Bihar 2020: Race For Chief Minister

The way I read the situation, the person who will succeed Nitish Kumar as the Chief Minister of Bihar will be Prashant Kishor. Prashant will also lead a party that will have acquired national status by then.

Bihar 2020: Race For Chief Minister https://t.co/UFmjxEhDND #bihar #india @PrashantKishor @NitishKumar @SushilModi @Jduonline @BJP4India @AmitShah @BJP4Bihar @RahulGandhi @priyankagandhi

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) September 17, 2019

Video: BJP’s Chief Minister in Bihar | Plans to Corner Nitish Kumar

Several Aspirants From BJP for CM’s Post in Bihar According to the sources in BJP, nearly half a dozen senior leaders including three Union Ministers (Giriraj Singh, Nityanand Rai and Ravi Shankar Prasad) and three ministers in Nitish Kumar-led BJP-JD(U) coalition government (Nand Kishor Yadav, Prem Kumar and Mangal Pandey) are key CM aspirants in the state. ...... One after another, senior BJP leaders continue to embarrass CM Nitish Kumar. ....... Despite Sushil Kumar Modi’s attempt at damage control – when he called Nitish Kumar ‘captain’ of NDA in Bihar – BJP leaders continue to target the CM. Modi had said that Kumar is and will remain the captain of the NDA in 2020 Assembly polls....... But within BJP, another name that is being discussed for the post of CM is of Nityanand Rai, who belongs to RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s caste – Yadav. Rai is being seen as a leader with the potential to make dent in Lalu’s traditional social support base. "BJP has already made a dent in Lalu's vote bank. Now, the party has to project a Yadav leader in place of Nitish Kumar to get their support," said a BJP leader and former MLA ....... Earlier this week, senior BJP leader Sanjay Paswan had unleashed a political storm when he stated that Nitish Kumar has occupied the chief minister’s chair for quite a long time.

The Churning in Bihar: Stage Being Set For Nitish Kumar to Lead Opposition Camp as Tejashwi Yadav Mopes RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari argued that since there was no credible opposition at the Centre these days, Kumar should come to national politics and unite all opposition parties as he had all along maintained his secular image....... The Rashtriya Janata Dal wants Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar to lead the socialist-strain of political outfits in the absence of an acceptable towering leader among all the opposition parties in the country. ....... “There is a leadership vacuum in the opposition rank. I have watched Nitish Kumar in politics for nearly 35 years and I can vouch that he has the political guts and capability to become the Prime Minister of the country. He should throw the NDA yoke and become the opposition face at the national level,” Tiwari said. .......The Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) led by former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, too, has advised Kumar to walk out of the NDA and work on an alternative platform. “It is high time that all like-minded leaders should come forward and provide an alternative to the present dispensation,” Manjhi said. ....... Such overtures are being considered as an open invitation to the JD(U) chief to join hands with the RJD once again before the 2020 assembly elections and cobble up an alliance of like-minded opposition parties........ The RJD is mulling over such possibilities due to perceived disenchantment of party leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav with politics and his reluctance to lead the party as well as the opposition. He has been conspicuous by his absence since the party’s rout in the Lok Sabha election, where the RJD had for the first time drawn a blank.......

Senior RJD leaders too are mulling over getting rid of Lalu’s scions. Some of them have even proposed to elect or nominate a working president to run the party

...... Against this backdrop, it appears that stage is being set for a churning in the opposition camp with Nitish Kumar as the main protagonist before the assembly polls in some states next year. .......

On its part, the JDU has already opposed the Triple Talaq Bill and Article 370 in both the houses of Parliament. The party has diametrically opposite stand on uniform civil code and Ram Mandir and wants the two issues to be settled either through court verdict or consensus among the stakeholders

........ Though JDU is part of NDA at the Centre and in Bihar, it has decided to contest elections in four states of

Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir

individually to increase the number of votes polled in parliamentary and legislative elections so that it could attain the status of a national party by 2020. At present, the JDU is now recognized party in Bihar and Arunachal Pradesh........ A wily politician, Nitish has begun the exercise to expand his horizon beyond Bihar - at least in Hindi heartland and north-eastern states. He is attempting to draw a bigger line than the present regional leaders like Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati, Mamata Bannerjee and Navin Patnaik.

Why the BJP needs Nitish Kumar in Bihar On September 9, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC Sanjay Paswan said it was time for Bihar chief minister and the Janata Dal (United), or the JD-U, chief Nitish Kumar to move to Delhi......... "We have complete faith in Nitish Kumar's honesty, good governance and competence," Paswan told the media. "My only request is that Nitishji should also trust the BJP the way we have trusted him as chief minister for 15 years and let the BJP have one term [as Bihar CM]. Either Sushil Modi or Nityanand Rai can be given a chance." ......... Nitish is yet to respond to these statements, but the state BJP leadership has already swung into damage control. Bihar deputy CM Sushil Modi, the BJP's tallest leader in the state, tweeted and then retweeted that Nitish Kumar is the skipper of the NDA in Bihar and that he will "remain its Captain in next assembly elections in 2020". The purpose of Modi's tweets was twofold--to unruffle JD-U's feathers and to silence his saffron party colleagues......

nearly 70 per cent new voters have voted for Nitish Kumar. It means every second new voter has voted for Nitish Kumar

...... The new voters, Bihar's youth, are intelligent and perceptive and determined who they should look to for vision and leadership. They can differentiate between a run of the mill politician and a statesman like Nitish Kumar.......

Nitish Kumar has remained the fulcrum of Bihar politics since his party defeated Lalu Prasad's RJD in the 2005 assembly polls.

From then to 2019, Bihar has seen four Assembly and three Lok Sabha polls. And barring the 2014 Lok Sabha election--when Bihar was swept along with the country by the Narendra Modi wave--the winner had Nitish by his side in six of those seven elections. "As Bihar prepares for assembly polls next year, these details further confirms why Nitish Kumar is important for us," says a senior BJP leader........ Nitish's voter base is the numerically significant extremely backward castes (EBCs), which account for 30 per cent of his votes; and the Mahadalits (the most marginalised among the scheduled castes), which account for 15 per cent. Caste-neutral women, whom the CM won over with his landmark 2016 decision to impose prohibition in the state, form the nucleus of the JD-U's strength. These three sections make up over 45 per cent of voters in Bihar......... "Next year, the BJP may begin its negotiations for the 2020 assembly polls by demanding at least an equal number of seats. And at least a section of BJP leaders may create trouble if team saffron wins a higher number of seats," said a senior JD-U leader.

PM retains five ministers from Bihar; Nityanand Rai new face Speculation, however, was rife in the state’s NDA circle on Thursday that the PM would accommodate three from the BJP,two from the JD(U) and one from LJP in his new team........ The ratio so discussed was in accordance with the respective strengths of the three NDA partners from the state in Lok Sabha. BJP had won 17 seats, JD(U) 16 and LP six

Jitan Ram Manjhi refuses to accept Tejashwi Prasad Yadav as GA leader
As a Reward for Winning Bihar for NDA, Nityanand Rai is MoS in Home Ministry He was given the responsibility of the party in 2016 when the BJP was said to be divided in several factions and its morale was at an all-time low after having lost to the grand alliance miserably in 2015....... Shah saw in Rai the spark and ignored several senior faces in Bihar to lead the party.

Time and option fast running out for Nitish Kumar Amid such strained ties, Nitish is keeping a hawk’s eye on rebel RJD MLAs who have pledged “unconditional support during any crisis.” Besides, the JD (U) strongman has kept Congress too in good humour by not speaking anything against the grand old party

Doubts in people's mind on multi-party system: Shah come three days after he raised another controversy when he pitched for 'One Nation, One Language' to make Hindi as the national language.

‘RJD will have no alliance with Nitish Kumar’s JD(U)’: Tejashwi Prasad
Why Nitish, Mamata, Uddhav and Kamal Haasan need Prashant Kishor
No Arun Jaitley or Prashant Kishor by his side, Nitish Kumar struggles to deal with BJP The latest among the host of issues that have triggered rifts between the two is the BJP’s demand for a national register of citizens (NRC) in Bihar........ A senior BJP leader and minister in the Nitish Kumar government, Vinod Singh, wanted an NRC in Bihar to expel “Bangladeshi infiltrators”. The JD(U), however, dismissed the demand, saying there are no illegal immigrants in Bihar. ....... Four years later, Jaitley played a key role in negotiating Nitish’s return to the NDA fold........ Nitish, he said, was having an “unusually long talk with Arun Jaitley”, who was finance minister at the time. As Nitish returned, Jaitley played a role in convincing the BJP brass to give Nitish equal number of seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls........ “If I have had the opportunity to serve the people of Bihar, it was largely due to Arun Jaitley, and I will never forget it in my life,” he said. “Whenever there were differences, Arun Jaitley showed that they can be dealt with through talks.” ....... The poster war started Sunday, when a new hoarding was installed outside the JD(U) office in Patna with the message “Kyu Karey Vichar, Theek Toh Hai Nitish Kumar (Why think of an alternative, Nitish Kumar is OK)”. The hoarding was allegedly put up by R.C.P. Singh’s supporters. The RJD then installed its own take on the slogan: “Kyu Na Karey Vichar… Bihar Jo Hai Bimar (Why not think of an alternative, given that Bihar is ailing)”.

Opposing Modi govt on triple talaq and Article 370, Nitish Kumar signals a shift. Again The answers may appear unclear now but

Nitish Kumar’s challenge to Narendra Modi’s BJP at its peak is unmistakable.

Nitish Kumar captain of NDA in Bihar, hitting fours and sixes: BJP's Sushil Kumar Modi "@Nitish Kumar is the captain of NDA in Bihar and will remain its captain in next assembly elections in 2020 also. When captain is hitting fours and sixes and defeating rivals by innings where is the question of change," the deputy chief minister said on Twitter...... "The BJP respects its allies and their leaders. We abide by the coalition dharma. Expression of a personal opinion, or even that of sentiments of workers or general public must not be confused with the party's official stand," BJP state spokesman Nikhil Anand tweeted on Tuesday.

JD(U) rejects RJD proposal for Nitish Kumar to lead opposition parties at Centre “Thank you for the offer and accepting Nitish’s capability as a leader. But let me make it clear to all the GA [Grand Alliance] leaders that JD (U) is very much a part of the [BJP-led] NDA [National Democratic Alliance]. The... [NDA] is going to contest the 2020 assembly polls under his leadership in Bihar,” said JD (U)’s principal general secretary K C Tyagi. ...... Tyagi said the main reason of corruption, which forced the JD (U) to quit the RJD-led GA in 2017 remained. “Nitish Kumar’s USP has been that he has not compromised on three Cs [crime, corruption, and communalism]. Despite being with the NDA, he maintains the same posture and has differed with its alliance partner [BJP] on several issues...” ....... The JD (U) plans to contest assembly elections in Jharkhand, Delhi, and Haryana on its own even as it remains a part of the NDA. It has differed with the BJP and opposed the law that criminalizes the practice of instant divorce among a section of Muslims and abrogation of Constitution’s Article 370 that gave Jammu and Kashmir a special status.

JDU to contest elections on all Assembly seats JDU will contest elections on

all the 81 assembly seats of Jharkhand

, said JDU National President Sanjay Kumar. “JDU is the only party, emerging fast as a new option in the State. Our aim is to bring a drastic change in Jharkhand by inclusive growth of the people residing here,” said Kumar....... Jharkhand is looking back at a trail of broken promises, political instability and deep-rooted corruption as it completes more than a decade. The state has always made news for the wrong reasons, instability and corruption. ...... The nexus of politicians, bureaucrats and contractors are virtually plundering the State.

'No Shah, Sultan or Samrat must renege on' unity in diversity Promise, says Kamal on Hindi imposition ....... Referring to the country's National Anthem, Haasan said it was penned in a language (Bengali) that was not mother tongue to most citizens........ "Most of the nation happily sings itsNational Anthem in Bengali with pride, and will continue to do so." ....... "The reason is the poet (Rabindranath Tagore) who wrote the National Anthem gave due respect to all languages and culture within the Anthem. And hence, it became our Anthem," he said........ AIADMK leader and Tamil culture Minister K Pandiarajan had said if the Centre imposed Hindi unilaterally, there will only be (adverse) reaction and no support, not only in this state, but also in West Bengal, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, all non-Hindi speaking ones.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is set for another term, but what's next for him Assuming that Kumar leads the NDA in the 2020 election, it will be probably his last election for the chief minister's position

Nitish Kumar Gears Up to Fill Opposition Void, Targets Pan-India Presence with JDU Expansion Nitish Kumar has begun the exercise to fill the void and expand his horizon beyond Bihar. He is attempting to draw a bigger line than the present regional leaders such as Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati, Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik......... After deciding to stay away from the Narendra Modi 2.0 government at the Centre, the Janata Dal United (JDU) leader Nitish Kumar has decided to embark on his party’s expansion and capacity building plan at the national level to have its pan-India presence........ This opportunity has come to the JDU after the crushing defeat of Congress at the national level, electoral setback to RJD and its regional allies in Bihar, and perceived dwindling base of the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party in the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. ......

To begin with, the JDU has decided to increase its footprints in smaller states by increasing the number of MLAs and percentage of votes to attain the status of national recognised party by 2020.

...... the JDU resolved that it will not be a part of the BJP-led NDA outside Bihar but will contest the upcoming assembly polls in four states on its own to make the JDU a potent force beyond Bihar.......... “We will fight the elections in four states of Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir with all our might and strength and we will strive to achieve the status of a national party by 2020,” said JDU secretary general K C Tyagi. .............

The task of this capacity-building exercise has been primarily given to poll strategist and party vice-president, Prashant Kishor.

....... The selection of Jammu and Kashmir is important and indicative of party’s firm stance on core national issues because the JDU has diametrically opposite stand on Article 370 and Article 35A vis-à-vis the BJP. The BJP wants abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, while the JDU wants consensus among all stakeholders before taking any final decision on such contentious issues......... The party performed miserably in the last Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh assembly elections. It contested 12 seats each in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh but could garner only a total of 24,107 votes and all its candidates lost their security deposits. ........ In Karnataka, the JDU lost all the 27 assembly seats it had contested while its performance in Gujarat was below par as it could not open its account even though it contested on 38 seats........The JDU had earlier failed in Assam where it had contested on four seats in collaboration with AIUDF, whereas in Kerala it had contested on four seats under the Congress-led United Democratic Front but lost all seats, including two sitting seats. ....... At present, the JDU has one MLA in Nagaland and runs an alliance government with the BJP, while in Manipur it contested one Lok Sabha seat this time but lost. However,

in Arunachal Pradesh, the JDU has seven MLAs, the second largest chunk in the 60-member state assembly.

....... The JDU won 16 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar and secured 21.81% vote share this time but it is far behind meeting the criteria of a national party. It will have to wait till it garners minimum 6 per cent of votes in state assembly or Lok Sabha polls at least in four states....... With indication of Nitish’s discomfiture with the BJP, the alliance may turn untenable and a split cannot be ruled out before the 2020 Bihar assembly elections. Overtures on JDU-Congress-RJD alliance are already in the air, given the way the chips are stacked against allies of the mahagathbandhan.

Modi's Remarkable Political Maneuvers Are Nobel Peace Prize Size

Of all the heads of state on the world stage right now, Modi is the most remarkable. He promises to be the economic Gandhi of India, the Deng Xiaoping, the Lee Kuan Yew. None of the three - the Mahatma, Deng, or Lee - had to contest elections like Modi has to. And it is not just every five or four years. In India a France size election is just round the corner all the time.In that sense India is not just the largest democracy. It is a perpetual democracy. 

The true test of political leadership is if you can get the people to make short term sacrifice for long term gain, and Modi seems to have managed to do it. His grand moves of demonetization and the GST ("good and simple tax" in his words) might have dragged the growth rate down from a high of 7.9% to a still impressive 5.7% but without demonetization and the GST perhaps India could not have aspired for a growth rate of 10% or more. Now it can. 

But Modi does not have the luxury of time. The growth rate has to now go past at least 8% before he has to go back to the people in 2019 to renew his personal mandate. 

Job creation is a major hurdle. It will happen or not in the so called informal sector. Making available credit to the chaiwalas (tea sellers) of India is what will do the trick. 

On the political front Modi seems to be defying gravity. He repeated his total sweep of Uttar Pradesh. Nitish Kumar, projected by many as his most likely rival in 2019, has instead switched sides and joined him again. This would be like if John McCain were to join the Democratic Party.

Modi's challenge is to remain Prime Minister for at least 15 more years and give India sustained double digit growth rates, and then give the country a successor who will continue on that double digit path. All electoral victories however impressive will not mean much unless that economic objective is met. So far he shows all signs he will deliver. 

In his very first year as PM Modi successfully concluded India's border dispute with Bangladesh. The dispute made the Israel Palestine land dispute look like a piece of cake. Just recently he got China to step back from potential war, or at least a skirmish. These are Nobel Peace Prize size political moves. A prize that he deserves, by the way. But it will be Gandhiesque if he does not get it. There is no telling he will not fall into the white blind spot. This is Time magazine Man Of The Decade if you ask me. 

The thorn in his side continues to be the extreme right wing of his own organization. Hindu pride is fine. But anti-Muslim intolerance is offensive. If ever the BJP ends up in disgrace, that social weakness is going to be the reason why. It is the same God both Hindus and Muslims pray to. Five blind men are touching the same elephant. 

Nitish Kumar And Bihar

Nitish speaks at Bihar Development Dialogue (Video)



Nitish favoured for CM, but BJP could win: What the pre-poll surveys on Bihar say so far

According to the survey, the BJP-led alliance will win 125 seats in the Bihar Assembly elections thus crossing the 122 mark which is required to win a simple majority in the 243-member state Assembly...... The JD(U)-RJD-Congress grand alliance, according to the survey, will win 106 seats. ..... The ITG-Cicero survey also said that the BJP-led alliance, including LJP, RLSP and HAM, will win 42 percent of the total votes while JD(U) will win 40 percent...... even though the most-favoured choice for the post of Bihar Chief Minister was Nitish Kumar, the people of the state wanted a BJP-led alliance government...... an opinion poll taken by India TV channel said that the mahagathbandhan or the grand alliance of JD(U)-RJD-Congress is projected to win between 116 and 132 seats in the Bihar Assembly ...... The BJP-led combine has been projected to win within a range of 94 to 110 seats, according to the poll conducted by C-Voter ..... On the question of who is the best chief minister, a whopping 53 percent respondents favoured incumbent Nitish Kumar, while only 18 percent preferred BJP leader Sushil Modi and only 5 percent preferred Lalu Prasad and Shatrughan Sinha........ the Lalu-Nitish-Congress combine is projected to win 43 percent votes this time, while the BJP-led combine is projected to win 40 percent votes ..... during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the NDA comprising BJP, Paswan LJP and Upendra Kushwaha's RLSP won in 174 Assembly segments. The Lalu-Nitish combine could win only in 51 Assembly segments in the face of Modi wave.

Bihar Story Part II: Anti-Modi revolt which didn't work and other blunders of Nitish Kumar

Nitish Kumar did indeed overplay his hand. He stretched his sudden, written-in-a-hurry, I-hate-Modi script to lengths at precisely the time that Modi mania was viralling across the country. And it backfired. ...... When Nitish took his opposition to Modi to an obsessive level he calculated that a section of the BJP, inimical to Modi’s growing influence, would support him in his new political venture. While so miscalculating, he also overlooked the vulnerability of his Bihar model of development that was essentially funded by the state....... Till 2012, he was given to believe by leaders like LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari that there was hardly any scope for Modi to burst on the national stage. ...... In a dinner meeting hosted by Arun Jaitley, the then BJP president Nitin Gadkari famously remarked, “Nitish ji agar aap chahenge tab bhi vo pradhan mantra nahi ban sakte (Nitishji even if you want Modi will never become the Prime Minister)”.......

In Nitish Kumar’s assessment, the BJP had a limited capacity to grow and would be restricted way below the majority mark in the best case scenario.

..... This drubbing disoriented Nitish and his politics. One blunder followed another. ...... Having been deserted by upper castes and Mahadalits, Kumar found himself in a precarious position and compounded his blunders by choosing an alliance with Lalu’s RJD in desperation. This flew in the face of his own politics of the last two decades and the massive affirmative mandate he received in 2010 on the Lalu-Jungle-Raj plank. ...... Suddenly, the man who turned around Bihar has squandered the narrative of development and optimism he weaved. .... Nitish should have been in a commanding position, not on shaky ground.

The Bihar Story Part I: Only Nitish Kumar could've breached his fortress. And he did.

The best Bihar narrative can be found in Hindi novels of master story-teller Phaneeshwar Nath Renu. His two famous novels “Parti Parikatha and Mailaa Aanchal” contain stories of

numerous social mutinies that churn society underneath with deceptive surface-level calm.

........ The Kosi region that comprises Purnea, Saharsa, Supaul, Madhepura and Bhagalpur, is literally a forsaken land frequently visited by natural and man-made calamities. Renu’s stories and plots used to be set either in the pre-independence era (1940s) or post-independence (60s & 70s) wherein the intermediary castes were still learning to assert themselves under the Congress umbrella....... Bihar changed radically over the next two and half decades. The 1990’s that saw the ascendancy of Lalu Prasad Yadav under the banner of VP Singh’s Janata Dal. He was seen as an effective antidote to the dominance of the oppressive upper castes. ....... Lalu altered the political grammar of the state, invented new idioms and vocabulary that kept the caste-ridden and fractious Bihari society always on the precipice. The 1990-2000 decade saw a spate of caste killings, each tragedy yielding rich political dividends to Lalu Prasad. The combination of Dalits, OBCs and Muslims made for the biggest social chunk and it always tilted in his favour. ....... the radicalisation of society hardened. Upper castes and landlords floated their own private armies such as Ranveer Sena, Kunwar Sena ostensibly to protect their honour and unleashed terror against the hapless. ......... In 2005 Nitish Kumar’s emergence as the face of the BJP-JD (U) combine marked a definite deviation from a political order which promoted social acrimony at the expense of people’s welfare and development. ... Nitish Kumar’s experience as an able and no-nonsense administrator earned him laurels even from former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Since Kumar belonged to Kurmi caste (OBCs), he won over a considerable section of non-Yadav OBCs also to his fold....... Unlike Lalu he resurrected the state and institutions to restore people’s confidence in the government. Just after his thumping victory in 2010, Kumar aptly described his agenda as “governance, governance and governance”. ...... The absenteeism of teachers and doctors from schools and government-run hospitals was curbed. In words of Shaibal Gupta, a noted scholar on Bihar, Nitish Kumar managed to restore people’s faith in the state. In the process, he forged

a potent “coalition of extremes” that combined social elites and underdogs.

“This coalition of extreme was a powerful counterbalance to Lalu’s Muslim-Yadav combine,” said Gupta. ......

Even officials who worked closely with Kumar admit that the first five-year rule of Nitish Kumar saw a maniac frenzy to push development agenda. “There was so much to do and so little time,” Nitish Kumar used to say. A group of dedicated IAS officials was chosen and asked to work and monitor development projects round the clock. The state witnessed construction of a record number of bridges and state highways in those five years that saw for the first time growth rate surpassing even Gujarat. In terms of social indices, Bihar had shown considerable improvement with literacy rate and primary health.

...... A new narrative of optimism and hope was weaved around Bihar which could now tout its own model of development. This

prompted even RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to say that the Bihar turnaround was a greater feat than the success story of Gujarat.

...... Sitting in this impregnable fort, Nitish Kumar seemed well and truly set for a long innings. Only he could breach his fortress. And he did.

Gandhi’s ordinary greatness: Among the Mahatma's weaknesses, ‘racist’ is a kind epithet

Mahatma Gandhi never made a fetish of consistency. Far from it, he described his inconsistencies as the result of his gradual evolution as a man. ...... Gandhi went to South Africa as a failed barrister from India, and was determined to make it big. His sartorial preferences and tastes were carefully cultivated to match the British. Since he had studied in England, he easily made friends with the Whites. He made no bones about this in his autobiography. ...... Apparently, the problem with Gandhi is that he was never shy of his human vulnerabilities. Contrarily, he encouraged people to talk about it and do a threadbare analysis to put him down from the saintly pedestal. His disciples left him when he undertook his ‘celibacy experiments’ in the company of younger women. He did not try to convince them, but allowed them to choose their way. Just a few days before he was shot dead, Gandhi declared that all his experiments would come to a nought should he utter any word other than ‘Ram’ when confronted with violent death....... Gandhi was conscious of the fact that he might even err in his death. That is the precise reason that his guiding principle was that no man is good till he is dead. All thorough his life, Gandhi erred and corrected himself like an ordinary human being. He never claimed to be born with any attributes superior to an ordinary mortal. He was lampooned not just by the likes of Winston Churchill who called him as ‘half-naked Fakir’ but

was deserted even by his colleagues on the issue of Partition dismissing him as an idiosyncratic old man.

........ Gandhi died liked an ordinary mortal, just the way he lived. If one is determined to recount weaknesses of Gandhi’s life, ‘racist’ and ‘pro-British’ would count among the kinder epithets. Gandhi subjected himself to criticism of a far more serious nature. Therein lies his greatness.

Pre-poll survey predicts majority for BJP and its allies
'Lalu is already part of Bihar govt, so where’s jungle raj?' Nitish at the IBN Dialogue

Appealing to an aspirational section of society, he said that he had successfully laid the foundation of basic development on which the next round of initiatives could be taken. "If given a chance, we will work towards taking development to the next level," he said while dismissing the fear that his association with the RJD would derail the dvelopment agenda...... His nearly 50-minute-long address was heard in rapt attention by the audience comprising intellectuals, politicians, media and people from different walks of life. ...... Nitish said that in the past 10 years, he had resurrected the state, restored people's faith in law and order and focussed on the human development agenda. ..... He said he was determined to ensure electricity supply to all households in the state by end of 2016. Referring to rising people's expectations and aspirations of the youth, he said that his next round of development would address all major issues like skill development, WiFi facilities in educational centres, setting up of new medical colleges and nursing institutes. It was apparent that Nitish wanted to use the IBN Dialogue Bihar 2.0 , the first major political debate after the announcement of the Bihar election, as a platform....... Modi said that Nitish had decided to part company with the BJP soon after the 2010 Assembly election. He said that Nitish tried to follow the example of Naveen Patnaik to build his own base. “Nitish invented the excuse of Narendra Modi and decided to follow a course which was inimical to Bihar," Sushil Modi said.

Sushil Modi

लालू यादव से ज्यादा बिहार का नुकसान नीतीश कुमार ने किया: IBN7 के कार्यक्रम बिहार डायलॉग के दौरान

Posted by Sushil Kumar Modi on Sunday, September 13, 2015

Bihar: Advantage BJP

Right now it looks like the BJP will win Bihar. There appears to be a groundswell in favor of Modi. And this is a big deal. If the BJP wins Bihar now, Uttar Pradesh in 2017 will prove to be a cakewalk. With Bihar and UP in the kitty, the BJP will finally tilt the balance in the Upper House in its favor, and Modi might move much faster with the reforms.

Modi winning Bihar now will give new winds to his administration in Delhi. It will be like he won a national election all over again. He will get rejuvenated.

A Bihar victory would make UP a done deal. Expect the BJP to start taking serious looks at the North-East, and the South. Places like Tamilnadu might actually come into play in a few years. That is surprising for a party that might have been national in vote share, but was, for all intents and purposes, practically a regional party only a few years back.

The most popular politician in the world keeps on delivering.

Kejriwal's non performance has hurt Nitish. Go figure.



Unable to combat BJP, parties blame me: Owaisi

In Uttar Pradesh, for the first time since Independence, no Muslim MP has been elected. In Bihar too, the BJP swept the polls, I hadn’t contested in these polls, so how come these so-called secular parties lost? ..... “These people are looking to protect certain vote banks as a feudal fiefdom, whereas I’m the one who has everything to lose, like I lost my Masjid [Babri], I lost my people in communal riots, my way of life is being threatened by the BJP and the RSS. To accuse me of aiding the BJP, that too for pecuniary gain, is laughable,” he said. “If that was the case, then why did the BJP win in Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana? Was the AIMIM contesting? In Maharashtra, [where his party won 2 Assembly seats] we got 5 lakh votes for our 24 candidates, the rest of 55 lakh votes polled among the Muslim community are to be accounted for,” he said.

Have the scales tilted in BJP’s favour in Bihar?

The RJD leader must also be conscious of the potency of the Yadavs, perhaps the most formidable caste group in the Hindi belt, which was evident in Uttar Pradesh, when the SP came back from the dead to win eight of the 11 by-elections after its massive setback in the general election in which the BJP won 72 of the 80 parliamentary seats.

Related articles

• Can Owaisi break new ground in Bihar and reverse the past trend of the Hindi belt?
• Will Mulayam Return? Lalu and Sharad Yadav's House Call
• Kejriwal backs Nitish's bid for a new term in Bihar
• Mulayam's SP walked out sensing a losing battle in Bihar: BJP
• Have the scales tilted in BJP's favour in Bihar?
• Unable to combat BJP, parties blame me: Owaisi
• Why Bihar win is crucial for Modi and Amit Shah
• Bihar elections: BJP and allies to meet on August 31 to reach seat sharing deal
• Nitish won't stop whining

लालु यादव: मौसम वैज्ञानिक

वैसे तो राम विलास पासवान ५० घाट का पानी पिए हैं। १९८९ से जो मिलीजुली सरकार का सिलसिला शुरू हुवा तो बहुत समय तक कभी भी राम विलास पासवान विपक्ष में नहीं रहे। वैसे तो लालु भी एंटी-काँग्रेस से राजनीति शुरू किए, बाद में काँग्रेस का साथ हो लिए। सिर्फ अभी तक बीजेपी को अछुत माना है। राम विलास एंटी-काँग्रेस, काँग्रेस, बीजेपी सब का साथ कर चुके हैं। मोदी आज कह रहे हैं सबका साथ सबका विकास। राम विलास तो १९८९ से कहते आए हैं, सबका साथ सबका विकास।

राम विलास ने बीजेपी का साथ छोड़ा और लालु के साथ हो लिए तो कोई ऐतराज नहीं। अब राम विलास मोदी के साथ हैं तो कहते हैं राम विलास बहुत बड़ा मौसम वैज्ञानिक हो लिए।

वैसे मैं लालु का लोहा मानता हुँ। वीपी सिंह के नंबर एक शिष्य हो के उभरे। इधर लालु उधर मुलायम ने मुस्लिम-यादव कोएलिशन बनाया। मंडल वेव था। अभी डेवलपमेंट वेव चल रहा है।

आजादी के बाद के नंबर एक रेलवे मंत्री बन के लालु ने दिखा दिया। दुनिया भर में लोग आस्चर्यचकित हो गए। बगैर कटनी छटनी किए, बगैर downsizing किए रेलवे को profitable बना दिया। पश्चिमा लोगों का माथा चकरा गया। भइ, ये क्या कर दिया लालु ने? ये तो संभव ही नहीं था। ऐसा कोई फोर्मुला हमारे किताबों में है नहीं। कौन सा किताब पढ़ते हैं लालु? हार्वर्ड से ले के सब जगह स्टडी होने लगा कि पता करो लालु ने कैसे किया? लालु ने जादु का छड़ी घुमा दिया।

ताज्जुब की बात ये है कि लालु बिहार को विकास दे नहीं पाए। फॉरवर्ड कास्ट के लोग जिनके रिश्तेदार CBI में थे उनके माध्यम से लालु को तंग करवाया। ठीक से काम करने नहीं दिया। Caste Arithmetic को ही तख्तापलट करने में लालु को ७ साल लग गए। जभी मोदी राजनीति में आए भी नहीं थे तभी लालु मुख्यमंत्री बन चुके थे।

और एक नीतिश हैं ---- मैंने कभी सोंचा नहीं था बिहार में कोइ विकास कर भी सकता है। नीतिश ने छलांग लगा दी। इन्होने ७ साल जो दिए वो अजुबे थे। उस पर भी बड़े बड़े विश्वविद्यालय में स्टडी हुवे हैं।

तो ये दोनों जादुगर एक जगह आए हैं। पलड़ा भारी होना चाहिए। मेरा वश चले तो मैं बिहार में सर्वदलीय सरकार बना डालुं। उप मुख्यमंत्री के रूप में सुशील मोदी ने भी बहुत अच्छा काम किया। तेज दिमाग के हैं, मेहनती हैं। लेकिन वो बात शायद unrealistic है, और वो भी बिहार में जहाँ लालु कहते हैं "उड़ती चिड़िया को हल्दी लगाती है बिहार की वोटर!"

लालु बिहार में विकास नहीं कर पाए लेकिन रेलवे में तो बहुत विकास किया। नीतिश विकास में किसी से कम नहीं। बहुत कहते हैं नीतिश ने गलती की, बीजेपी से नाता तोड़ लिया। लेकिन जितने तीक्ष्ण पॉलिटिशियन रहे हैं नीतिश क्या वो गलती कर सकते हैं? मैं मानने को तैयार नहीं। ऐसे लोग गलती में भी सही करते हैं।

कुछ तथ्यों पर जरा ध्यान दिजिए:

• नीतिश भारत के प्रथम प्रमुख नेता हैं जिन्होंने मोदी को भविष्य का प्रधान मंत्री बताया। और ये बात सिर्फ मुझे मालुम है कोइ विशेष सुत्र से ऐसी बात नहीं। It is a matter of public record. Youtube पर आप वीडियो देख सकते हैं। मोदी बाएं बैठे हुवे थे। 
• नीतिश और लालु दोनों मंडल स्कुल के लोग हैं। Caste Pyramid दोनों को बहुत ही अखडती है। तो मोदी तो बिलकुल मंडल हैं। नेहरू पंडितों के नेहरू, और मोदी एक किस्म से देखिये तो मंडल नेहरू, अगर २० साल शासन किया तो नहीं हुवा? 
• नीतिश बीजेपी से अलग नहीं हुवे होते तो NDA वालों अकेले बहुमत लाने का बीजेपी लक्ष्य ही नहीं बनाती। लेकिन नीतिश अलग हुवे तो मोदी को stretch करना पड़ा, ज्यादा ताकत लगाना पड़ा। मोदी पहले backward caste प्र म हैं। १०-१२ महिना सत्ता में रहे लोगों को क्या गिनना? 
• और coalition era का खत्म होना भारत के विकास के लिए बहुत जरुरी था। एक बेबीलोन में है Hanging Gardens Of Babylon. भारत की राजनीती में १९८९ से वही चलता आ रहा था: Hanging Gardens Of Babylon. तो वो अब ख़त्म हुवा। भले बीजेपी ने किसी पार्टनर को फेंका नहीं है लेकिन सब को मालुम है बीजेपी अकेले बहुमत में हैं। तो सब अनुशासन में रहते हैं। 

तो नीतिश ने गलती कहाँ किया? २००५ से २०१२ तक नीतिश ने बिहार को जो दिया, वो तो एक मिशाल है। अब बिहार को आगे १५-२०% आर्थिक वृद्धि दर की जरुरत है। चाहे जिधर से आ जाए।

मैं Land Bill और Labor Bill दोनों पर मोदी के साथ हुँ। वो भारत को First World Country बनाना चाहते हैं अपने ही कार्यकाल में। और वहां तक पहुँचने के लिए वो Land Bill और Labor Bill दोनों की जरुरत है, ऐसा मेरा मानना है। लेकिन नीतिश और लालु दोनों विरोध में हैं। ऐसा क्या? दोनों बुलेट ट्रैन का विरोध करते हैं। ऐसा क्यों?

मेरे को लगता है कोई Global Warming और Climate Change का चक्कर तो नहीं? लालु सोंचते हैं अगर भारत भी विकास कर गया तो भारत में consumption high हो जाएगी और Global Warming और स्पीड पकड़ लेगी, इसीलिए देशको Hindu Rate Of Growth पर रखना ही ठीक है।

लालु यादव: मौसम वैज्ञानिक।

मजाक अलग। Seriously, अगर बिहार में नीतिश लालु जित जाते हैं तो Land Bill और Labor Bill पर एक बार घनिभुत तर्क वितर्क की जरुरत पड़ेगी। Easy hiring and firing का जो मॉडल है वो अमेरिकी मॉडल है। और वैसे मेरे को बहुत पसंद है। लेकिन जर्मनी में वो नहीं है। वहाँ लोग एक ही कंपनी के साथ अपनी जिंदगी गुजार लेते हैं। जापान में तो उससे भी ज्यादा। तो फरक फरक मॉडल हैं। भारत को कुछ ओरिजिनालिटी दिखाना होगा और अपना ही रास्ता ढूँढना होगा। लालु ने रेलवे में जो किया, बगैर कटनी छटनी के बम्पर प्रॉफिट का रास्ता, शायद उसमें कोई मैसेज है अभी के वादविवाद के लिए। Synergy का प्रयास किया जाए, fusion का प्रयास किया जाए। Let the democratic debate go full swing. Let there be open conversations. And then seek synergies and fusions to create uniquely Indian solutions.

यानि कि जुलाई २५ को पता चल जायेगा कि नीतिश जित रहे हैं या हार रहे हैं

यानि कि जुलाई २५ को पता चल जायेगा कि नीतिश जित रहे हैं या हार रहे हैं। उसी दिन बीजेपी बिहार को give up करने को तैयार? पार्टी के भितर morale तो बिलकुल गिर जाएगी।

Why a forthcoming rally in Bihar is so crucial for NaMo and SuMo

The saffron party is considering announcing a chief ministerial candidate in Bihar if a Narendra Modi rally in Muzaffarpur doesn't draw enough crowds. ..... July 25 rally at Muzaffarpur. ... if enough people don’t turn up at the event, the party should declare a chief ministerial candidate to insulate Modi from any possible debacle. ...... reminiscent of the strategy the BJP adopted in the midst of the Delhi assembly election campaign earlier this year. Initially, the party’s position was clear – there will be no chief ministerial candidate, and the Modi card will be used just as it was in Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir.

Labor Mobility In India

Narendra Modi struggles to overhaul India's labour laws

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is again facing dissent from members of his own camp who oppose proposals that would make it easier for companies to do business. .... The country's top 11 unions -- the biggest of which is linked to Modi's ruling party -- have called for a nationwide strike on Sept. 2. They are resisting his plan to merge 44 labor laws into four, a move that would simplify some of the world's most rigid rules for hiring and firing workers. ......... "If there's no satisfactory reply from the prime minister, the strike will continue," Baij Nath Rai, president of the Modi-linked Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, said ..... The union will oppose "tooth and nail" any policies by any government that go against the interests of workers, he said. ..... One of the most controversial provisions is allowing companies with as many as 300 workers to lay them off without government approval. The cap is currently at 100, while existing retrenchment compensation is three times lower than proposed. Another is an attempt to make it tougher to form unions. ...... The government and unions failed to reach consensus on key issues such as retrenchment, closure of factories, formation of unions and minimum wages at a meeting on Sunday ..... The country's biggest union is linked to the ideological parent of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party. While it differs from unions connected to the main opposition Congress party and Communist groups, they all see eye to eye in opposing Modi's overhaul of India's labor laws. ....... Successive Indian governments have failed to change the laws, fearing a backlash from unions and working-class voters. ..... Modi is treading carefully ahead of an election later this year in Bihar, one of India's poorest states and home to about 100 million people. He's already facing opposition from farmers over a bill to make it easier for companies to acquire land, opening him up to criticism that he cares more about big business than about the poor. ...... "Modi has been caught between a rock and a hard place" ..... "If he moves ahead he will lose votes. If he doesn't then investors will lose faith in him." ..... Economists and business groups say existing laws incentivize firms to stay small, hurting productivity and preventing the majority of workers from accessing legal safety nets.

About 81 percent of Indian laborers were "vulnerable" in 2010 because they didn't get regular wages

, the second-worst ratio among 81 countries tracked by the World Bank.

कुछ रास्ते हैं

• एक रास्ता है confrontation का जो मार्गरेट थैचर ने अख्तियार किया, कि जाओ बंद हड़ताल करना है तो करो, खुद भी थक जाओगे, लोग भी तुम से थक जायेंगे, और मजबुरन खुद ब खुद काम पर वापस आओगे। शायद ये मोदी और भारत के लिए ठीक नहीं होगा 
• दुसरा रास्ता है education का ------- labor law reforms देश और खुद मजदुर के हित में क्यों है इस बात पर व्यापक स्तर पर तर्क वितर्क हो। शायद ये रास्ता ज्यादा अच्छा है। लेकिन मुश्किल ये है कि टाइम प्रेशर है। 
• तीसरा रास्ता है इसको पहले स्टेट लेवल पर अमल करो। लेकिन ऐसा करने से एक पीढ़ी चली जाएगी। धीमी गति विकास क्या खाक विकास। 

रास्ता नंबर दो: Build A Strong Case, and market it hard. Be willing to compromise a little.

ये तो Land Bill के जैसा हो गया। भारत को double digit growth rate के रास्ते पर ले जाने के लिए दोनों की जरुरत है, Land Bill और Labor Bill दोनों की।

• जिस job guarantee को आप ढूँढ रहे हो वो job create कौन करता है? Entrepreneur . तो उस बन्दे का हाथ पाऊँ बाँध के रखे रहो तो वो अपना काम नहीं कर पाएगा, तो फिर वो job creation का काम कैसे करेगा? 
• इंडिया में labor mobility नहीं है इस लिए बड़ी तादात में foreign investment नहीं आ रही है। देश आगे नहीं बढ़ रहा है। 
• अगले जेनेरेशन की सोंचो। जो नौकरी आप कर रहे क्या ये चाहते हैं कि आपकी संतान भी वही करे कि उससे अच्छा करे? 

Land Bill stuck in the Parliament: PM Modi may have to rethink Jaitley as FM
Arun Shourie's critique is simple: Modi does not need a Palaniappan Jaitley as FM

The NDA government has some – and not inconsiderable - achievements to its credit. Among them: the passage of the insurance, coal and minerals bills, the small factories bill that will end inspector raj for small units, the successful holding of the coal and spectrum auctions, the NJAC bill, the rollout of the Jan Dhan Yojana, the decontrol of diesel pricing, and building further on the UPA’s Aadhaar-based and direct cash transfers scheme. The PM’s own contributions to foreign policy and efforts to highlight cleanliness through Swachch Bharat are surely commendable. ...... Even outside areas that need legislation, the Modi government has been simply too timid in deregulation and administrative reform - two areas that don’t require parliamentary numbers and are perfectly amenable to Modi’s decisive actions. ......... Jaitley's strengths are articulation, a good understanding of the art of political repartee, and a sound legal mind, as befits a lawyer. But his inadequacies are blighting the possibility of success. He does not seem to have an eye for detail, as a result of which his babus are leading him by the nose (consider the disastrous Rs 40,000 crore MAT demand on foreign investors and the complicated ITR form dished out by his taxman that would have taken tax terrorism to every home). His stringent black money bill will, if passed, make corruption worse, as mistrust rises to new levels in tax administration. ......... Jaitley’s political judgment can also be questioned. Not only did he misjudge his own chances of being elected MP by deciding to fight from Amritsar (where he lost, when he could have easily won from Delhi, his home base), he also led his party to defeat (along with Amit Shah) in the Delhi assembly polls. Worse, he completely misjudged the political opposition to the land acquisition law by provoking a counter-consolidation through the second-time issue of the ordinance. Bills are not passed by riding roughshod over opposition sentiment, but by smartly finessing their ability to do damage. ...... Jaitley's real problem is that he is a Delhi insider and hence less suitable to lead a revolutionary change in economic thinking under the Modi government. He would have been very good in I&B, Defence or External Affairs or Law, even education, but is probably the wrong man for the crucial finance ministry. ......... shifting Jaitley now would be a political blunder, but Modi clearly needs to give him three effective junior ministers who are all about execution and delivery. ...... Shah’s handling of allies has also been poor, if not disastrous. He has alienated the Shiv Sena by humiliating it after the BJP emerged as the biggest party in Maharashtra in the October assembly elections. He may be doing the same in Punjab, where the Akali Dal is trying to distance itself from the BJP. The party is losing allies in Tamil Nadu, which may not matter, but even parties who were not anti-Modi (BJD and AIADMK) are now playing hard-to-get. Only N Chandrababu Naidu and Ram Vilas Paswan remain strongly in the NDA camp, but they too cannot be taken for granted. ....... Maybe, just maybe, it is the Peter Principle at work: he may have been promoted to a level of his incompetence.

Arun Shourie critique offers pointers on what Modi must fix in his remaining 4 years

Arun Shourie, Disinvestment Minister and later Communications Minister in Atal Behari Vajpayee's cabinet, has offered a devastating critique of the Modi government's performance so far . While he has noted Modi's achievements in diplomacy and other areas, but his criticism of the Modi-Arun Jaitley-Amit Shah power troika is ultimately a critique of Modi's own style of functioning. .......... Modi has to understand the importance of compromise to get the opposition to pass important legislation. The fact is the Land Bill and GST cannot pass without opposition support. This means accepting delay as part of the process and working with the Congress and other parties to get a reasonable bill through. Here again, Jaitley has been a problem. The current GST bill is a moth-eaten one, and delay cannot make it worse, but possibly make it better. A moth-eaten GST bill may be better than no GST at all, but for a bill that has been more than 10 years in the making, surely another couple of months can’t do it harm?

Shourie slams Narendra Modi: 10 things he said

There is a big gap between perception and promise, and projection and performance. ...... Investment has not picked up. The government can't ignore India inc warnings. The government needs to wake up. Investors still have hope but the industrial sector is waiting for concrete moves. The growth claims are only to make headlines and the government only wants to manage headlines. ....... India needs labour reforms. There was no need for land bill controversy. Ordinances were ill-advised. They led to disruptions. BJP supported the previous Land Bill. Allies were not taken into confidence. Modi must embrace the opposition. No reform can take place without the oppositions' support. The opposition is ganging up against Modi and the BJP is frightening others. ....... The monogrammed suit was inexplicable, a critical mistake. Don't understand why he wore it.

Modi's California Tour in September; First PM to Visit Silicon Valley in 66 Years

Former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had visited San Francisco in 1949. ..... 15% start-up companies in Silicon Valley have Indians as founders or co-founders. ...... ''I hope his time is not monopolised by billionaires and big companies. Silicon Valley is so much more than that. It is the culture of start-ups and the enabling ecosystem that makes it what it is,'' said Vinod Dham, a former Intel vice-president. Dham is also known as the Father of the Pentium chip. .... His Nepal visit was the first bilateral trip by an Indian Prime Minister in the last 17 years. .... And with his upcoming trip to Israel later this year, Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the country.

Bihar Asssembly polls: RJD plans tonga poll campaign



Why a forthcoming rally in Bihar is so crucial for NaMo and SuMo

The saffron party is considering announcing a chief ministerial candidate in Bihar if a Narendra Modi rally in Muzaffarpur doesn't draw enough crowds. ..... July 25 rally at Muzaffarpur. ... if enough people don’t turn up at the event, the party should declare a chief ministerial candidate to insulate Modi from any possible debacle. ...... reminiscent of the strategy the BJP adopted in the midst of the Delhi assembly election campaign earlier this year. Initially, the party’s position was clear – there will be no chief ministerial candidate, and the Modi card will be used just as it was in Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir.

Amit Shah Is Right About Bihar 2015

At 11, Akbar Road, Amit Shah, the BJP's army commander, frequently refers to the great Battle of Buxar in 1764 AD while charting the party's strategy for Bihar. The BJP president believes that the course of Indian politics over the next 15 years will be decided in the battle of Bihar circa 2015.

Now let me go look up the "Battle of Buxar in 1764 AD." जो मालुम नहीं सो मालुम नहीं।



Battle of Buxar

The battle fought at Buxar, then within the territory of Bengal, a town located on the bank of the Ganges river about 130 km west of Patna, was a decisive victory for the British East India Company. ..... the combined army of the Mughals, Awadh and Mir Qasim consisting of 40,000 men were defeated by British army consisting 10,000 men. ..... The lack of basic co-ordination among the three desperate allies was responsible for their decisive debacle. ..... British losses are said to have been 1,847 killed and wounded, while the three Indian allies accounted for 2,000 dead ...... Immediately after the battle Hector Munro decided to greatly assist the Marathas, who were described as a "warlike race", well known for their relentless and unwavering hatred towards the Mughal Empire and its Nawabs and the Sultanate of Mysore. ...... The prime victim, Shah Alam II, signed the Treaty of Allahabad that secured Diwani Rights for the Company to collect and manage the revenues of almost 100,000,000 acres (400,000 km2) of real estate, which form parts of the modern states of West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh, as es. Mir Qasim, who was not a general, was quietly replaced. He also received a small share of the total land revenue, initially fixed at 2 million rupees. ....... The Treaty of Allahabad heralded the establishment of the rule of the East India Company in one-eighth of India proper with a single stroke. The battles of Plassey and Buxar secured a permanent foothold for the British East India Company in the rich province of Bengal, and secured its political ascendancy in the entire region. Buxar should be seen in conjunction with the third battle of Panipat in January 1761 in terms of its impact on consolidating British presence in north-east India. By the treaty of 1752, the Marathas had essentially taken over administration of all the subahs of the Mughal empire, and had established their right to collect Chauth across these subahs. In return, they would protect the north-west frontier of the Mughal empire from Afghan invasion. This resulted in nine years of Maratha-Afghan struggle to establish control over the empire, and the subah of Punjab, which was claimed by both. However, due to the Marathas' defeat at the third battle of Panipat, and their subsequent ten-year hiatus from North Indian affairs, the British were able to establish a foothold in North Indian affairs. Buxar was an important step in that direction. ....... It should also be noted that when the Marathas finally did send a large force back into North India in 1771, they were able to persuade Shah Alam II to leave British protection and enter Maratha protection. They then established Maratha regency over Delhi, which they essentially held till their defeat in the Second Anglo-Maratha War of 1803.

Essay on the The Battle of Buxar (1764 AD)

The Battle of Buxar was significant event in the rise of British rule in India. The foundation of the British Empire in India which was led by Clive at Plassey was strengthened at Buxar. The Battle of Buxar was the outcome of the clash between the British and Mir Kasim, the Nawab of Bengal. ...... Mir Kasim was the most efficient of all Nawabs of Bengal from 1756 onwards. He suppressed the rebellious zamindars of Bengal and Bihar, who had challenged the authority of the Nawab. Unlike his predecessor Mir Jafar, he always tried to maintain his position and dignity by keeping himself away from the British influence. For that purpose he transferred his capital from Murshidabad to Monghyr. ....... To strengthen his power he organized his army in the same way as the Europeans did. He made arrangements for the manufacture of fire arms at Monghyr with a view to equipping his army adequately. He wanted to remain at a safe distance from Calcutta so that there would be less of supervision and interference from the British authority. He wanted to develop an army with a view to overthrowing the power of British. This attitude of Mir Kasim incurred displeasure of the British. ....... To avenge this defeat Mir Kasim ordered a general massacre of all the English prisoners of Patna. There after he fled to Oudh to make a common cause with Shuja-ud-daula, the Nawab of Oudh, and the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam. These three people formed a confederacy against the British. After the flight of Mir Kasim that English immediately placed the aged Mir Jafar on the throne of Bengal.

What was the reason for the Battle of Buxar?

Mir Qasim was an independent ruler and was the strongest and ablest of all Nawabs. ..... Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daulah and Shah Alam II joined hands to fight against the English to establish their sovereignty over the whole of Bengal and reduce the power of the British.

इनका तैयारी देखो:

"......

the election strategy for Bihar is more micro-detailed than any attempted in an Indian election so far

. "I have a plan for every ward in the 243 seats of the state. For the last six months, my panna pramukhs have been going door to door in each village and mobilising support," he says of the party workers who identify and canvass among the electorate as per the voter's list. "In every village we know the houses that are likely to support us, who is undecided, and who is opposed to us." ....... He then shows an Excel spreadsheet with detailed break-up of the caste composition of voters in every assembly seat. Next to each village is a list of local and central leaders being sent to canvass there. Leaders are picked on the basis of their caste, and their likely appeal among the dominant caste of that particular seat. Shah claims he has a plan for every seat for every day of the next two months. Every evening, his office receives an update on the day's activities and the response among the voters. ....... In Patna, local leaders say the party has, on average, reached a strength of nearly 27,000 members in each constituency. The strategy now is simple, they say: make each of these members, along with their families, vote. The BJP is also welcoming the modern while retaining its grip on the traditional. Seen conventionally as a party of traders, the urban middle class, and upper castes, this time it is also flaunting OBC partners such as Upendra Kushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party as well as Dalit leaders such as Jitan Ram Manjhi and Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party. Bowing to the caste considerations of Bihar politics, it is projecting Narendra Modi, the "development man", as a backward caste leader. ...... To keep up with the times, the party has categorised 6 million mobile phone owners in the state as active BJP supporters. These, says a state BJP leader, are people who sent an SMS to the BJP call centre when asked to respond-"Those who have sent us an SMS will surely vote." ......... As the countdown draws near, Shah's team has divided Bihar's 243 assembly seats into three categories, and earmarked specific campaign strategies. The first are the seats that the BJP traditionally dominates. Here the strategy is to spend minimal time and effort and ensure that the morale of the cadre stays high and local leaders maintain a constant connect with the voters. The second, and the most important, category is the seats where the party expects to face pitched battles. The NDA and the Janata alliance are equally strong on paper in these constituencies, and the battle can go either way. Shah has rolled out the heavy artillery of senior BJP leaders for these seats. Special emphasis is being given to candidate selection for these seats. The NDA, to give one instance, plans to put up mostly non-Yadav candidates in case the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) fields a strong Yadav candidate for a seat. Conversely, the party plans to field Yadav candidates for seats where the Janata Dal (United) has a non-Yadav or Kurmi candidate. In a caste cauldron like Bihar, the idea is to ensure that the BJP fields candidates whose caste unites the voters of castes opposed to that of the candidate put up by the Janata alliance. The third category comprises seats which the BJP has little chance of winning. For these, the party is working on a strategy to split the ranks of its opponents by propping up rebel candidates, and by allying with frenemies such as Pappu Yadav's Jan Adhikar Party....... Like Major Hector Munro of the East India Company in the Battle of Buxar, Amit Shah too realises that he is up against a numerically superior force."

मेरा reading है अभी: 60-40. Advantage BJP. How many election rallies Narendra Modi addresses will be a major factor in if the gulf is further widened. 

How Nitish Lost Momentum

The Next Chief Minister Of Bihar?
Sushil Modi
Janakpur Patna Kolkata Industrial Corridor
Sushil Modi In Janakpurdham
Advantage Sushil Modi
सुशील मोदी क्या कह रहे हैं?
बिहार के उभरते चेहरे
Bihar Is Now 55-45

English: Bihar Districts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Upto coining the phrase Bihar@2025, he had it. Laloo had just come around. And his momentum was reflected in the in-fighting that had started in the BJP camp.

But then. Nitish has made no effort to elaborate on Bihar@2025. What is it? What is the roadmap? What is the vision? Just one word will not do. He might have organized a conclave, called in top minds in Bihar to pontificate. वैसे ही announce कर के छोड़ दिया। पुल का उदघाटन कर दिया, पुल बनाया नहीं।

Also, Laloo has gone to his old ways by haggling on what seats he should get. He wants to get most of the Yadav-Muslim seats. Whereas a good point to start would have been to let Nitish have 100 of the 112 seats he already has in his dicky.

Right now it is advantage BJP: 55-45.

The biggest mistake Nitish made was he took Advani's bait. When Advani warned of a possible "emergency," Nitish plunged head in and took a bite. That act is not Bihar@2025. A Bihar@2025 vision statement is one that makes peace with Narendra Modi being at the helm in Delhi, not because he is the better candidate, that is irrelevant, but because he is the choice of the people of Bihar. लोकतंत्र का मैंडेट है। जनता जनार्दन होती है। अगर आज नरेन्द्र मोदी दिल्ली में बैठे हैं तो बिहारियों का सबसे बड़ा योगदान है। उत्तर प्रदेश was a low hanging fruit, Bihar was the real battle in 2014.

It is like this. Laloo was doing excellent as Railway Minister but he had very few MPs. That is when he started saying how he wants to be PM and all. And Rahul Gandhi got rid of him. You don't become PM with 10 MPs, or 20. You have to self-assess, or Rahul is going to do it for you.

अभी नीतिश opposition लीडर बनने के रास्ते पर चल रहे हैं। सुमो का पलड़ा भारी पड़ गया है।

Grand coalition in Bihar has failed, says BJP

He said that JD(U) leader and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s slogan, “Barta Bihar, fir ayenge Nitish”, will now turn into “Darta bihar, ab nahin Nitish”.

Janata Parivar a Damp Squib: Amit Shah After BJP's Win in Bihar Legislative Council Elections

Mr Shah said, "The countdown to BJP's victory in Bihar has started today. The BJP-led NDA has won 13 out of 24 seats while it earlier held only five seats. There was a lot of hype around Janata Parivar in Bihar but people have proved that it is a damp squib."

BJP Deals Blow to Nitish-Lalu in Legislative Council Elections Months Ahead of Bihar Polls

As the BJP celebrated, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said, "This was not an election where the common people vote. It was a council election. If the BJP wants to be so happy about it, let them be. They anyway like to live in this fantasy world." ..... "This is not a semi-final to the assembly elections," said a spokesperson of his Janata Dal United. ..... Elected members of the assembly and local bodies like panchayats vote in the legislative council elections. ...... The JDU, which has won five of the alliance's 10 seats, reportedly assesses that Lalu Yadav, who has won four, has not been successful in transferring his votes to the alliance. That will be nagging worry as the assembly elections approach.

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