First President of India Deshratna Dr Rajendra Prasad,Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru & Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Dr Anugrah Narayan Sinha at Anugrah babu's residence in Patna(Bihar) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
(Sitting L to R)Rajendra Prasad and Anugrah Narayan Sinha during Mahatama Gandhi's 1917 Champaran Satyagraha (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
"उड़ती चिड़िया को हल्दी लगाती है बिहार का वोटर!"
---- श्री लालु प्रसाद यादव
नीतिश और लालु को अनुशासन दिखानी होगी। अभी देश में सिर्फ thoughtful Opposition के लिए जगह है। जब तक देश में गरीबी है। नहीं तो मैं चाहुँगा मोदी को राज्य सभा में भी बहुमत मिल जाए।
३०-७० पर थे दोनों जब झगड़ रहे थे। झगड़ा खत्म हुवा तो ४५-५५ पर आए। Bihar@2025 कहा तो ५५-४५ पर आए। बीजेपी कैम्प में झगड़ा शुरू हुवा तो इनका पलड़ा भारी पड़ा, ये ६५-३५ पर पहुँच गए। लेकिन अभी समय है, बीजेपी वाले वो झगड़ा सुलह कर लेते हैं और जितन और पप्पु को भी साथ ले लेते हैं तो फिर ५५-४५ पर शायद आ जाएँ।
Bihar@2025 is key. वो मैसेज जितना बुलन्द रहेगा नीतिश की स्थिति उतनी ही मजबुत है।
लेकिन ग्रोथ रेट को hurt करने वाला कोइ काम ना करें। गरीबी को कब तक कायम रखे रहिएगा?
According to BJP insiders, Thakur's statement is a reflection of a deep-rooted tussle between leaders of upper castes and OBCs within the party...... In his early 80s, Thakur belongs to the powerful landed upper caste Bhumihars, who are said to be overwhelmingly backing the BJP in post-Mandal politics in the state. ...... "The BJP is likely to announce the name of former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi as the chief ministerial candidate soon," a BJP leader close to Sushil Modi said. ....... Sushil Kumar Modi, who is from a backward caste, is the most influential face of the BJP in Bihar and commands respect even among the upper castes, say some leaders. ....... However, the former Bihar deputy chief minister's disadvantage lies in the fact that two BJP leaders from the backward caste are dead set again .. .... "The BJP in Bihar is a divided house. To project a leader from either the OBCs or the upper castes as a chief ministerial candidate will antagonise the other group. The BJP is not in a position to project any one person against Nitish Kumar, who was declared chief ministerial candidate by the alliance of Janata Dal-United, Rastriya Janata Dal, the Congress and National Congress Party," said a senior BJP leader, who did not wish to be named. ....... In the caste-ridden Bihar politics, there are over half a dozen leaders from the upper castes and the backward castes who have staked claims as chief ministerial candidate of the BJP. "All of them are lobbying hard," the BJP leader said.
कुशवाहा को दिल्ली में मन नहीं लग रहा होगा। गुमनाम रहते होंगे। मीटिंग अटेंड करते होंगे तो कितनों को पता भी नहीं चलता होगा कि ये कौन हैं। तो सोंच रहे होंगे दिल्ली से पटना शिफ्ट हो जाते तो थोड़ा visibility बढ़ जाता। उनको कुर्सी भी खाली ही दिख रहा है। सुशील मोदी इंटरेस्ट नहीं दिखा रहे है -- क्या बात है? तो उन्होंने अपने पार्टी में unanimous resolution पास करबा लिया।
ये कोइ लालु यादव तो नहीं हैं कि जहाँ जाते हो वहाँ टीवी क्यामेरा वाले लोग पिछा कर रहे हो।
जब नाव डगमगाता है तो कितनों को पता भी नहीं चलता। कुछ को लगता है तैराकी का मौका मिल रहा है। देखते देखते कोइ सीपी ठाकुर नाम का तैराक भी सामने आ गया। ये ठाकुर तो आडवाणी से भी सीनियर लगते हैं। अडवाणी के गुट के तो नहीं?
पप्पु यादव तो जैसे Persona Non Grata बन के रह गए। ना नीतिश-लालु चाहते हैं और ना ही NDA वालों। उनका ground reality क्या है वो जाने वो और जाने उनका भगवान --- मेरे को नहीं मालुम। लेकिन लालु (the best Railway MinisterIndia ever had) ने बड़ी चालाकी से जंगल राज का बिल्ला पप्पु के गले में लगाके पप्पु को कोशी में बहा दिया। किसी को पता भी नहीं चला।
वैसे मेरा भी नाम पप्पु ही है ---- मेरे रिश्तेदारों को सिर्फ मेरा वही नाम मालुम है। पप्पु भगत। एक बार मैं जब हाई स्कुल में था तो एक दोस्त घर के बाहर आया पुछने। बाहर दादाजी बैठे हुवे थे। दोस्त ने मेरा नाम दिया: "परमेन्द्र।" दादाजी ने उनको भगा दिया: "आगे जा के पुछ। "
लेकिन मेरे को कोशी में मत बहाइएगा। राजनीतिक कोशी में। हम गंगा किनारे ही ठीक हैं। राजनीति की गंगा।
हिन्दी: देश के उप राष्ट्रपति मोहम्मद हामिद अंसारी पटना में पूर्व मुख्यमंत्री सत्येन्द्र नारायण सिन्हा(छोटे साहब) की 94वीं जयंती पर आयोजित व्याख्यानमाला श्रंखला पर पूर्व सांसद किशोरी सिन्हा और मुख्यमंत्री नीतीश कुमार के साथ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
At least when Laloo was not sure Nitish was the CM candidate, he had made it clear no one from his family was in the running, and he did not have a candidate in mind, all he was saying was the decision should be taken after the election results, and he was not opposed to Nitish. With Nitish contesting almost all the seats he already has in his kitty, he stands a good chance of retaining most of them. He might even engineer a sweep, and put RJD where the BJP used to be in his alliance. The ball is in the air in Bihar. Right now I am projecting JD (U) at 80-90 seats, and RJD at 50-60 seats and 10-20 seats for others like the Congress and the Left. But those numbers might come down some if the NDA manages to project internal cohesion and unity.
Jaitley's Goods And Services Tax alone should add another two per cent to the country's growth rate. That tax bill is prime recipe for the Dal Se Bada Desh sentiment. There both Nitish and the Congress have to make sense. If India can grow at 10%, it becomes that much easier for Nitish to take Bihar to 15%.
The RLSP also announced that the party would contest 67 seats and would hold public meetings in 125 constituencies ahead of the elections. Under its seat-sharing formula, the RLSP has allotted 74 seats for Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party and 102 seats for the BJP. The party has ignored the latest entrant into the NDA, former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular).
Sources in JD(U)-RJD combine said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s outfit will contest those seats it had won last time when it fought in alliance with BJP. Though RJD is likely to contest about as many seats as JD(U), it will get seats where BJP had won. ...... JD(U) had clinched 112 seats in 2010 Assembly election, BJP 94 and RJD only 22. Lalu will thus have the difficult task on hand contesting seats it had lost last time, while JD(U) will battle to retain those already in its kitty. ....... NDA sources said BJP will field nominees in almost all seats it had won besides some more, leaving anywhere between 55 and 70 seats for its allies like Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP, Upendra Kushwaha-led RLSP and its new partner and former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Aawam Morcha. ...... Almost all the seats the saffron party will spare for its allies are those that had been won by JD(U) last time. ....... The concern for BJP is, however, that Lalu’s core support base of Yadavs and Muslims is bigger and cohesive and has mostly stood by him even in the worst of times. Kumar’s base is relatively small but he believes his track record in governance will win him votes across communities.
BJP's ally Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) on Sunday passed a resolution demanding that its president and union minister Upendra Kushwaha be made NDA's chief ministerial candidate for forthcoming assembly polls in Bihar. ...... The resolution was passed unanimously at the party's two-day state executive meeting at Vaishali Garh near Hajipur, about 30 km north from state capital here, where the party also approved a proposal to contest altogether 67 seats in the assembly election ...... "LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan has withdrawn himself from being candidate for the CM post and our major ally BJP has so far not projected any name as CM face. We don't think that BJP will be able to decide any name in the next three months. Hence, the RLSP decided to offer the name of Kushwaha to be projected as NDA's CM face, because Bihar today needs a 'strong' face to effectively counter the CM candidate of RJD-JD(U)-Congress alliance," Singh said. ...... BJP is yet to decide on a CM candidate with many leaders in the party are of the view that it would be better to go to polls under a collective leadership with PM Narendra Modi's agenda of development. ......... In another resolution passed unanimously, the RLSP said that in the last 2010 assembly polls, the BJP had contested 102 of total 243 assembly seats. And LJP 74 seats. "As per the current political scenario and ground realities, both the parties BJP and LJP should contest same number of seats in 2015 elections and leave the rest 67 seats for the RLSP. It is natural claim of RLSP on the rest 67 seats. Hence the state executive committee unanimously decides to field its candidate on 67 seats in 2015 assembly elections," the resolution reads........ Political analysts say, the BJP, which is yet to finalise its seat-sharing agreement with its allies, is unlikely to concede to the RLSP demand of 67 seats
Exuding confidence that the BJP-led NDA would sweep the upcoming polls with a three-fourth majority, Paswan said the secular alliance and its leaders would be compelled to do 'Yogasana' ....... On the NDA's agenda for electoral success in Bihar, Paswan said the BJP-led coalition would come up with a vision document proposing construction of roads and bridges, and slammed Nitish Kumar for failing to undertake repair of dilapidated bridges on the Ganga in Patna and Mokama.
he is in the US "really to be in dialogue with a larger body of investors because the more the investment in India, the more it helps us in our growth process". He participated in a discussion organised by the think tank Council on Foreign Relations. President of investment firm Warburg Pincus and former US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner were also present at the event........ Jaitley said said there are economic reforms in the pipeline which can push the country's economic growth rate above the current 7-7.5 percent range. "Neither the government, nor the people, nor the industry whose representatives, some of whom are here, nobody is very excited about a 7-7.5 percent growth rate in India," Jaitley said during the discussion with Geithner. ......... the next two-three years are going to be very critical for the reforms. “Having covered this distance, the next two-three years are going to be very critical because the series of reform steps, which are in the pipeline, are all to be implemented," he said. ...... The Rajya Sabha has referred the Goods and Services Tax Bill a committee. He said this has shortened the windo of time required for the implementation of the key tax reform. "I now have to run faster to in order to catch up. If nothing unusual happens, hopefully I make it. So I am conscious of the time constraint,” he said. April 2016 is the deadline for the implementation of GST. ...... When asked if more sectors will be opened up for higher stakes of FDI, Jaitley said the government has reviewed FDI “in favour of opening out". "If you would expect these sectoral caps to immediately go up in all sectors, may be not but gradually that is the movement in that direction,” he has been quoted as saying.
China pushing the pet project of its president Xi Jinping -- Belt and Road Initiative, a grandiose $21 trillion project aimed at connecting 4.4 billion people. ...... the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor ....... Much of China’s pledged $46 billion investment in Pakistan is predicated on the CPEC. ...... Ask the Sri Lankans for example! Wherever Beijing has landed it has left a trail of loans and grants with high interest rates. Sri Lanka today owes a debt of anywhere up to six to eight billion US dollars to China for Chinese involvement in infrastructure projects on it soil. ....... Perhaps a fundamental question is who is going to need these new transportation networks the Chinese are proposing as most goods travel around the globe via the cheaper and logistically simpler sea route rather than rail or air transport. ....... Yes, rail route would cut down by half the time taken by sea transport but the question is how such an international rail network would be put in place considering different gauge systems, financial costs and an unstable security environment, to name a few.
Greater trade and people to people contact between Pakistan and China is a good thing. It will pave the way for eventually doing the same between India and Pakistan.
From the Laloo-Nitish in-fighting showing signs of a 2/3rd sweep by the NDA, to a Laloo-Nitish patch-up but the NDA still holding a 55-45 edge, to a 55-45 edge for Nitish after the Bihar@2025 clarity, now looks like it is the NDA's turn to split and possibly make way for a 2/3rd sweep across the state by Nitish. This has been quite a turnaround. But this is Bihar, give it more time. The ground situation will stay colorful. Right now, as things stand, I think it is 65-35 in favor of Nitish.
Looks like Pappu has become persona non grata, with both camps thinking it best to keep away from him in fear he might spoil their good law and order image. And if Paswan and Jitan are going to clash like this, whatever little advantage Jitan brings along with him for the BJP will evaporate.
In the caste-ridden politics of the state, there are over half a dozen BJP leaders from the upper castes and the backward castes who have staked their claim for being nominated as the chief ministerial candidate.
In a fissure within the NDA camp, the LJP on Sunday vowed to oppose five present and former MLAs associated with former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) in Assembly polls notwithstanding its decision to welcome Manjhi's outfit in the BJP-led coalition. ...... "We will put up our candidates against these five present and former MLAs as some of them had deserted the LJP in the past, while in case of others (rest) our candidates had lost by a narrow margin in the 2010 Assembly polls"
Paras said that he had already apprised senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi of its decision to oppose the five HAM (Secular) leaders in the coming election for backstabbing and deserting the LJP after February 2005, Assembly poll in Bihar.
In my favorite action movie(s), Bourne, the character Nicky says about Jason Bourne: "They don't do random. They don't make mistakes."
What if that is true also of Nitish Kumar? For the guy who was the top performing Chief Minister across India, maybe he does not do random either. There are conscious decisions you make. And there are subconscious decisions you make.
When people would ask him if he would become Prime Minister he would say, "मैं जिस बैकग्राउंड से आया हुँ वहाँ से तो ये चीफ मिनिस्टर का कुर्सी भी बहुत बड़ा है। इसकी कभी उम्मीद नहीं की थी।"
Look at the facts.
He was the first major politician across India to have called Modi a future Prime Minister. That is a matter of public record. He was on stage. Modi was sitting to his left.
His walking away from the BJP alliance made Modi dig harder. If Nitish had not walked away, chances are the BJP would neither have sought nor got a majority on its own.
