Patna
Former Director General of Bihar Police Gupteshwar Pandey on Saturday made an abortive bid to get confirmation for JDU candidature. Although he met JDU national president and CM Nitish Kumar, the latter remained non commital. Pandey went to JD(U) office on Beerchand Patel road and had a brief meet with Nitish who was engaged in individual meets with party workers from different districts for tickets.
Pandey who called himself as a shishya (disciple) of Nitish Kumar said he had come to meet the chief minister to thank him for his support during his tenure as the head of Bihar police. He also said he would announce his decision to join the party and the constituency from where he may contest. "It is still undecided," he said after meeting the JDU president.
Pandey is expected to start his campaign on October 1 at Buxar. He told his supporters that he would be visiting Buxar and Begusarai next week. He is a native of Buxar and served as an SP in Begusarai. Buxar had been traditionally a Brahmin dominated constitutency. In the past, candidates elected from Buxar have been Brahmins. Former minister Jagnaraian Trivedi and his father were elected on Congress tickets half a dozen times. Later, Sukhda Pandey, a member of the first national executive committee of BJP, was elected thrice since 1980.
Pandey had tried to contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2009 and tendered his resignation. Hwever, he later withdrew it when he was denied a ticket.
Pandey is putting up a series of speeches on his achievements through social media. One of his supporters, Deepak Thakur, has even released a cassette named 'DGP Robin Hood' in local dialect which has become popular in the state.
New regional parties set to enter political fray
It seems to be a direct fight between the ruling BJP-led NDA and the RJD-led Opposition Grand Alliance. However, in these polls several rookie parties and groupings will also be in the political fray. One such grouping is the Left which had to be content with fewer seats in the previous polls. Many other outfits will also come before the voters after having fought previous elections in alliance with other parties. These include the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), Janata Dal (Rashtrawadi), Jantantrik Vikas Party (JVP) and others.
Aid for women, shelter for homeless: CM unveils scheme
Patna: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar appears to be relying on his winning mantra of "good governance" yet again, as he outlined the second phase of 'saat nischay' (seven resolves), which he plans to implement if voted to power in the assembly polls. Elections will be held in three phases in Bihar on October 28, November 3 and November 7. The results will be announced on November 10. Kumar, who had emerged victorious in 2015 polls, had announced the Rs 2.7-lakh-crore 'Saat Nischay' scheme just days ahead of the elections. Electricity, sewage connection, toilets, piped drinking water and metallic roads were some of the components of the scheme. Back then, his party JD(U) and the BJP were rivals, and the announcement was made to counter PM Modi's Rs 1.25 lakh crore special package for Bihar.
The JD(U) chief, Kumar, said the new 7-point plan would include programs to enhance the skill of youths, promote entrepreneurship among women, provide irrigation facilities to each farmland and additional health facilities for people. Meanwhile, Congress held talks with RJD to decide on the seats to be fought by allies in GA, said Avinash Pande, party’s screening panel chairman.
Tejashwi, Tej Pratap, Pappu Yadav booked
RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, his elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav, Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) leader Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav have been booked in poll-bound Bihar for taking out rallies here to protest against the contentious farm bills without permission and violating the COVID-19 protocol. The three were booked on Friday along with 150 others and an FIR was lodged at the Kotwali police station on the basis of a complaint by the magistrate deputed to oversee the situation, the police said. -Agencies
