New political equation may emerge in Bihar

After resignation of chief minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday, a new political equation may emerge in Bihar which in the words of JD(U) chief Sarad Yadav may spring surprise on the national level.

As per the indication, the two old friends-turned-foes Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad who have been drubbed in the just concluded general elections and who had parted ways in early nineties, may join hands for the formation of a 'secular' government.

At 4pm on Sunday (today) the JD(U) legislators are meeting at CM residence to elect a new leader. But as sources said they will express their solidarity with Nitish and request him to withdraw his resignation. Though there seems little scope of Nitish succumbing to their pressure. Meanwhile, he has applied to the housing department to allot him a different house as he readies to vacate official CM residence — 1' Ane Marg. The department has allotted him a new house.

The RJD leaders are tight-lipped over the developments and the Lalu's party has also called a meeting of its legislature party on Monday. Some JD(U) leaders in Delhi reportedly met Congress leaders to discuss the issue and Congress is believed to have assured to support JD(U) government.

Political circles believe that RJD may extend support to JD(U) government whether it is headed by Nitish or someone else. The party may also join the new government. The names doing round as replacement of Nitish include Bijendra Yadav, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Narendra Singh, all ministers.

There is also speculation that Nitish may take over national president of JD(U) in view of the age and health of present chief Sharad Yadav.

Source: TOI

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Resigns a Day After Poll Defeat

Nitish Kumar has resigned as Bihar chief minister a day after his party the Janata Dal United was routed in the general election. He has recommended the dissolution of the state Assembly.

The JD(U) has won just two of Bihar's 40 Lok Sabha seats. His former partner the BJP has won 31 along with its allies in the polls that saw Mr Kumar's arch political rival Narendra Modi winning a decisive mandate to become Prime Minister.

Yesterday, Mr Kumar, 63, said, "I respect the mandate of the people."

His resignation may precipitate snap polls in the state that is due for assembly elections only in November next year.

After the split with the BJP and several senior members of his party leaving the JD(U) before the election, Nitish Kumar was running a minority government in the state. There was speculation the dissent within his party will grow, with support from the opposition.

Yesterday, six ministers who had been critical of his decision to part ways with the BJP last year did not attend a cabinet meeting that Mr Kumar had called.

In the 243-seat Assembly, the JD(U) has 115 members and has been propped up by the controversial support of two LJP members, five from Lalu Prasad's RJD and two Independents.
As news of the drubbing for Mr Kumar's party came in on Friday, BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, his former deputy, said, "Nitish Kumar should take moral responsibility and resign. He has lost the confidence of the people."

Mr Kumar's defeat is seen by many as the fallout of his decision to snap ties with 17-year-old ally BJP last year over Mr Modi's elevation.

The Bihar chief minister is among those who faults the BJP leader for not doing enough to stop the 2002 riots on his watch in Gujarat, in which more than 1000 people were killed, most of them Muslims.

A Supreme Court inquiry has found no evidence to prosecute Mr Modi.

"The people of Bihar have rejected his campaign against Modi," said BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli.

In 2009, Nitish Kumar's party, in alliance with the BJP, had won 20 seats. Then junior partner BJP had won 12 that year.

Source: NDTV

Bihar stalwarts face a battle for survival

Though the big three of Bihar politics-Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad and BJP heavyweight Sushil Kumar Modi-are unlikely to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, scheduled in a few months from now; their future appear critically dependent upon the outcome of the general election.

While Lalu Prasad cannot contest the Lok Sabha after his conviction in a fodder scam case that barred him from electoral politics; Nitish Kumar and his friend turned bete-noire Sushil Kumar Modi may prefer to stay back in Patna for obvious reasons. Nitish Kumar will continue as Bihar Chief Minister whereas Sushil Modi will seek to become one after the Bihar Assembly elections scheduled next year.

Ram Vilas Paswan, the only political biggie from Bihar who is almost sure to contest 2014 Lok Sabha election from Hajipur, the seat that he once won with a record margin but lost in 2009-needs to put up a better show to stay relevant in Bihar political landscape. This will also be perhaps his last chance to stage a comeback to political centre-stage or get reduced to political insignificance.

Having spearheaded JD-U to win 20 of the 35 Lok Sabha seats that his party contested in 2009, Nitish Kumar faces an enormous challenge of repeat his performance in 2009 Lok Sabha and 2010 Assembly election Nitish Kumar currently has the highest number of 20 Lok Sabha MPs in Bihar. No wonder, he is faced with the biggest challenge to retain these seats, if not to improve his tally.

In a calculated risk, Nitish Kumar had dumped BJP in June this year after his saffron ally of 17 years projected Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate.

Nitish Kumar broke up the alliance shortly after losing Maharajganj by-election by a huge margin to RJD, prompting new political alignments in Bihar. Though Nitish Kumar will continue as Bihar Chief Minister irrespective of Lok Sabha polls results; JD-U's performance in these elections will largely determine his political future in the long run.

Truth to tell, the Nitish Kumar's government has faced multiple challenges in the aftermath of their divorce with BJP; and ironically failed to inspire confidence.

The death of 23 kids who lost their lives after consuming poisonous midday meal in Saran followed by Indian Mujahideen-triggered serial blasts at Bodhgaya on July 7 and subsequently at the BJP rally in Patna on October 27 are some of the incidents that raised serious questions on the ability of Nitish Kumar's minority government to govern. Not only this, the Naxalites have stepped up their attacks while criminals are once again began calling the shots in Bihar, prompting spurt in murder, loot, kidnapping and robbery.

If Nitish Kumar has a mountain to climb; so does BJP heavyweight Sushil Modi. The split has put him face to face with Nitish Kumar. Having shaken off the image of an amenable Deputy Chief Minister that he was, Modi has emerged as a sharp and belligerent opposition leader. Now, the 2014 elections results would determine if become a bigger leader than the other three better known politicians from Bihar.

The 2014 Lok Sabha election will also decide if Lalu Prasad has stayed relevant in Bihar despite his conviction in a fodder scam case. While flaunting his anti-Narendra Modi credentials; Nitish Kumar has been trying hard to woo the 16 per cent Muslim electorates, Lalu's relevance will depend on how much he succeeds in retaining his hold over minority votes. Having lost his Lok Sabha member ship following his conviction, Lalu is fighting with his back to the wall. The 2014 election results will eventually decide if the most famous poster boy of secularism in Bihar goes up or down.

Cop shot dead inside police station in Bihar

A senior police officer and his colleague's son were shot dead inside a police station in Bihar's Vaishali district late on Wednesday night reportedly after they had an argument with a group of men who were allegedly drunk.

According to reports, main accused Shrikant Rai, a former village head in the area, and his associates were consuming alcohol within the premises of the Chudawanpur police station when they had an altercation with the cop, station in charge Anil Kumar.

After opening fire on the police officer and his colleague's son, the accused fled from the police station. They are yet to be arrested.

Senior police officials in the area say a search is on to nab the accused and add that they are trying to find our more on what caused the altercation.

Source: NDTV

Bihar: Slipper thrown at Nitish Kumar at public function in Begusarai

'Sankalp Rally' is planned by the JDU to make a commitment before people to continue the fight for winning special category status for the state.

"Both (RJD and Congress) are equally responsible for 'badhali' (bad condition) of Bihar for 15 years," he said, slamming the two parties for their efforts to form alliance for the next Lok Sabha polls.

"Efforts are (being) made to revive the ties to bring back those dark days of poor law and order and misgovernance," he said.

Nitish said after assuming power for the first time in November 25, 2005, he had worked day and night to bring the state back on track in the past eight years.

"Rule of law has been established and people no longer fear to go out of home even late in night. Development work has been taken up," he said, asking people if they would like to return to "the bad days of the past".

'Sankalp Rally' is third in the series of 12 such rallies planned by the JDU to make a commitment before people to continue the fight for winning special category status for the state and not allowing communal forces to triumph.

Making a scathing attack at his rival and RJD chief Lalu Prasad, he said the fanfare with which he returned to Patna from Ranchi prison after bail in a fodder scam case made it seem like he had gone to jail for participating in some "freedom movement".

A slipper was thrown at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at a public function in Begusarai on Sunday. The slipper missed the chief minister.

Nitish was speaking at the Janata Dal United's 'Sankalp Rally' and said the two old partners (Congress, RJD) were coming together again to bring back the "dark" days of poor law and order and misgovernance.

"Who does not know that RJD and Congress shared power in those days when people feared to venture out of home after sunset to avoid getting kidnapped?" Nitish said.

Source: IBN

One killed by Nitish's convoy in Muzaffarpur

Muzaffarpur, Dec 9: A man, Shambhu Yadav, was mowed down by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's convoy in Muzaffarpur. Sources say that the car was escorting the Chief Minister on his way back from Motihari. Eye-witnesses claim that the car didn't even stop after running over the man.  

The man was taken to Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital where he was declared brought dead. The Chief Minister was returning to Patna by road after addressing a rally by JD(U) called the 'Sankalp Rally' at the East Champaran district. Local villagers are said to have blocked the road in protest. 

Source: OneIndia News

No toilet? Can’t contest Bihar local body polls, Nitish Kumar says

Those not having a toilet in their home will not be allowed to contest panchayat or urban local body elections in Bihar.

Announcing this at a World Toilet Day function on Tuesday, chief minister Nitish Kumar said the state government will bring the necessary amendments to the Bihar Panchayati Raj Act and other statutes governing the elections of urban bodies to raise public awareness about the benefits of toilets in houses.

Kumar said the central government aimed to construct 1.11 crore toilets in the state, but government records show over two crore families do not have a toilet in their home. "I personally request every financially capable person, including those associated with governmental institutions, to get toilets constructed on their premises," the CM said at the function, which was organized by the rural development and public health engineering department.

Initially, the Centre's Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan was designed to cover only below poverty line families but the state government brought even above poverty line families within its ambit, he said.

Without naming any politician, Kumar said the concept of giving priority to the construction of toilets over temples was implemented in Bihar in 2007. "Some leaders are now highlighting the importance of toilets," he said in a reference to his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi. "It must be mentioned that I personally created awareness about the benefits of toilets on residential premises during the Vikas Yatra and other public meetings from 2007 to 2009."

The chief minister said the panchayats that achieve the 100% target of constructing toilets will be given the Nirmal Gram Panchayat prize of Rs 5 lakh each. The Nirmal Prakhand award will carry Rs25 lakh in prize for blocks for conducting a cleanliness drive.

Rural development minister Nitish Mishra said the government has given priority to constructing toilets in houses across the state and will soon achieve the goal of constructing one toilet in each house.

Source: TOI

Failure to back anti-terror operations haunts Nitish Kumar now

Bihar government's apparent reluctance to associate with anti-terror operations in the run-up to 2014 elections has come back to haunt it in the form of Gandhi Maidan blasts where it was caught napping. Even as the incident exposed security lapses at the rally venue, sources pointed to the Bihar government's overall attitude to security which has been found to be wanting.

Allegedly wary of stirring the terror pot ahead of 2014 elections, CM Nitish Kumar's government had in August refused to take custody of IM operative Ahmed Siddibappa alias Yasin Bhatkal even though Bihar Police played a significant role in his arrest from Nepal. Yasin was tracked by Intelligence Bureau to Pokhara and then arrested by a joint team of IB and Bihar Police.

However, after he was brought to Raxaul in Bihar, the state police refused to take his custody saying it had no cases against him. Ultimately, the central security set-up had to make a last minute call to National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over the case.

Bihar's refusal to take Yasin's custody was intriguing as one of the most ferocious modules of Indian Mujahideen was raised by him in Darbhanga and Madhubani and several members of this module are still absconding. IM is also a suspect in the Bodh Gaya blasts.

Sources said apart from Bihar appearing to be dragging its feet on the security front, there were some deeply entrenched systemic problems with Bihar's security set-up. During the previous regime in the state, law and order suffered to such an extent that it had a debilitating impact on the police force which despite some good successes in Kumar's regime, will take time to be a fully functional and competent entity, sources said.

They added the fact that Bihar hadn't experienced a bomb blast in several years (except for the recent Bodh Gaya blasts) also added to the lack of preparedness and experience of the police force to deal with terror attacks.

Source: TOI

Nitish attacks Modi, says 'a man who aspires to be PM should be patient'

Excerpts from Nitish's speech at Rajgir convention:

• I noticed Modi was wiping his face. Why was he sweating? A man who aspires to India's highest post should be patient.

• BJP has amazing grasp of history. They should know Chandragupta was of Maurya dynasty, not of Gupta dynasty.

• Security agencies and Bihar administration are answerable for security at BJP's Patna rally.

• My ex-friends once praised me and now they are finding faults with me.

• My ex-friends of BJP accuse me of failing in security for BJP Patna rally. All security was made.

• I condemn the terrorist incidents in Patna 2 days ago.

• Special status for Bihar will be JD-U's main issue in 2014 polls.

• Bihar isn't begging for special status. It's our right.

• We are fighting for Bihar but some people are creating hurdles for us.

• Nobody can beat our rally in Patna last year, that was for Biharis and not for an individual.

• BJP is responsible for the alliance between the two parties breaking.

• JD-U will connect with voters, demand the legitimate rights of Bihar.

• JD-U will organise 12 sankalp rallies to contact with voters.

• Janata-Dal United's signature campaign forced Centre to set up panel to consider special status for Bihar.

• Bihar demanded Rs. 20,000 cr from centre and got Rs. 12,000 cr. Our fight goes on.

• Janata Dal United convention in Rajgir was successful. We have gained strength.

• Nitish Kumar addresses Janata Dal-United meeting in Rajgir after senior party leader Shivanand Tiwari praised Narendra Modi.

Nitish Kumar makes ‘khaini’ tax-free in Bihar

At a time when the central government is spending crores on anti-tobacco drive, Bihar government has decided to keep raw chewing tobacco (khaini) out of the tax net to help farmers who grow tobacco in the state.

The decision to keep 'khaini' free from tax was taken at a state cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Recently, a delegation of tobacco growers met Kumar with a demand to keep them away from tax payment, sources said.

The decision has earned the Bihar CM huge criticism as a huge percentage of the state population is addicted to tobacco.

A Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) has revealed that every second adult in Bihar is addicted to khaini. About 63 percent of the men and 35 percent of women in Bihar consume it.

Source: Zee

Is Nitish dragging Pranab into his war with Narendra Modi?

It’s an all out NaMo versus NiKu war. And it’s one that has an unprecedented twist with President Pranab Mukherjee‘s name dragged into it, consciously or coincidentally. First, the facts. It has been known for months, confirmed in June in fact, that Narendra Modi will address his first ever rally in Patna in Gandhi Maidan on 27 October, appropriately named the Hunkar (bugle) rally to challenge Nitish Kumar on his home turf. The BJP has planned to make it big, bigger than Lalu Prasad Yadav’s once awe-inspiring Garib Raila. Of a magnitude that Patna, capital of Bihar, has not seen since the peak of the JP movement in 1977. Modi will address a huge rally in Patna on Oct 27. 

AFP On Thursday, last week, Bihar BJP leaders heard that President Pranab Mukherjee was coming to Bihar around the time that Modi’s rally is to take place but could a get confirmation from senior state officials only on Saturday evening. The two-day tour of the President to grace the IIT Patna convocation ceremony on 26 October and unveiling of a statue of Babu Jagjivan Ram, father of Speaker Meira Kumar, in Chandwa village, in Ara district, 50 kilometers from Patna, on 27 October has made the BJP cry foul and claim that a nervous Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was indulging in petty politics to create roadblocks, if not fully obstruct Narendra Modi‘s rally. If BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Sushil Modi upped the ante with a series of tweets on Sunday, the JD(U) is not taking it lying down either and is asking whether Narendra Modi’s arrival in a city implies that no one, not even the President of India, be allowed to land in the same city and honour a state function. The quantum of success of Modi’s Hunkar rally will guide the BJP’s future electoral strategy in Bihar. If it’s a success the way BJP wants it to be then it may even set into motion, a process of a new kind of social engineering. The emerging political situation in Bihar has become more direct and exciting between JD (U) and BJP after Lalu Yadav’s conviction in the fodder scam. Bereft of the presence of its supreme leader amid elections, the RJD’s only hope in Bihar is a sympathy wave. 

Modi’s rivals JD(U) and RJD are therefore keeping a close eye on events unfolding in the BJP and would watch with great curiosity to see what happens in Gandhi Maidan on 27 October. For both Nitish and Modi, it’s about consolidating and expanding their existing social support and, should the RJD disintegrate in Lalu’s absence, to go for the Muslim-Yadav spoils. The Congress is inconsequential in Bihar if it fights alone but can be a force multiplier if it aligns with Nitish or Lalu. Though Modi has never held a public rally in Bihar, at least not in the last 12 years and never in the historic Gandhi maidan, he is still the most talked about leader in all parts of the state, the denials from his rivals notwithstanding. His name got even greater currency and helped consolidation of upper caste votes in favour of his party after Nitish Kumar terminated a 17-year-old mutually beneficial relationship with the BJP only because of Modi’s elevation as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. BJP leaders thus allege that inviting the President on the same day to Bihar is part of political scheming by Nitish and his friends in the Congress. Sushil Modi says, “Nitish Kumar is playing all tricks to put hurdles in success of NaMo ‘s Hunkar Rally on 27th Oct.. First they tried to obstruct by allocating only half of Gandhi Maidan and when we foiled that they have come out with this”. Firstpost spoke to Sushil Modi and a close confidante of Nitish Kumar who requested anonymity. Bother argued bitterly against each other. First, the JD(U) leader charged that it was yet another trick of the BJP to keep public and media sensitivity alive on the Modi rally, which was not being talked about so much in the state. The BJP counter-charged that Nitish’s purpose of inviting the President on the same date was angled at acquiring some degree of media space and popular mindspace on days when it would otherwise be Modi and Modi all along. Second, the JD(U) leader claimed that the Nitish government had nothing to do with organizing the President’s programme on those dates because IIT-Patna was under the Union HRD ministry and as such a Central issue. So was the other function in Ara, organized by Speaker Meira Kumar who took the consent of President Pranab Mukherjee to visit the state on a date that coincidentally clashed with Modi’s rally. The BJP’s counter to that is that the President’s visit is never finalized without a due consultation process with and prior consent of the state concerned, and Nitish always knew that Modi’s Hunkar rally was to take place on 27 October. Third, JD(U) charged that Sushil Modi’s “outbursts” reflected the BJP’s mindset. How could they stop anyone, least of all the President of India, to visit the state just because Modi was to address a public rally in same state on that day? Should Patna and Bihar come a standstill because Modi is visiting for a few hours? The real contention between Nitish and Modi’s protagonists lies here. The BJP says that if a rally of this magnitude (five lakh expected in 11 special trains, three thousand to four thousand MUVs and buses) is to be held on 27 October, people would start coming from October 26. Incidentally, President Pranab Mukherjee’s programme is at Ravindra Bhawan, on Bir Chand Patel Path. The BJP’s party office is on the same road, and is in close proximity to Ravindra Bhawan. As such the party office would be the hub of all activity on that date. But since the President is coming there late afternoon, barricading has to be erected from the airport to the Governor’s House including along Bir Chand Patel Path. Along this route are official residential quarters of some leaders, including those of the BJP, where a section of those coming for the rally would be staying. Again the next day, while President would take a helicopter to fly to Ara and return, the area around the airport would be sanitised till afternoon. The airspace too could be blocked for some time. That could make Modi alter his landing time in Patna. The BJP’s argument is that since vehicles coming from various parts of the state for the rally will be stopped in the outskirts of the city and those coming from central Bihar districts are usually parked in an area close to the airport, the Presidential protocol would create grave obstructions. The BJP is so far maintaining that Nitish and the Congress have played mischief with the President and are trying to use the Head of the Nation as some kind of political shield against a major Modi sway. Besides Sushil Modi’s tweeting, the party is also collecting signatures from public urging him not to get dragged into an electoral war of two rival political groups. A state BJP delegation may even meet the President on his return from his ongoing two-nation tour abroad. Whatever the outcome, the BJP has got a juicy talking point against Nitish, much before Modi can thunder in Bihar. The JD(U) is equally happy that via the President’s proposed visit, they have already scored a political brownie point and made BJP cry foul. The two rallies on October 19 in Kanpur in UP and October 27 in Patna, Bihar will shape the intensity of the Modi wave, if it is there. These two states will be critical for all parties, with a combined tally of 120 seats, one fifth of the total strength of Lok Sabha.

Source: FP

Bihar CM's claim of inclusive growth a 'mirage'

If numbers don’t lie, then Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s claim of inclusive growth with social justice agenda is nothing more than a mirage.

Information received in response to an RTI query filed by Amitava Choudhury of West Bengal revealed that the state, which has the third largest Scheduled Caste (SC) population in the country, is one of the worst performers in terms of providing central grant for SC and other backward castes students.

The data forwarded by Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment regarding its central scheme, popularly known as ‘Free Coaching for SC and OBC Students’ reveals that the Ministry has received only one proposal from Bihar government with a list of 950 students from SC and OBC category for 2013 to 2016. This is despite the fact that 100 per cent expenditure will be borne by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment which has already spent nearly `22 crore in the last three years on the scheme.

The main objective of the scheme is to ensure qualitative coaching for group A and B examinations conducted by the UPSC, SSC and state PSC for smooth integration of students from weaker section into the national mainstream.

The scheme is implemented through the reputed coaching institutions or centres run by the State Governments, universities and private institutions. Interestingly, other states appear to be far more active in extending central schemes to targeted beneficiaries. The RTI response is likely to further embarrass Nitish because Narendra Modi’s Gujarat has forwarded 37 proposals listing 53,000 students to receive the central grant. Gujarat is also ranked third among the list of 24 states and Union Territories.

As many as 92 proposals with 1,51,000 students were received from Maharashtra while Madhya Pradesh with 52 proposals consisting of 82,160 students is ranked second overall.

Source: IE

Nitish Kumar hints at Bihar becoming a power surplus state

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today hinted that Bihar would become a power surplus state in a couple of years.

Mr Kumar said that an additional 2000 MW would be generated from the thermal power plant at Nabi Nagar which was being constructed in partnership with the NTPC.

He told a function here that the 1320X3 thermal power plants at Chausa, Kajra and Pirpaiti were in various stages of constructions.

He said that extensive work was being carried out to tone up the transmission and distribution networks and to augment generation capacity with the Barauni and Kanti thermal power plants being renovated with the help of NTPC.

Happy at improvement in the power scenario over the past eight years with the availability of power rising to 3100 MW at present against 750 MW in 2005, Mr Kumar said that his government would succeed in its mission to electrify the entire state as it had done in road infrastructure.

Reiterating his commitment to expand the electricity network in Bihar by 2015, he said "We will ensure power supply to all consumers."

Apparently referring to the recent power workers agitation, the chief minister urged the electricity engineers and employees to work together to fulfil his government's promise to electrify the entire state over the next two years.

He said that the state government would provide subsidised power to farmers and weavers.

Source: NDTV