Bihar Assembly

Oppn MLAs protest outside Bihar Assembly for withdrawal of pre-paid meters

A raucous protest was held outside the Bihar assembly on Thursday by opposition members who demanded withdrawal of pre-paid electricity meters, citing that this arrangement causes inconvenience to common people. Leaders belonging to the RJD, the Congress and three Left parties stood in front of the portico, waving placards and raising slogans until the bell rang announcing that it was time for commencement of the day's proceedings. Some of the placards had the picture of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with colourful slogans like 'it is not a smart meter but a smart cheater'. Some other placards highlighted inflated billing and disconnection without warning, the two most common gripes against the new electricity meters. Before dispersing, the MLAs vowed to continue with their protest and claimed that smart meters have made the government in the state hugely "unpopular" and would cause its "defeat in assembly polls" due next year. The government, however, maintained that pre-paid meter

'Bihar is a failed state': Prashant Kishor to Bihari diaspora in the US

Speaking virtually to the Bihari diaspora after inaugurating the US chapter of Jan Suraaj, the former Kishore expressed confidence in his party's chances of winning the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections

Nitish Kumar hosts NDA meeting to boost coordination for Bihar polls

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday convened a meeting of the ruling NDA in the state to ensure better coordination among alliance partners in the run-up to assembly polls due next year. Leaders of JD(U), BJP and smaller partners Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Rashtriya Lok Morcha and Hindustani Awam Morcha thronged the chief minister's 1, Anne Marg residence for the meeting. "Our party leader has been asserting that the NDA will win 200 plus seats of the 243-strong House. For that perfect synergy among constituents is a must. Today's meeting has been called for that purpose," Ashok Choudhary, state minister and JD(U) national general secretary, said. State BJP president Dilip Jaiswal concurred, "A fine coordination saw us through the Lok Sabha polls this year. Carrying it forward will help us secure a two-thirds majority in the assembly elections." Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) state president Raju Tiwari said that "2020 is a thing of the past", when asked about the ..

Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party aims 130 seats in Bihar polls next year

Once worked behind the scenes to shape the political fortunes of others, Prashant Kishor is now ready for his second coming with the launch of Jan Suraaj Party.

Prashant Kishore to formally launch Jan Suraaj as political party on Oct 2

The most significant aspect of his annoucement is that the he would launch his political outfit ahead of Bihar assembly polls

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar chairs JD(U) meeting, discusses Jharkhand polls

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) on Saturday said that it wanted to contest the assembly elections in neighbouring Jharkhand in alliance with the BJP. Kumar chaired a meeting of his party at his official residence and it was attended by JD(U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, who is in charge of Jharkhand, Bihar minister Ashok Choudhary and Rajya Sabha MP Khiru Mahto, who heads the JD(U)'s unit in the adjoining state, among others. After the meeting, Mahto told reporters, "We are looking forward to contesting the Jharkhand assembly polls in alliance with the BJP." "Among the issues discussed with the party's supreme leader was the inclusion of Kurmis in the list of Scheduled Tribes. Kurmi leaders in Jharkhand have been raising the demand for some time and today it was seconded by delegates from West Bengal. We will now move forward by raising the issue in Parliament and before President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah," he ..

Jail term, Rs 10 lakh fine for paper leaks: Bihar's new Bill amid NEET row

The Bihar anti-paper leak Bill also mandates that if a service provider, whether govt or private agency, engages in malpractice, it will face a Rs 1 crore fine and a four-year suspension of services

Ruckus in Bihar Assembly on reservation, proceedings adjourned till 2 PM

The Bihar assembly was on Wednesday adjourned till 2 PM as opposition members stood in the well of the House, demanding that the state's amended reservation laws be put in the ninth schedule of the Constitution. The opposition legislators did not relent despite repeated requests by Speaker Nand Kishor Yadav that they take their seats and words of admonition from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who stood up to intervene. "It was at my instance that you all agreed to a caste survey after which quotas for SCs, STs, OBCs and the extremely backward classes were hiked," said Kumar. He told the House that the Patna High Court has "set aside the reservation laws, we have moved the Supreme Court. A formal request has also been made to the Centre for putting these in the ninth schedule". Notably, quotas for deprived castes were hiked to 65 per cent through the laws passed in November last year, which the Patna High Court quashed last month. Placing the laws, which breach the 50 per cent cap on

Bihar set to become growth engine of East, says Minister Nitish Mishra

Bihar is planning to introduce a few policies in the next 2 months to attract capital in various potential sectors and is poised to become the growth engine of the East, State Industries and Tourism Minister Nitish Mishra has said. The state is implementing strategic measures to suit both large and small businesses in order to promote industry and employment, aligning with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to develop East India as a growth engine, he said. "Bihar is ready to participate in the country's development and become the growth engine of the East," Mishra said on the sidelines of Bihar Business Connect 2024 first roadshow in Kolkata on Monday. Over 50 companies represented by some nearly 90 officials and industrialists attended the event. The state is prepared to participate in the country's development through Invest India, he said encouraging industries to explore Bihar's reality and potential before making any judgments. "We will come out with new sectoral policies

Nitish appoints Cabinet members as ministers in-charge of various districts

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday appointed all his cabinet colleagues as 'ministers in-charge' of various districts. According to a government order, Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha have been made ministers-in-charge of Patna and Muzaffarpur districts respectively. Sinha will also be in-charge of Bhojpur district. Vijay Kumar Choudhary has been made in-charge of Purnea and Nalanda districts, Bijendra Prasad Yadav will be minister in-charge of Vaishali district. The order further states that Prem Kumar will oversee Nawada, Shrawan Kumar (Samastipur and Madhepura), Santosh Kumar Suman (Aurangabad), Sumit Kumar Singh (Saran), and Renu Devi will oversee Siwan. Additionally, Mangal Pandey will oversee Darbhanga and Begusarai, Niraj Kumar Singh will manage Katihar, and Ashok Chowdhary will take care of Sitamarhi and Jehanabad. Leshi Singh will be in charge of Madhubani, Madan Sahni (Supaul), Nitish Mishra (Araria and Gaya), Nitin Nabin (Buxa

LS polls phase 5: Over 34% polling in five seats in Bihar till 1 pm

Voting for five Lok Sabha seats in Bihar began amid tight security arrangements on Monday, a senior election official said. Polling commenced at 7 am in Muzaffarpur, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, Saran and Hajipur constituencies and will continue till 6 pm, the official at the CEO office said. Over 95 lakh voters in the five seats will decide the electoral fate of 80 candidates at 9,436 polling stations. Of the total voters, 45.11 lakh are women, while 21 lakh are under 29 years of age and 1.26 lakh are in the age group of 18-19 years. Notable contestants include NDA ally Chirag Paswan in Hajipur, Lalu Prasad's daughter Rohini Acharya, who is pitted against two-term sitting BJP MP and former Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy in Saran, and Muzaffarpur's sitting MP Ajay Nishad, who crossed over to the Congress after being denied a BJP ticket for a third term. Sudhir Kumar Ojha, an advocate who remains in the news for his petitions against top political figures, Bollywood stars and even forei

Sushil Modi shall be remembered for expanding BJP's footprint in Bihar

Arguably the tallest leader the BJP has produced in Bihar, Sushil Kumar Modi shall be remembered for patiently working towards the party's ascendance in a state where it is on its way to become a dominant force. Born in a Vaishya family in Bihar, Modi got involved in student politics while pursuing his BSc at Patna University and had played a key role in the Bihar movement of 1974 led by legendary socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan, during which he also came in touch with his future collaborator Nitish Kumar and would be adversary Lalu Prasad. He went on to become one of the most prominent leaders of the ABVP, the RSS's students' wing, in Bihar, and often credited his entry into politics to the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee. According to an anecdote Modi often shared, it was at his marriage ceremony in 1986 that the former prime minister, who at that time headed the BJP, told him that it was time to give up student politics and become a "full time political activist". He made his ...

Lok Sabha polls: Will JDU's Lalan Singh be third time lucky in Munger?

Singh won from Munger in 2009 and 2019 but lost in 2014 to the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) candidate. The JDU and BJP were allies in 2009 and 2019

Nitish expands Bihar cabinet; inducts 21 ministers, including BJP leaders

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday expanded his cabinet, which is less than two months old, by inducting 21 ministers. The new inductees, including senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Renu Devi, were administered the oath of office by Governor Rajendra Arlekar at a ceremony in the Raj Bhavan. Other notable persons who were sworn in include Mangal Pandey and Neeraj Kumar Singh 'Bablu', both former ministers, belonging to BJP. Besides, Md Zama Khan, who became the lone Muslim in the cabinet, and the chief minister's confidant Ashok Chaudhary, who held cabinet berths earlier, were back as ministers. The fresh induction raises to 30 the total strength of the cabinet formed after the return of Kumar, who heads the JD(U), to the BJP-led NDA less than two months ago. Chants of 'Jai Shri Ram' by leaders of the BJP, which has returned to power, reverberated through the Raj Bhavan during the ceremony.

Bihar CM Nitish files his nomination for re-election to legislative council

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday filed his nomination papers for re-election to the state legislative council. Kumar, who is running for a fourth consecutive term, filed his nomination papers in the presence of a host of senior leaders of the ruling NDA, including his deputies Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, who belong to the BJP, and Rajiv Ranjan Singh "Lalan" whom he succeeded as the JD(U) national president. Besides Kumar, nomination papers were filed by his cabinet colleague Santosh Suman and JD(U) MLC Khalid Anwar. Suman's father Jitan Ram Manjhi, a former chief minister who heads Hindustani Awam Morcha, was also present. The Election Commission has announced biennial polls for 11 seats of the state legislative council, the terms of which would end in May. Of these, the JD(U) had held four, though following a diminution in its strength in the assembly, the party has given up its claim on two of the seats. Besides Kumar and Anwar, those from the JD(U) whos

JD(U)'s Narendra Narayan Yadav elected as Bihar assembly deputy speaker

Senior JD(U) leader Narendra Narayan Yadav was on Friday elected unopposed as the deputy speaker of the Bihar assembly. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary congratulated him after he was elected for the post. The post fell vacant on Wednesday after the resignation of his party colleague Maheshwar Hazari. Yadav, a former state minister, has been representing the Alamnagar seat of Madhepura district since the 1990s. According to JD(U) sources, Hazari, who had been holding the post since 2021, is likely to be inducted into the cabinet or considered for a party ticket in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Day after swapping smiles, Lalu Yadav says doors open for ex-ally Nitish

Lalu Prasad Yadav's remark came a day after he was spotted exchanging greetings with Nitish Kumar at the Bihar Assembly. Lalu was accompanied by his son Tejashwi Yadav

BJP's Nand Kishore Yadav elected unopposed as Bihar Assembly Speaker

Veteran BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav was on Thursday elected unopposed as the Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav escorted the new speaker to the Chair. Kumar congratulated Nand Kishore Yadav and said he was an experienced leader. "You (Speaker) are an experienced leader. I congratulate you on your election. You have been supported by all MLAs. I am sure you will hear both sides, ruling as well as opposition". The Leader of the Opposition expressed hope that the new speaker will listen to the opposition also. "You are a very senior leader and I am sure that you will remain impartial and listen to the opposition also", Tejashwi Yadav said. Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha congratulated Yadav on being elected as the speaker of the state Assembly. "You are our senior leader and you come from the land of Guru Govind Singh Ji. We all are thankful to our central leadership for this

Bihar govt tables Rs 2.79 trillion Budget in Assembly for 2024-25 fiscal

The Bihar government on Tuesday tabled a Rs 2.79 lakh crore budget in the assembly for the financial year 2024-25. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, while presenting the budget, said the current 2023-24 financial year saw 2.5 crore people rising above the poverty line in the state. The state registered a growth rate of 10.64 per cent in the current fiscal, Choudhary, who holds the finance portfolio, said.

Bihar news highlights: Nitish Kumar wins trust vote, Opposition walks out

Bihar floor test LIVE updates: Catch all the latest updates on JD(U)'s floor test here