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Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday ruled out the possibility of quitting the NDA, pointing out that his ties with the BJP went back a long way. The JD(U) supremo, who termed as a "mistake" his two short-lived alliances with the RJD-Congress combine, fondly recalled the backing he had always received from former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. "It was respected Atal ji who made me a Union minister. He used to shower so much of affection on me. I never faced any difficulty in getting my proposals cleared, Kumar told reporters in Vaishali district, which he toured as part of the state-wide Pragati Yatra'. The longest-serving chief minister of the state also recalled that it was Vajpayee's wish that "I become the CM" when the NDA first won assembly polls in Bihar in 2005. "So, why would I not stay (with the BJP)? A couple of times the people in my party committed a mistake (by pressing for an alliance with the Congress-RJD combine). I rectified it both times, said the JD(

Updated On: 06 Jan 2025 | 5:46 PM IST
Bs_logoNitish Kumar rules out quitting NDA, recalls ties with Ex-PM Vajpayee

Leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) met here at BJP president J P Nadda's residence on Wednesday on the birth centenary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, JD-U leader and Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Apna Dal (S) president and Union minister Anupriya Patel, as well as JD (S) leader and Union minister H D Kumaraswamy, were present at the meeting. Bihar's Hindustani Awam Morcha (S) leader Jitan Ram Manjhi, also a minister in the Modi government, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) president Upendra Kushwaha, a Rajya Sabha MP, and Thushar Vellappally, president of Bharath Dharma Jana Sena, were also present at the meeting. Though there was no official word on the agenda of the meeting, sources said good governance and political issues were discussed. Good governance was a key theme of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. It was decided to hold

Updated On: 25 Dec 2024 | 11:39 PM IST
Bs_logoNDA leaders meet at BJP chief's residence to discuss political strategy

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday inaugurated and laid foundation stones for a host of developmental projects worth Rs 201.12 crore in East Champaran district. Kumar, during the second day of his Pragati Yatra', visited Sundarpur village under the Kesaria assembly seat and virtually laid the foundation stones for the schemes. According to a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), He inaugurated the newly constructed building of a government school in Sundarpur. Kumar also handed over the management of a pond constructed under the Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali scheme to JEEViKA Didis' (women associated with self-help groups under the JEEViKA project). He distributed symbolic cheques of financial assistance of Rs 3.35 crore to 1,26,354 JEEViKA Didis'. The chief minister directed officials concerned for immediate construction of two bridges over the Dhanauti river in Majuraha and Budhi Gandak in Ibrahimpur area, respectively, in the district. Besides, he asked offici

Updated On: 24 Dec 2024 | 10:15 PM IST
Bs_logoCM Nitish Kumar launches projects worth Rs 200 cr in East Champaran

The NDA will contest the assembly polls in Bihar next year under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary said on Sunday. "There is no confusion," he said during a press conference at the BJP headquarters when asked to comment on speculation that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) could do a rethink on projecting Kumar as its leader in the polls. He was responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent interview to a news channel in which he was asked if the NDA could go to the polls in Bihar without declaring a chief ministerial candidate, like it recently did with great success in Maharashtra. Shah, a former BJP president who is still regarded as the party's principal strategist, had replied after a pause, "We will sit together and decide. We will let you know after we have made a decision." The cryptic response had led to furious speculation that the BJP could insist on not ...

Updated On: 22 Dec 2024 | 6:58 PM IST
Bs_logoNDA to contest 2025 Bihar polls under Nitish, PM Modi: Deputy CM Choudhary

The National Conference on Sunday ruled out joining the BJP-led NDA and dismissed as baseless a media report in this regard. This news being peddled by certain so-called journalists is nothing but a blatant lie, driven by malicious intent to mislead the people of Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq said. He was reacting to a report published in a newspaper that claimed Jammu and Kashmir's ruling party might be preparing grounds for a return to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in exchange for the Union Territory's statehood. "It is disgraceful and irresponsible for anyone to spread such baseless rumours... Let me challenge the individual behind this fabrication: name the so-called 'top BJP leadership' that Omar Abdullah alleged to have met, or immediately retract your claim and issue a public apology," he said in a post on X. Sadiq also said Abdullah's meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi was held in full public view.

Updated On: 22 Dec 2024 | 6:10 PM IST
Bs_logoBaseless report: National Conference rules out joining BJP-led NDA

As an expression of solidarity with the people of Palestine, Priyanka Gandhi on Monday carried a bag to Parliament that had "Palestine" emblazoned on it

Updated On: 16 Dec 2024 | 7:00 PM IST
Bs_logoCentre must act on Bangladesh minority issues: Priyanka Gandhi in LS

One Nation, One Election bill, has sparked significant debate, particularly from Opposition leaders about the feasibility of holding Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections within the same year

Updated On: 14 Dec 2024 | 1:00 PM IST

Proceedings of the Rajya Sabha were adjourned till 2 pm on Monday as members of the treasury benches accused top Congress leaders of colluding with billionaire investor George Soros to destabilise the country and demanded a discussion on the issue. The Upper House witnessed two adjournments during the pre-lunch session as the claims triggered protests from opposition members. Soon after a brief first adjournment during Zero Hour, Leader of the House J P Nadda said BJP members were agitated over an issue that involved Congress leaders and wanted a discussion. "All our members are agitated over reports against certain leaders of the opposition. Our leaders are keen to hold a discussion on the issue," he said. This prompted several ruling party members to allege that top Congress leadership had links with Soros. They demanded that the issue be discussed in the House as it is connected to national security. Several MPs of the BJP and other NDA allies raised the issue and demanded an .

Updated On: 09 Dec 2024 | 1:08 PM IST

The NSE Nifty 50 Index climbed as much as 1.7 per cent to 24,312.50, set for its best two-day performance since early June

Updated On: 25 Nov 2024 | 12:05 PM IST

As the results of Assembly elections and bypolls brought a mixed bag for the INDIA bloc on Saturday, with the defeat in Maharashtra coming as a major setback, leaders of its constituents once again highlighted that smaller parties did not get enough seats to contest, even as they called the Jharkhand victory a "moral defeat" for the attempts at communal polarisation. The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which has the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) as its constituents, swept the Maharashtra polls, months after the Lok Sabha election, in which the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) won a large chunk of seats. Communist Party of India (Marxist) Politburo member Ashok Dhawale flagged the delay in finalising seat-sharing arrangements, the race among key opposition parties to get the maximum number of seats to contest and not giving enough space to smaller parties among the reasons for the INDIA bloc's below-par performance in Maharashtra, even as he accused .

Updated On: 23 Nov 2024 | 8:54 PM IST

The ruling NDA in Bihar on Saturday swept the bypolls to four assembly segments, retaining Imamganj and wresting from the INDIA bloc Tarari, Ramgarh and Belaganj, receiving a boost ahead of the assembly elections due next year. Candidates of the Jan Suraaj, floated recently by former political strategist Prashant Kishor with much fanfare, lost deposits in all but one seat, in a clear indication that the fledgling party, despite claims of taking the political landscape in the state by storm, needs to cover much ground. The biggest setback for the INDIA bloc, helmed by the RJD, came in Belaganj, a seat the party had been winning since its inception in the 1990s, but this time lost to the JD(U) headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the arch-rival of its founding president Lalu Prasad. The JD(U) candidate Manorama Devi, a former MLC, defeated by a margin of more than 21,000 votes RJD's Vishwanath Kumar Singh who made his debut from a seat that fell vacant upon election to Lok Sabha of

Updated On: 23 Nov 2024 | 3:41 PM IST

UP bypoll results 2024: In the initial rounds of vote counting, BJP candidates led in six constituencies, while the NDA ally RLD was leading in one seat. Meanwhile, the SP was ahead in just 2 seats

Updated On: 23 Nov 2024 | 11:50 AM IST

Most exit polls also predicted that Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) would put up a strong show in polls but is unlikely to cross the majority mark in the 288-member assembly

Updated On: 21 Nov 2024 | 2:46 PM IST

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has convened a meeting with ministers and MLAs of the ruling NDA here at 6 pm on Monday to review the "developing law and order situation in the state", officials said. The development comes amid the National People's Party (NPP), which has seven MLAs in the 60-member Manipur Assembly, withdrawing support from the BJP-led government, claiming that the N Biren Singh dispensation has "completely failed to resolve the crisis and restore normalcy" in the northeastern state. The withdrawal of support on Sunday, however, would not have any impact on the BJP government, as the saffron party enjoys a majority with its 32 MLAs. The saffron camp has also the support of five MLAs of the Naga People's Front (NPF) and six JD(U) legislators. Meanwhile, secretary to the chief minister, Ningthoujam Geoffrey, in a letter to the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), requested the influential body in Imphal Valley to "refrain from taking up any ...

Updated On: 18 Nov 2024 | 2:39 PM IST

The Inter-State Council, which works for Centre-State and interstate coordination and cooperation, has been reconstituted with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its chairman, all chief ministers and nine Union ministers as members and 13 Union ministers as permanent invitees. According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Union ministers belonging to NDA allies Janata Dal (United), Janata Dal (Secular), Telugu Desam Party and Lok Janshakti Party are part of the reconstituted council. Prime Minister Modi will be the chairman, chief ministers of all states and union territories having a legislative assembly and administrators of union territories not having a legislative assembly will be members of the high-powered committee, the notification said. The vision of the council is to work for Centre-State and interstate coordination and cooperation besides creating a strong institutional framework to promote and support cooperative federalism in the country. Members of

Updated On: 11 Nov 2024 | 11:14 PM IST

The by-polls will be conducted on November 13 in Tarari, Ramgarh, Imamganj and Belaganj assembly constituencies and the results for the same will be declared on November 23

Updated On: 10 Nov 2024 | 1:21 PM IST

Maintaining that he "made a mistake twice" in the past by joining hands with RJD, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday said that now he would stay permanently with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Addressing a public meeting in favour of NDA nominee, Vishal Prashant of BJP for the Tarari assembly byelection, Kumar said, "I have said it earlier alsoI am once again saying that we (BJP-JDU) were together earlier. I made a mistake twice in the past by joining hands with the RJD., I went 'idhar udhar' twice in the pastBut now, I have again come to the NDA. I will remain permanently with the NDA". He said, "We have been working for the development of Bihar since 2005. Several infrastructural and development works have been done in Bihar after 2005..and it will continue further under the NDA rule". Kumar accused RJD of trying to "polarise" votes on "communal lines" in the upcoming bypolls in the state. "They (RJD) always try to create a divide on communal lines. When RJD w

Updated On: 09 Nov 2024 | 9:46 PM IST

The Congress on Saturday called for a probe into alleged "blackmail" and "coercion" used to bring NCP leader Ajit Pawar into the NDA fold and said the BJP's "washing machine" was nowhere more powerful than in Maharashtra. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh cited Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's recent remarks to claim that the issue involved not just the use of "coercion and blackmail" but also breach of the oath of confidentiality and the Official Secrets Act. "The BJP's washing machine is an all-India phenomenon but perhaps nowhere was it more powerful than in Maharashtra," he said. When in opposition before 2014, the BJP raised allegations about massive corruption by Ajit Pawar, then the state's irrigation and water resources minister, Ramesh pointed out and added that the allegations claimed corruption to the tune of Rs 70,000 crore. Ajit Pawar has now confirmed that blackmail and coercion surrounding these charges were used by the B

Updated On: 02 Nov 2024 | 11:18 AM IST

Union minister Chirag Paswan on Thursday claimed that the NDA is known for development, and the JMM-led alliance for corruption. He said that people would have to choose between development and corruption in the upcoming assembly polls in the state. Paswan was addressing a rally in Jharkhand's Chatra district seeking votes for Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) candidate Janardan Paswan, who filed his nomination papers on Thursday for Chatra assembly seat. The LJP (RV) is contesting the Jharkhand assembly polls only on one seat under National Democratic Alliance (NDA). "India progressed rapidly on the path of development in the past five years, while Jharkhand moved backwards during the same period. We feel ashamed that the chief minister of Jharkhand had to go to jail on corruption charges," Paswan said. He said that on one hand, there is discussion about development initiated by Modi government and on the other, corruption of the Hemant Soren-led government is also being discussed.

Updated On: 24 Oct 2024 | 7:08 PM IST

Union minister Chirag Paswan on Tuesday exuded confidence that NDA will form a "strong" government in Jharkhand where the INDIA bloc seemed to be heading for its "next big defeat after Haryana". The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief also said he was "satisfied" with BJP's offer of one seat in the state and dismissed speculations that the deal had made him feel slighted. "There are many who want to drive a wedge between my PM and me. They will never succeed. Let me state that our party is not just happy but fully satisfied that the BJP, with which we have an alliance in Bihar, has given us due respect in Jharkhand, too," Paswan told reporters. He said he will visit Jharkhand on October 24 when his party candidate Janardan Paswan, a two-term former MLA, is scheduled to file nomination papers. "Besides ensuring the victory of our own candidate, the party will chalk out a strategy to help our allies do well," he said. The BJP is contesting a lion's share of 68 seats in Jharkhand,

Updated On: 22 Oct 2024 | 7:25 PM IST