it, it will align with Kumar who has been with them in the past.

    “Ours is an ideological battle and we are not fighting for power. The Congress will support any non-BJP government and help strengthen secular forces,” Congress general secretary Tariq Anwar earlier told PTI.

    “Because Nitish Kumar is leaving the BJP and coming over, we will support him,” he said, adding the Congress will take whatever steps that are needed to strengthen secular forces and defeat the communal forces.

    Taking a swipe at the BJP, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, tweeted, “In March 2020, Modi sarkar postponed COVID-19 lockdown to engineer the fall of the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh.

    Now, it cuts short Parliament session knowing its coalition government in Bihar is going.

    What goes up must come down!” A meeting of the RJD-led Grand Alliance, comprising the Left and the Congress, also took place at Rabri Devi’s house, where all the MLAs are said to have signed a letter to support Kumar.

    Nitish Kumar is understood to have told JD(U) legislators and MPs, at a meeting he convened at his official residence, that he had been driven against the wall by the BJP which tried to weaken his party, first by propping up Chirag Paswan’s rebellion and later through its former national president RCP Singh.

    Relations between the BJP and the JD(U) have been worsening in the wake of disagreements over a host of issues including caste census, population control and the ‘Agnipath’ defence recruitment scheme.

    JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar spoke with Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and expressed his gratitude to them for supporting him after he broke ties with the BJP, Congress sources said on Tuesday.

    The sources also said Congress will have “active participation” in the government that will be formed by the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) and the JD(U).

    On a day of fast-moving political developments, Kumar met Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan twice — first to hand in his resignation as the NDA chief minister and then after being elected leader of the Mahagathbandhan to stake claim for the top job in the state once again.

    Kumar said he submitted a list of 164 MLAs to the governor who will decide when the oath-taking can take place.

    The effective strength of the Bihar Assembly is 242 and the magic figure is 122.

    Earlier in the day, Congress had said it will support any non-BJP government in Bihar to help strengthen secular forces.

    The Congress has 19 legislators in the Bihar Assembly.

    Swearing in of Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav as Chief Minister and Deputy CM respectively will take place at 2 pm on Wednesday, highly placed sources said here.

    It will be a simple ceremony to be held inside Raj Bhavan.

    More ministers will be inducted into the cabinet at a later stage, sources in Kumar’s JD(U) and Yadav’s RJD said.

    Kumar, who dumped the BJP-led NDA earlier in the day, will be taking oath as the CM for the eighth time.

    He will be heading a coalition of seven parties which is supported by an Independent.

  • All is not well in NDA? JD(U) third major ally to snap ties with BJP in last three years

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The JD(U) on Tuesday became the third major ally after the Shiv Sena and the Akali Dal to snap ties with the BJP after 2019.

    Within 18 months of the BJP’s second consecutive Lok Sabha election victory, the party had lost two of its oldest allies – Shiv Sena and Akali Dal.

    And now, with less than two years left for the next general elections, another major ally JD(U), the biggest in terms of lawmakers, moved out of the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

    JD(U)’s George Fernandes was once the convener of the NDA but the Nitish Kumar-led party snapped ties with the BJP in 2013 after Narendra Modi emerged as the main face of the saffron party.

    Nitish Kumar walked out of the RJD-led Grand Alliance in 2017 and again joined hands with the BJP.

    The JD(U) and the BJP fought the 2020 assembly election together but the ties remained strained and the two parted ways on Tuesday, the second time in nine years.

    The JD(U)’s exit also highlights the fact that for the BJP and the party-led NDA, the eastern region continues to remain difficult terrain, especially the three big states of West Bengal, Odisha and Bihar.

    The scenario continues to remain challenging in most of the southern states also and the saffron party is yet to emerge as a force to reckon with in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

    With the JD(U)’s departure, the BJP along with its allies is in power in only two of the big states in terms of Lok Sabha seats.

    Uttar Pradesh and recently secured Maharashtra have the combined strength of 128 Lok Sabha seats.

    Bihar along with Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, where the BJP is not in power, have the combined strength of 122 Lok Sabha MPs.

    However, the party had won 18 MPs in West Bengal and 17 in Bihar in the 2019 election.

    On the back of strong performance in the north and western regions, the BJP has remained in power at the Centre since 2014 and has been focusing on eastern and southern regions to further expand its footprint.

    “It is a clear signal that the allies are not feeling comfortable with the BJP and one by one they are moving out of the ruling alliance,” Sanjay Kumar, a professor at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, said on the JD(U)’s breaking its alliance.

    “But at the same time, this also opens up opportunities for the BJP to expand where the regional parties have left it,” he said.

    Akali Dal’s Naresh Gujral, however, said that the BJP “believes in ‘Ekala Chalo’ (go solo) and NDA only exists on paper”.

    “Those who are still there it is a matter of time before they also move of this one party show for their survival,” he said.

    Between 2014 to 2019 – Mehbooba Mufti-led Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) – were the major ones to move out of the alliance.

    The TDP moved out of the alliance just ahead of the 2019 elections over the issue of the special status for Andhra Pradesh, while the SAD severed ties in protest against the three farm laws.

    The Shiv Sena dumped the BJP and allied with NCP and Congress in Maharashtra in 2019 over the issue of the chief ministerial post.

    But a big faction of the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde came back recently to ally with BJP and again formed the government in Maharashtra with Shinde as the chief minister.

    Besides them, there were several other sub-regional players such as Sudesh Mahto-led All Jharkhand Students Union, OP Rajbhar-led Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, Hanuman Beniwal-led Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, Bodo People’s Front (BPF), Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Goa Forward Party, MDMK and DMDK which also moved out of the ruling alliance.

    The NDA has at least 17 parties as its constituents at the central level, while many other outfits are in coalition in the states also.

    NEW DELHI: The JD(U) on Tuesday became the third major ally after the Shiv Sena and the Akali Dal to snap ties with the BJP after 2019.

    Within 18 months of the BJP’s second consecutive Lok Sabha election victory, the party had lost two of its oldest allies – Shiv Sena and Akali Dal.

    And now, with less than two years left for the next general elections, another major ally JD(U), the biggest in terms of lawmakers, moved out of the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

    JD(U)’s George Fernandes was once the convener of the NDA but the Nitish Kumar-led party snapped ties with the BJP in 2013 after Narendra Modi emerged as the main face of the saffron party.

    Nitish Kumar walked out of the RJD-led Grand Alliance in 2017 and again joined hands with the BJP.

    The JD(U) and the BJP fought the 2020 assembly election together but the ties remained strained and the two parted ways on Tuesday, the second time in nine years.

    The JD(U)’s exit also highlights the fact that for the BJP and the party-led NDA, the eastern region continues to remain difficult terrain, especially the three big states of West Bengal, Odisha and Bihar.

    The scenario continues to remain challenging in most of the southern states also and the saffron party is yet to emerge as a force to reckon with in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

    With the JD(U)’s departure, the BJP along with its allies is in power in only two of the big states in terms of Lok Sabha seats.

    Uttar Pradesh and recently secured Maharashtra have the combined strength of 128 Lok Sabha seats.

    Bihar along with Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, where the BJP is not in power, have the combined strength of 122 Lok Sabha MPs.

    However, the party had won 18 MPs in West Bengal and 17 in Bihar in the 2019 election.

    On the back of strong performance in the north and western regions, the BJP has remained in power at the Centre since 2014 and has been focusing on eastern and southern regions to further expand its footprint.

    “It is a clear signal that the allies are not feeling comfortable with the BJP and one by one they are moving out of the ruling alliance,” Sanjay Kumar, a professor at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, said on the JD(U)’s breaking its alliance.

    “But at the same time, this also opens up opportunities for the BJP to expand where the regional parties have left it,” he said.

    Akali Dal’s Naresh Gujral, however, said that the BJP “believes in ‘Ekala Chalo’ (go solo) and NDA only exists on paper”.

    “Those who are still there it is a matter of time before they also move of this one party show for their survival,” he said.

    Between 2014 to 2019 – Mehbooba Mufti-led Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) – were the major ones to move out of the alliance.

    The TDP moved out of the alliance just ahead of the 2019 elections over the issue of the special status for Andhra Pradesh, while the SAD severed ties in protest against the three farm laws.

    The Shiv Sena dumped the BJP and allied with NCP and Congress in Maharashtra in 2019 over the issue of the chief ministerial post.

    But a big faction of the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde came back recently to ally with BJP and again formed the government in Maharashtra with Shinde as the chief minister.

    Besides them, there were several other sub-regional players such as Sudesh Mahto-led All Jharkhand Students Union, OP Rajbhar-led Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, Hanuman Beniwal-led Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, Bodo People’s Front (BPF), Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Goa Forward Party, MDMK and DMDK which also moved out of the ruling alliance.

    The NDA has at least 17 parties as its constituents at the central level, while many other outfits are in coalition in the states also.

  • Nitish Kumar claims support of 164 MLAs of 7 Mahagathbandhan parties to form govt

    By ANI

    PATNA: Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar on Tuesday staked claim to form the next government in Bihar with the support of seven parties after he broke alliance with BJP and resigned as Chief Minister.

    He said there are seven parties including RJD who are supporting him. “I came here to meet Governor and gave my resignation. There are 7 parties including 164 MLAs along with Independents in Mahagathbandahan,” Kumar told reporters. He was accompanied by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

    The JD(U) and RJD, who together constitute a majority in the 243-member state assembly. JD(U) has 45 and the RJD has 79 MLAs. They also have the support of smaller parties like Jitan Manjhi’s HAM. The BJP has 77 MLAs in the state assembly.

    Nitish Kumar earlier in the day broke his alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following a meeting of JD-U leaders and legislators. He then sought time from Governor Phagu Chauhan and tendered his resignation.

    According to sources, many JD(U) legislators told Kumar in today’s meeting that the alliance with the BJP had weakened the party since 2020.

    Without naming Chirag Paswan, the legislators are reported to have recalled the actions of the former Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief during the 2020 state assembly polls while warning Kumar that if they were not alert, it would not be good for the party.

    A meeting of the RJD-led opposition alliance was also held at former chief minister Rabri Devi’s residence. The meeting authorised Tejashwi Yadav to take an appropriate decision on government formation in Bihar. 

    PATNA: Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar on Tuesday staked claim to form the next government in Bihar with the support of seven parties after he broke alliance with BJP and resigned as Chief Minister.

    He said there are seven parties including RJD who are supporting him. “I came here to meet Governor and gave my resignation. There are 7 parties including 164 MLAs along with Independents in Mahagathbandahan,” Kumar told reporters. He was accompanied by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

    The JD(U) and RJD, who together constitute a majority in the 243-member state assembly. JD(U) has 45 and the RJD has 79 MLAs. They also have the support of smaller parties like Jitan Manjhi’s HAM. The BJP has 77 MLAs in the state assembly.

    Nitish Kumar earlier in the day broke his alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following a meeting of JD-U leaders and legislators. He then sought time from Governor Phagu Chauhan and tendered his resignation.

    According to sources, many JD(U) legislators told Kumar in today’s meeting that the alliance with the BJP had weakened the party since 2020.

    Without naming Chirag Paswan, the legislators are reported to have recalled the actions of the former Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief during the 2020 state assembly polls while warning Kumar that if they were not alert, it would not be good for the party.

    A meeting of the RJD-led opposition alliance was also held at former chief minister Rabri Devi’s residence. The meeting authorised Tejashwi Yadav to take an appropriate decision on government formation in Bihar.