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JD(U) MLA Shyam Bahadur Singh stoked fresh controversy by speaking about possible breakup between BJP & JD(U)

A former JD(U) MLA Shyam Bahadur Singh, stoking fresh controversy, has hinted at a break up between Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He made the statement at the party’s district workers’ conference in Siwan where JD(U) state president Umesh Singh Kushwaha and senior leader Vidyanand Vikal were present.

“Bihar mein kab tak gathbandhan hai aur kab tootega yeh koi nahi jaanta (No one knows how long will the alliance in Bihar survive),” he said, adding that he “does not trust the BJP”. He urged party workers to make CM Kumar strong enough so that his outfit can stay in power without help from allies.

Singh is known for bizarre statements and acts. Ahead of Bihar assembly elections, he was spotted moving around barefoot and said that he follows this regime during polls. The JD(U) leader also said that even at 60, he is not afraid of coronavirus as “he is corona himself”.

In 2018, he had resigned from the party’s primary membership, complaining that “police had been acting against all those people opposing auction of the government land to land-mafia”. However, he was placated by then JD(U) state president Vashisht Narain Singh who said that Singh is a senior party leader, and his concern would be genuine.

The former MLA had earlier embarrassed the party and the government by performing with dancers at marriage ceremonies.

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Assam election: Parties from Bihar set out to try their luck in Assam election- 47 seats play a crucial role for BJP to retain hold over the state

Nitish-Kushwaha

Three parties from Bihar would try their electoral luck in the Assam election. JD(U) of Nitish Kumar and RSLP led by the former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha have decided to go solo in the Assam election. The opposition party in Bihar, RJD will be participating in the Assam state elections in an alliance with Congress-AIUDF grand alliance.

JD(U) has decided to participate in at least 32 seats in the Assam assembly which has a total of 126 seats, as disclosed by sources with knowledge of the developments. MLC Gulam Rasool Baliyawi, the Assam in-charge of JD(U) & Shrawan Kumar, Bihar’s rural development minister have reached Guwahati to decide on the number of seats the party would be contesting in the election. Both of them are scheduled to hold a series of meetings with the local JD(U) leaders and the workers at the various places in Assam.

The ruling party in Assam, BJP is confident of winning over 100 seats in the upcoming assembly poll in the state. In this regard, the first phase election for 47 assembly constituencies is crucial for the saffron party to retain power in the state and achieve its ‘Mission 100 plus’ target.

The first phase poll for 47 assembly constituencies will be held on March 27, where 42 seats are from 11 districts of Upper Assam and northern Assam region and five seats are from central Assam’s Nagaon district.

While the BJP has announced the candidate list for 70 constituencies (for first and second phase), the opposition Congress has announced the candidates list for 40 constituencies. The Congress party is yet to announce its candidates for Titabor, the seat which was represented by former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

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KC Tyagi stated that JDU is not in favour of laws against conversion for marriage

At a time when BJP ruled states, across India are making legislations against conversion for marriage, the Janata Dal (United), an ally of the saffron party in Bihar, has asserted that such laws will create social hatred and division in the society which it does not approve of.

“An atmosphere of hatred and division is being created in the society in the name of Love Jihad,” Tyagi told reporters after the party’s national executive meeting.

The term “love jihad” is being used by right-wing activists to refer to the alleged campaign of Muslims forcing Hindu girls to convert in the guise of love.

Tyagi stated, “Provisions of the Constitution and CrPC give freedom to two adults to choose life partners of their choice irrespective of one’s religion, caste or region.”  He added that socialists have upheld the right of adults to marry irrespective of caste and creed since the days of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia who was a socialist ideologue.

The Cabinet in BJP governed Madhya Pradesh passed a Bill on Saturday which provides for a prison term of up to 10 years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh for conversion through marriage or by any other fraudulent means. The bill in some ways is similar to an Ordinance notified by the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh last month.

In UP, a PIL has been filed in the Allahabad High Court challenging the ordinance, contending that it impinges upon the fundamental right to choice and right to change of faith.

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Prashant Kishor throws taunts at Nitish Kumar over lackluster nominated government

Prashant_Kishor

After the recently concluded Bihar polls, Prashant Kishor and Tejashwi Yadav had delivered a stinging congratulatory message to Nitish Kumar, describing him as a “nominated” chief minister.

Once a close aide of Nitish Kumar, Prashant Kishor was made the JD(U) vice president by the party chief, but his independent and often adversarial views soured their relations and he was expelled from the party. Kishor, as the political strategist had worked closely with Nitish Kumar during the 2015 assembly elections before they fell out earlier this year. He tweeted his congratulatory message to the Bihar chief minister as soon as he started his fourth straight term.

Kumar took oath as chief minister on November 16 afternoon after the Bharatiya Janata Party decided to stick with Nitish Kumar despite the less than impressive performance of the Janata Dal United in the just-concluded assembly elections.

Nitish Kumar’s party, once considered the senior partner in the ruling Bihar alliance, won only 43 seats in the 243-member assembly, in contrast to the BJP’s 74 seats. The depleted strength of the JDU in the assembly is reflected in the composition of the council of ministers that was sworn-in with Kumar. The BJP has seven ministers in Nitish Kumar’s team as compared to five ministers from the JDU. One cabinet berth each has gone to the smaller allies, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Vikas-sheel Insaan Party (VIP)

“Congratulations to Nitish Kumar for taking oath as the BJP-nominated chief minister,” tweeted Prashant Kishor, an effort to underline Nitish Kumar’s dependence on the BJP.

“With a tired and politically belittled leader as CM, Bihar should brace for (a) few more years of lackluster governance,” Prashant Kishor said in a tweet that appeared to echo the campaign pitch of the opposition.

Through the campaigning, Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Tejashwi Yadav who led the Grand Alliance of opposition parties, or Mahagathbandhan, had put Nitish Kumar’s 15 years as Bihar chief minister at the heart of its pitch. Tejashwi Yadav, in an attempt to dent the public perception about Kumar, would frequently claim that Nitish Kumar was tired as an administrator.

Prashant Kishor had strategized for Nitish Kumar ahead of the 2015 elections when arch-rivals JDU, RJD, and Congress had come together to form a grand alliance to stop the BJP from coming to power. Nitish Kumar walked out of this alliance in 2017 when he pole-vaulted into the BJP’s camp, accusing Tejashwi Yadav, his deputy from the RJD, of corruption. This switch had ejected Tejashwi Yadav from the treasury benches in the assembly to the opposition but the 31-year-old had promptly hit the ground running in his new role, campaigning against Nitish Kumar. Tejashwi Yadav’s RJD, which had emerged as the single largest party in the state elections, was projected to be within striking distance of power by most exit polls.

Yadav had tweeted his congratulations to Nitish Kumar, stressing that he had been nominated as chief minister. He also added that he hoped that Nitish Kumar would, instead of struggling to retain the chief minister’s chair, give priority to delivering on the NDA’s promise of 19 lakh jobs, education, health, and irrigation.

The author is a student member of Amity centre of Happiness

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Mahagathbandhan has advantage while BJP-JDU alliance faces tough fights in Seemanchal and other regions

The last week ended with the conclusion of the assembly polls in Bihar. The third phase had given a lesson to some extent to the NDA alliance when people were expressing their anger directed towards the CM by throwing shoes at him. The campaigning in the state-polls had seen a wide spectrum of events from songs to display of protests. Though the results are set to be declared tomorrow, the initial exit polls have started arriving which point out an advantage for the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan.

The state’s CM had tried to play an emotional tune by stating that this was his last election. But, that seems to be not helping the BJP- JD(U) alliance who are likely losing the race to the RJD-led alliance. In especially the third phase, the NDA is in tepid waters in the electoral battle in the places under the Seemanchal region like the Araria, Katihar, Purnia, and Kishanganj. The situation is tough for the BJP-JD(U)-led alliance in places in Kosi region like Madhepura, Supaul, and Saharsa. Even in places in Mithila region like Madhubani and Darbhanga the fight is looking tough for the BJP alliance even after the rally by the PM. Places in Tirhut like the Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur look set to test the mettle of BJP- JD(U) combine in the third phase. The issues faced by women and youth could be a major factor in the shift of votes towards the Mahagathbandhan.

In the Seemanchal region, the RJD and parties like AIMIM have clear advantages. Some poll pundits have opined that AIMIM of Owaisi can cut out some seats from the expected seat tally of the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan. Given that the region has a strong presence of Muslims which is a common vote-bank for the AIMIM and the RJD, which banks largely on Muslim-Yadav support, this region can prove to be a tough battleground for BJP. A Patna-based journalist disclosed that Owaisi’s bid to create a shriller Muslim discourse with attempts to woo specifically the Mahadalits to create a social coalition of the “downtrodden” is not working here.

If AIMIM wins seats in the region, where it has fielded 19 candidates, it will not be overselling to say that, they can come in alliance or provide external support to the Mahagathbandhan to keep the BJP-JD(U) out of the total needed tally in the assembly. Seemanchal can hence be very crucial for the Mahagathbandhan. This region has a unique demography, as it has 47% Muslim population against the statewide proportion of 17% which makes it to be identified as peculiar in its political behavior. In Kishanganj, the Muslim comprise 70% of the population while they comprise 43% in Katihar. This was one of the reasons that prior to the third phase of the Bihar polls, the CM was harping that nobody would be expelled under the new and contentious Citizenship Amendment Act.

In the Kosi belt, it is expected that Bijendra Prasad Yadav from Supaul and Narendra Narayan Yadav (from Alamganj) of JD(U) would retain their respective seats in the NDA alliance. In the Saharsa seat, the former MP and wife of incarcerated former MP Anand Mohan, Lovely Mohan is a contender on RJD ticket. Longtime socialist leader Sharad Yadav’s daughter Suhasini Raj is contending on INC ticket from the Bihariganj seat in Madhepura. This has led her father to come in support of INC after his daughter joined the party. The left party CPI(ML) under the Mahagathbandhan is performing well in terms of the anti-incumbency sentiments.  The party has also stressed that the efforts by the BJP to paint a picture of fear about the CPI(ML) would not work in Bihar after the disastrous handling of the economy, the pandemic, and the migrant workers’ issues.  CPI(ML) is much smaller than parties like RJD, BJP, JD(U), or even the Congress or LJP in terms of resources. But, it has one of the strongest cadres in Bihar. Observers state that the huge crowds in Mahagathbandhan rallies were not only due to the RJD but also the CPI(ML).

Tomorrow, November 10, a total of 3755 candidates in the state polls would get to know their outcome over the 243 assembly seats contested. Out of these, 38 seats are reserved for SCs , and two are reserved for STs. The ECI has elaborated that there would 55 counting centres in 414 counting halls over 38 districts in Bihar. Under the COID19-induced rules, there would be no more than 7 counting tables in each counting hall to maintain the social distancing. The state Chief electoral officer has stated that there would be three-layered security setup for the strong rooms where the EVMs would be housed. The inner layer is being guarded by the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), and then in the second layer would be the Bihar Military Police (BMP). The final layer would have the district police. Outside the counting centres, display screens are being set up and two tents being erected at each counting centre for journalists and the security personnel.

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Paswan junior maybe stepping on too many toes in the backdrop of Bihar polls

On November 3, the state of Bihar went into polls in the second phase. Prior to that on Monday, November 2, the current president of LJP, Chirag Paswan had said that the current CM of Bihar, Nitish Kumar is a Palturam, a Hindi synonym for turncoat. In his assertions about the current CM of Bihar, Paswan Junior stated that the JD(U) leader had earlier disregarded the RJD and had later formed government with the same RJD in 2015. Chirag Paswan also added that it is highly possible that after the Bihar elections are over, Nitish Kumar may jump boat into the wagon of RJD led Mahagathbandhan.

Jiten Ram Manjhi, leader of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), an ally with JD(U),  recently stated that he personally had no doubts about the capacity of the current CM of Bihar- Nitish Kumar, who is being singled out by Chirag Paswan. Manjhi pointed out that there is no problem with the policies being rolled out by the government led by Nitish Kumar, but there are many issues in the implementation of his policies. This comment becomes relevant in the context of the complaints by the womenfolk in Bihar regarding the issue of prohibition and the works taken up by Sanjay Sahni, who contested from Ratnauli in Muzaffarpur district. Sanjay, a self-trained electrician had worked towards bringing reforms in the implementation of the MNREGA works in his locality. Jiten Manjhi also praised the Har ghar nal ka jal yojana of the JD(U) government under Nitish Kumar.

In an interesting turn of events, Jiten ram Manjhi had written a letter to the PM to investigate the death of RamVilas Paswan. The letter had underlined that there are several doubts that bring Chirag Paswan in question. This letter clearly depicts the trust-deficit that is prevalent between LJP and the other parties in alliance with BJP and JD(U) in the Bihar election 2020.  This shows that after taking the baton of the party from Ram Vilas Paswan, Chirag Paswan might have stepped on too many toes, in his tirade against almost all parties except for BJP, which has brought discomfort within the NDA alliance in the season of the state polls. The JD(U) working president, Ashok Choudhary had recently told that it would be hard for Chirag-led LJP to remain in the NDA after all the allegations he made against the parties like JD(U).

LJP president might expect some leeway from RJD, given that Tejashwi Yadav had provided vocal support for him when he felt insulted by Nitish Kumar after the demise of Paswan Sr. but, his continuous volley of blames and allegations might potentially land him in a no-man’s land in Bihar polity, provided RJD-led Mahagathbandhan finds no use for him.

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Despite LJP’s continuous attack on poll partner JD(U), BJP seems to have distanced itself from commenting upon it

The first phase of the Bihar polls saw a little higher than 54% turnout. In the rallies organized in the second leg of the state poll campaign, the BJP had focused on the alleged jungle raj in Bihar under RJD and appreciated the governance of the JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar.
Even when the LJP under the new leadership of Chirag Paswan has not muzzled down its criticism and rhetoric directed at JD(U), the BJP has remained silent, which is uncharacteristic given their extremely vocal approach in targeting their opposition. It might be because LJP is in such a position which can not be categorized as either a friend or a foe. The LJP has been vocal about both its support to BJP and its staunch opposition to JD(U).
In an election sprinkled with numerous parties organized primarily under three alliances the BJP-JD(U), the Mahagathbandhan led by RJD and INC, and the Grand Democratic Secular Front, the LJP can become a crucial factor in the final formation of government at Patna. The silence can be attributed to the position LJP currently has with regards to all the parties. None can rely upon it completely, yet all can take advantage of its association.
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Bihar election 2020: Day:1-In Darbhanga rally, PM plays Ayodhya & Ram mandir cards

On the launch of the second leg of the election campaign in Bihar, the PM raised the issues with religious touch to lure voters towards BJP JD(U) alliance.

He compared the rule of the opposition with that of jungle raj. Standing in the Bihar election rally, he did not fail to incorporate the emotional connection of Bihar with Sita through Mithila, in the favour of BJP. The PM played the Ram mandir and Ayodhya cards stating that those who used to pass taunts on the Ram Mandir issue are now inevitably forced to clap in applause.

In the campaign, he tried to draw attention towards the bridge building intiatives taken by the current governments at the union and the state levels specifically mentioning about the Kosi Mahasetu project. He also claimed that 11 lakh households now have access to clean water, due to efforts taken by JD(U) government. He showered praises on Nitish Kumar, whom he addressed as Bhavi Mukhyamantri.

In an attack directed at the Congress-RJD combine, he stated that the other parties like RJD had carried out financial irregularities under the guise of farm loans’ waiver. He also referred to the Pan and Makhaan grown in Darbhanga region in his campaign speech.

In an attempt to reach out to the people from the  lower castes, PM also paid tribute to Baba Chauharmal.

In the tension between the dalit dusadh community and the bhumihar, there are many folklore stories surrounding Chauharmal, who is worshipped among the people from the lower castes.

In the rally at Darbhanga, the PM also provided hints that the LJP led by Chirag Paswan is not a part of the BJP JD(U) combine. After the rally at Darbhanga, he is set for rallies in Muzaffarpur and Patna, today.

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Congress, in the context of Bihar election, strategizes to expose the ongoing disputes among the parties in NDA

Bihar election starting from October 28 is set to enter the first phase of the polls to be held in three-phases. Amidst the political strategies and contesting parties taking each step carefully, Congress has come up with the idea of exposing all the ongoing contradictions within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

After the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) decided to run solo in the elections, breaking off their ties with the Janata Dal (United), the Congress decided to use this window of opportunity left open by the rift.  Although, LJP did not leave the alliance it formed with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before the assembly polls.

Shakeel Ahmed, Congress leader and former Union Minister said that his party is going to focus on the discords between various parties under the NDA and expose them. He also claims that if BJP comes out as the largest and strongest party in the assembly polls, it might demand to get the Chief Minister’s post, defining it as a “tug-of-war situation’.

According to the seat-sharing strategy, LJP will not be fielding its candidates on the seats which BJP is contesting. The LJP had recently announced its first list of 42 candidates who will be contesting in the first phase of assembly polls in Bihar including Usha Vidyarthi, Rajendra Singh, and Rameshwar Chourasia. Shakeel Ahmed said that Congress will focus upon such contradictions to persuade the JD(U) supporters in their favor and similarly for the confused BJP supporters.

Bhupendra Yadav, the BJP in-charge had, however, dismissed the news of any such disputes taking place within the NDA. He said, “The BJP has only one plan and that is to fight the elections along with the JD (U). We have clearly spelled out that plan. The LJP is not a part of this arrangement because it chose to fight alone. The NDA is fighting for development in Bihar under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and vision. Nitish Kumar is the undisputed chief ministerial candidate of the alliance.”

Congress is yet to disclose the names of its participating candidates in the first phase of elections. But, it had disclosed the names of 21 candidates taking part in the second and third phases of the assembly polls. On Thursday, it shall be announcing the names of 49 remaining candidates to intensify its election campaign headed by Sonia Gandhi, the party chief for Congress.

There have been speculations regarding injustice in the ticket distribution pattern in Congress in the context of the Bihar elections. The party was held responsible for distributing the tickets to some incompetent leaders in the first list they released specifying the candidates. In response to this situation, Rahul Gandhi had to form 6 panels to supervise the preparations done by the party for the upcoming Bihar elections.

Rahul Gandhi, the former president of the Congress and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the Congress general secretary shall be participating in some of the rallies in Bihar along with the former Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh. The results of the Bihar election shall be announced on November 10.

The author is a student member of the Amity Centre of Happiness.

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Bihar polls: JD(U) sets a 50-50 seat-sharing formula with BJP while Congress joins up with RJD in Mahagathbandhan

The seat-sharing equation between the JD(U) and BJP has been revealed for the upcoming Bihar election for the 243 seats in the state assembly. On the opposition side the RJD, Congress, and three left parties have fixed the seat sharing. JD(U) under Nitish Kumar would be contesting on 122 seats out of the 243 seats with the BJP fielding candidates on the remaining121 seats.

Bihar assembly election 2020 is set to be carried out in three phases beginning from October 28 with the results to be announced on November 10.

As stated in the agreement on seat sharing between the BJP led group and JD(U) led alliance, within the later, ten seats have been provided to  Hindustani Awam Morcha under the former CM of the state, Jitan Ram Manjhi. HAM had left the opposition alliance assembled by RJD under Tejashwi Yadav. Manjhi will be running for the polls from the Imamganj seat in the Gaya district. He has stated that his return to the JD(U) fold is due to a mutual understanding with Nitish Kumar.

Lok Janshakti Party of Paswans would be kept in the BJP alliance if Chirag Paswan (son of Ram Vilas Paswan) assures that LJP would remain in coalition with BJP for the 2020 assembly polls and after it. It remains to be seen how valid the assurance of LJP will stay in case JD(U) and RJD make significant gains vis-à-vis BJP. Ram Vilas Paswan is currently in a hospital while LJP is trying to bite out a larger share of seats than the JD(U) is willing to let go to the BJP alliance. In the latest development, LJP has been offered 15 seats on Paswan jr.’s demand of at least 42 seats under the BJP fold. LJP would fight against the Nitish-led alliance on the ground of mismanagement of the COVID19 situation and the crisis of the migrant workers in Bihar. This can pose a problem to JD(U) but can be relatively beneficial to BJP.

Ram Vilas Paswan has been in alliance with all the governments at the centre since the inception of the party in 1989 in its play of political opportunism and survival. Therefore, BJP is hoping to pull all the pro-Modi but anti-Nitish votes through association with LJP. A Patna- based LJP leader, in this context has revealed that the party has the potential to get around 6-12% of votes which can spoil the political fight of JD(U). As the equation between LJP and JD(U) deteriorated, LJP has vowed to fight against all the JD(U) candidates and simultaneously support BJP.

Discussions held between JD(U) and BJP which lasted for four hours on seat sharing was led by Lalan Singh, RCP Singh, Vijay Chaudhary, and Vijendra Yadav from JD(U) and Devendra phadnavis, the BJP election chief in Bihar and BJP General secretary- Bhupendra Yadav at the residence of Bihar BJP chief JP Nadda. As the discussions on the seat-sharing among the coalition partners concluded, the BJP and JD(U) are set to contest on 119 seats each.

In this context, Tejashwi Yadav has stated that his party, RJD as a step to build the opposition Mahagathbandhan will bring in Vikassheel Insan party and Jharkhand Mukti Morch in alliance with RJD which is set to contest over 144 seats. Apart from this, the opposition alliance provided 29 seats to three parties of Left- CPM (4), CPI-ML(19), and CPI(6). The equation between the RJD and Congress seemed to have improved. It is indicated in the fact that RJD has allowed Congress to fight on 70 seats in contrast to the earlier expectation that it would not provide more than 60 seats to the grand old party. This seems to comfort the situation for RJD which has suffered some challenges and setbacks while setting up the opposition alliance for the Bihar polls. At first, the Bihar Congress chief, Avinash Pande had stated that the party is ready to contest polls on all of the 243 seats. More trouble came for RJD when Chandrika Rai from Saran district, Faraz Fatmi, Jaiwardhan Yadav, and three other MLAs left RJD to join the JD(U). Coming on common ground with the Congress by giving it 70 seats to contest in the Opposition-Mahagathbandhan has given a shot in the arm of RJD in the upcoming polls.