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Tag: Nitish Kumar

  • KC Tyagi, face of JDU outside Bihar, resigns as spokesperson

    New Delhi: Longtime Janata Dal (United) national spokesperson, KC Tyagi, resigned from the post of national spokesperson on Saturday evening. Tyagi was the political advisor and national spokesperson of JDU. His resignation was accepted by the party on Sunday and Rajeev Ranjan was appointed in place of Tyagi.

    After receiving his resignation letter, Tyagi was called by Bihar chief minister and JDU president Nitish Kumar, following which Tyagi agreed to remain as the party’s political advisor.

    In his letter to Nitish Kumar, Tyagi said he was not comfortable with the kind of debate TV channels were holding and he was unable to put forward the vision of JDU. Though Tyagi said he was resigning for personal reasons, sources told ET that he was asked to resign by the party leadership.Recent statements regarding the lateral entry into government jobs and Tyagi’s stand on Israel Palestine conflict where he demanded the Indian government to stop supplying ammunition to Israel, didn’t go along well with the party leadership.

    The JDU leadership is trying to showcase a completely insync relationship with the BJP and Tyagi’s day to day statements were a big deterrent and creating confusion among the leadership of the two NDA partners.

    The new JDU, post2024, has been grappling with enforcing the leadership decisions of the party and is trying to set a standard guideline to be followed by party leaders. Senior JDU leader and Bihar minister Ashok Choudhary on Thursday launched an attack on the Bhumihar. The community is considered to be strong supporters of the BJP. The attack has led to some Bhumihar leaders from the JDU like Jagdish Sharma and party spokesperson Neeraj Kumar to attack Choudhary.The JDU leadership is accessing the extent of the damage caused by Choudhary and the party is trying to evolve a media strategy where leaders will not be allowed to share their opinion with the media unless there is an approval from the party leadership.

    Shyam Rajak joins JDU

    Amidst all this, the party is also trying to extend its base. On Sunday, former Bihar minister and RJD leader Shyam Rajak joined the party in the presence of senior leadership. Rajak is likely to contest the assembly elections in 2025 on a JDU ticket.

  • Friction in Bihar NDA comes to fore; ED raid on IAS officer shocks political circles

    New Delhi: Differences of opinion among the ruling NDA partners in Bihar are turning out to be a cause of concern for the BJPled grouping. Even, the recent Enforcement Directorate raids on premises linked to an IAS officer considered close to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar have come as a rude shock for the state’s political circles.

    Allies, however, officially maintain that the NDA is, and will remain, united.

    While Kumarled JDU, a prominent BJP ally, has strongly opposed the Uttar Pradesh government’s order asking eateries along the Kanwar route to display the names of their owners, Bihar BJP leaders have demanded a UPtype directive in the NDAruled state. BJP MLA Haribhushan Thakur Bachol said that there was no harm in displaying the name. “If you have a business, what’s the harm in displaying your name? The Bihar government should also implement the UP governmenttype order on kanwar route in Bihar,” Bachol told ET.

    A day earlier, JDU leader KC Tyagi had told ET that despite a large kanwar route in Bihar, the state has never issued such a diktat.

    At a recent event in Patna on Saturday, Union minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha chief Jitan Ram Manjhi took a dig at Kumar. Manjhi said that when he broke off with Kumar’s JDU and formed his own party in 2015, Kumar ridiculed him. “He (Kumar) said that ‘I don’t have money and I cannot run the party’. Today, my party is not just functioning, but running at a great speed,” he said during his speech at the event. Manjhi also recalled how Kumar asked him in 2023 to merge his party with JDU or leave NDA. “I thank BJP and Narendra Modi. I not only joined NDA, but my son Santosh Kumar Suman became an MLC and minister with three departments, much more than what JDU offered me earlier,” he added. Manjhi later clarified that he was thankful to Kumar and will never utter a word against him in future.

    On the issue of special status for Bihar, JDU is not only maintaining its earlier stand but constantly raising the demand before the central government. BJP, on the other hand, maintains that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always given more to Bihar.

    “Whatever will be required for the development of Bihar, Prime Minister Modi will give it to the state. He has given special package to Bihar in the past and Bihar is very much his priority,” Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary told ET.

    After raids on premises linked to Bihar’s principal secretary (energy) Sanjeev Hans, a senior JDU minister rang up one of the deputy chief ministers of Bihar and warned that such raids were not good and might create differences among the partners, according to JDU sources. Both deputy chief ministers in Bihar are from BJP.

  • ‘You will not get free electricity, I have been saying this from beginning’: CM Nitish in Bihar Assembly

    Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar addresses the Bihar Assembly on electricity tariff. He says, “…I have been saying since the beginning that it will not be given for free. We provide it at a very low price. In some states, they announce that they will provide it for free but we never said that. …”

  • Nitish Kumar Govt To Review Functioning Of Departments Held By Former Bihar Dy CM Tejashwi Yadav.

    PATNA: In a significant political development, the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Friday ordered a probe to review the functioning of the departments under the state’s former Deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and his close ministers in the previous JDU-RJD government. According to news agency ANI, orders have been given by the Bihar government to review the functioning of the departments under Tejashwi and his close ministers in the previous government.

    Patna Orders have been given by the Bihar government to review the functioning of the departments under former state Dy CM Tejashwi Yadav and his close ministers in the previous government. The work of the Health Department, Road Construction Department, Urban Development and… pic.twitter.com/MYbaldPaWz

    — ANI (@ANI) February 16, 2024


    The work of the Health Department, Road Construction Department, Urban Development and Housing Department and the decisions taken by him will be reviewed, the order said. Apart from this, the work of the RJD regime in the Rural Affairs Department, PHED and Mines and Geology Department will also be reviewed. Instructions have also been issued by the state government to the secretaries of all concerned departments in this connection, said news agency ANI.

    The order came shortly after Tejashwi Yadav launched a fresh attack on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar while addressing the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and said that the CM does not want to listen to anyone. “You all very well know how our CM is, he does not want to listen to anyone. He used to say ‘I will die, but won’t join BJP’…We decided to stay with Nitish ji, no matter how. much we have to sacrifice, only to defeat BJP in 2024…’We have appointed a tired Chief Minister’…” said RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

    “He does not want to listen to anyone, but still, ours was a grand alliance government, and we wanted to be united with a big goal, We have to stop the powers that be, those who work to sow poison in the country, so this time at any cost, no matter how much we have to bear, no matter how much we have to sacrifice, we joined Nitish ji, so that BJP will be defeated in 2024. We will do the work of ousting BJP from power and we appointed a tired Chief Minister,” added Tejashwi Yadav.

    Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav joined Rahul Gandhi in his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ on Friday in Bihar’s Sasaram. The Yatra reaches its final stage in Bihar and is scheduled to enter Uttar Pradesh later today.

    Yadav was seen driving Rahul Gandhi and other leaders in the lead jeep as the yatra made its way through Sasaram with the RJD leader acknowledging his ally in his post on x. This was the first time the RJD leader was seen sharing the stage with Gandhi in Bihar since state Chief Minister Nitish Kumar severed his ties with the INDIA bloc.

  • After Nitish Kumar, Many Others In Line For ‘Ghar Wapasi’ In NDA Ahead Of 2024 Polls |

    NEW DELHI: “It’s never too late to mend,” goes the adage, and in the ever-shifting landscape of politics in India, this rings especially true. As alliances evolve and partners realign, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) finds itself at the center of attention once again, with several former allies contemplating a return to the fold ahead of the crucial 2024 elections.

    The BJP: The Architect Of The NDA

    At the heart of the NDA stands the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), orchestrating the intricate dance of coalition politics. With the advent of the Narendra Modi era, the NDA witnessed a seismic shift in its composition after the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Now, as the countdown to the 2024 polls begins, attention turns to those allies who are either making a comeback or seriously considering it, following in the footsteps of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s recent U-turn.

    Modi-Shah Era And Its Impact On The NDA

    In 2013, when Narendra Modi was anointed as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, the NDA boasted 29 constituent parties. While the BJP swept the elections with 282 seats in the Lok Sabha, its allies clinched an additional 54 seats. However, in the subsequent five years of Modi’s tenure, 16 parties bid adieu to the NDA, signaling a period of flux and transition within the alliance.

    Departures And Realignments

    Lessons from 2014 and 2019 The run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections saw the high-profile departure of Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), setting the stage for a series of exits by regional players such as the Haryana Janhit Congress and the Marumalarchi. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Between 2014 and 2019, several other parties, including the Telugu Desam Party and the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, followed suit, reshaping the NDA’s landscape.

    Recent Exits And Returns

    Shiv Sena, SAD, and JD(U) Post-2019, the NDA witnessed the departure of stalwart allies like the Shiv Sena and the Shiromani Akali Dal, while Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) made a surprising comeback following the Bihar Assembly elections in 2022. These developments underscore the fluid nature of coalition politics, where alliances can shift with the changing tides of public sentiment and regional dynamics.

    As the 2024 elections loom large, speculation abounds regarding potential returns to the NDA fold. Nitish Kumar’s departure from the opposition alliance signals a significant shift, with other influential figures like Chandrababu Naidu and Uddhav Thackeray also engaging in strategic dialogues with the BJP. Meanwhile, negotiations with regional heavyweights like the Akali Dal and the potential announcement from Jayant Chaudhary hint at further realignments on the horizon.

    Amidst these political manoeuvres, the NDA alliance appears poised for a resurgence, consolidating its position ahead of the electoral battleground. Yet, the road to power is fraught with challenges, requiring both new and returning allies to navigate the intricate web of coalition politics. As Prime Minister Modi’s ambitious “400 plus” slogan reverberates, the stage is set for a high-stakes showdown, with the Congress eagerly watching for any signs of weakness within the NDA camp.

    Who’s Next In Line For The ‘Ghar Wapasi’ In NDA?

    With Nitish Kumar’s recent defection setting the stage, the question on everyone’s mind is: who will be the next to heed the call of ‘Ghar Wapasi’ within the NDA alliance? As alliances shift and political fortunes fluctuate, one thing remains certain: the 2024 elections promise to be a watershed moment in India’s political landscape, with the NDA at the forefront of the action.

  • Bihar Politics Updates: CM Nitish Kumar likely to resign by Sunday morning, says a source close to CM

    Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who heads the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ government, is likely to tender his resignation by Sunday morning, a source close to the CM said on Saturday. Talking to PTI, the source, who requested anonymity, said though the possibility of resignation by late Saturday evening could not be ruled out, “it would definitely take place by Sunday morning”.

  • Bihar: Nitish Kumar Praises PM Modi, Makes Veiled Attack On RJD, Congress; Is Another U-Turn On Cards?

    Chief Minister Nitish Kumar praised the Modi government for honoring Karpoori Thakur and launched a scathing attack on the dynastic politics of Lalu Yadav’s family without explicitly naming them.