Latest news with #Kushwaha
Mint
3 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
Son Rise: Tejaswi, Chirag, Prashant are Bihar's new flavours as assembly polls may power a generational shift
Is Bihar ready for a generational shift in the assembly elections due in a few months' time? On the face of it, the answer would have to be in the affirmative. But it does call for a closer inquiry. Nitish Kumar is wobbly. A generation of Biharis has seen no other chief minister. As the 22nd chief minister of Bihar since February 22, 2015, having previously held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000, he is Bihar's longest-serving chief minister, holding the post for a record ninth term. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) super boss and former chief minister Lalu Yadav is a pale shadow of his best. After his October 2013 conviction in the Fodder Scam, he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha and cannot contest elections anymore. In addition, he has health issues. The third stalwart of this Mandal triumvirate, Ram Vilas Paswan, is no more. What comes in their place are their scions, in at least two cases. Lalu's son Tejaswi Yadav and NDA minister Chirag Paswan, son of the redoubtable Ram Vilas. Add to it a newbie Prashant Kishor, whose Jan Suraaj Party, may not win elections on its own but has an even more critical role to play – it can cut into the anti-BJP votes with precision. Not to be underrated is the not-so-young son of Jitan Ram Manjhi, Santosh Suman Manjhi, who at 50 is a sitting MLC and hopes to play the role of a king maker, should the need arise. Says Ashmita Gupta, member-secretary of the Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI) in Patna: 'There is no doubt that the younger lot of politicians' time has come. Tejaswi Yadav is drawing crowds and has a mase base. Both Prashant Kishor and Chirag Paswan have done their grassroot work. Let's admit that the younger politicians are well tuned into advanced data collection and technology to leave their imprimatur on the forthcoming Bihar assembly elections.' The other point is the traditional role of caste equations and vote bank numbers, which have dominated elections in Bihar revolving around three main players: the RJD, the BJP, and the Janata Dal (United) or JD(U), each enjoying the support of nearly captive voter bases. According to the 2020 Bihar Assembly election results, the RJD bagged the largest vote share (23.11 per cent) followed by the BJP in second place (19.46 per cent); the JD(U) (15.39 per cent), Congress (9.48 per cent), and the Left parties (4.64 per cent). Smaller players like Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), or LJP(RV); Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), or HAM(S); and Mukesh Sahani's Vikassheel Insaan Party, or VIP, also played a role in giving their respective alliances an edge. This time, their edge could be more pronounced. Notwithstanding the modern tool of political propagation, the young blood must constantly seek out new alliances in a fight, which is expected to go down to the wire. Tejaswi is trying hard to broaden its Muslim-Yadav vote base by wooing other castes such as the Kushwaha, Dhanuk, and Mallah from the Other Backwards Classes (OBCs) and Extremely Backwards Classes (EBCs). As part of this strategy, the RJD fielded many candidates from the Kushwaha or Koiri (vegetable growers) caste in the last Lok Sabha election and appointed Mangani Lal Mandal, a senior socialist leader from the EBC Dhanuk caste, as its Bihar party president. According to the 2023 Bihar caste survey, EBCs make up 36 per cent of the total electorate. The RJD is also counting on the support of its ally the VIP, which has a strong base among the Mallah or Kevat community in constituencies along the Ganges. The JD (U)-BJP alliance is not too badly placed either. In the 2020 assembly election, the JD(U) contested 115 seats but won only 43, while the BJP won 74 out of the 110 seats it contested. The partners flipped their positions within the alliance, with the BJP emerging as the senior partner after playing a supportive role to Nitish Kumar for nearly four decades. The BJP conceded the chief minister's post to Kumar to avoid any potential blowback from the influential EBC castes. 2025 promises to be no different. To broaden its voter base, the Congress – in wilderness since 1989 - has appointed Rajesh Kumar, a member of the Ravidas caste (Jatavs) as its Bihar unit chief. Says political analyst and former principal of Patna College, NK Chaudhary: "Just age is no criteria for winnability in Bihar or else JP and Karpoori Thakur would not have made an impact. Social alliances are all about caste. Whatever you do, elections in Bihar ultimately boil down to caste. Nitish has to be the face of the NDA despite the talk about his declining health as his support base is still intact.'' This is not to suggest that development is not an issue, Chaudhary says. Nitish Kumar has gained considerable goodwill among women voters thanks to prohibition and schemes like free cycles for schoolgirls, something that the BJP is keen to cash in on, because after the death of Sushil Modi, they don't have a state-level leader of any standing. There is no doubt that the younger lot of politicians' time has come. Ironically, Nitish Kumar's son Nishant Kumar, has been left behind in the sweepstakes. In a poll, which is heating up as D-Day approaches, modernity and feudalism mix and match beautifully in Bihar.
The Hindu
5 days ago
- The Hindu
CBI books railway officials for corruption in Gati Shakti project
The CBI has registered an FIR against senior officials of Northern Railways (NR) and North Eastern Railway (NER) posted in Lucknow and Varanasi for allowing the unhindered passage of irregular bills from a Gati Shakti project contractor in exchange for bribes, officials said on Tuesday (July 15, 2025). The central probe agency has cited instances of alleged corruption in the Lucknow and Varanasi offices of the Railways in the centre's flagship project, Gati Shakti, in Bhadohi, granted to Praveen Kumar Singh of Tangent Infratech Pvt Limited and Sikander Ali, they said. The project was conducted under the supervision of Vivek Kushwaha, Deputy Chief Engineer of Gati Shakti, who is posted in Northern Railways, Lucknow. The CBI has alleged that Mr. Kushwaha approved inflated bills in exchange for bribes, to profit the private contractor and himself. Besides Kushwaha and Singh, the CBI has also booked the New Delhi-based company Tangent Infratech Pvt Limited and an employee, Jimmy Singh, who was allegedly involved in one of the multiple bribe transactions listed by the CBI in its FIR. The probe agency has named several officers of NER, including Senior Divisional Engineer Rakesh Ranjan, Office Superintendent in the DRM office, Manish, Senior Section Engineer (Works) Abhishek Gupta, Accounts Section Head Yogesh Gupta, and Senior Clerk in the office of Assistant Engineer, Sushil Kumar Rai. The CBI FIR registered on "source information" outlines a pattern of corruption in the two railway departments. The agency has flagged a bribe payment of ₹2 lakh to Ranjan in June this year, which was delivered by Jimmy Singh, ₹50,000 to Gupta in April, routine payments to Manish, Gupta and Rai, the senior clerk for expediting the passing of bills.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Rahul has insulted Bihar people: JD(U)
Patna: JD(U) state president Umesh Singh Kushwaha on Monday criticised leader for calling the "crime capital" of the country, saying the remark was a direct insult to the 14 crore people of the state. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "Rahul has no political maturity, nor any understanding of the ground reality. It is his old habit to make illogical statements without facts to support them. For this reason, neither the people of Bihar, nor of the country, take him seriously," Kushwaha said. Responding further, Kushwaha asked, "Why does Rahul remain silent on the rising crime in Congress-ruled Karnataka and Telangana?" He accused the Congress of contributing to the 'jungle raj' era when it partnered with the RJD in the pre-2005 govt. "Back then, rule of law was absent and FIRs were not even registered against criminals who had political protection," he said. Defending the NDA regime, Kushwaha said, "Today, criminals are brought to justice swiftly. Bihar is known as a model of good governance and social justice, something the opposition cannot accept."
The Wire
05-07-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
NDA Ally Upendra Kushwaha Expresses Concern About ECI's SIR Exercise in Bihar: Report
Kushwaha highlighted the fact that Bihar is a state wherein a lot of its residents are working in different parts of the country but are voters of Bihar. Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) leader Upendra Kushwaha, who is also an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar has raised concerns about the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise being carried out by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Kushwaha has said that it should be ensured by the ECI that no genuine voter is left out from the voter list. "Revision of voter lists is nothing new and it has happened in the past too. In my view, the time given by ECI is too short. ECI should have started this exercise one or two years ago considering the population," Kushwaha told the Economic Times. Kushwaha highlighted the fact that Bihar is a state wherein a lot of its residents are working in different parts of the country but are voters of Bihar. There is a fear among the migrant voters that they might be excluded from the voter list. The same fear is also among a large section of people residing in the state. There are several people in Bihar who don't have any of the documents mentioned by the ECI. Now there is a panic among such people that their names will be deleted from the electoral roll," Kushwaha told the newspaper. By expressing concerns about SIR, Kushwaha has become the first NDA leader to question the SIR exercise. Opposition parties have been vocal on the issue, expressing their reservations about the ECI's exercise. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
Time of India
04-07-2025
- Time of India
Woman dies by suicide in Mumbai, husband booked for abetment
Mumbai: After a 23-year-old woman died by suicide, the Sakinaka Police registered a case of abetment against her husband based on a statement given by her brother. Mamta Kushwaha hanged herself at her home in Sakinaka on June 28. Her husband, Rajesh Maurya, 32, allegedly told her family that he had slapped her after she had an argument with his mother. Police are investigating further. This was Kushwaha's second marriage. She had divorced from her first husband after domestic disputes and facing cruelty. Maurya worked as a driver. According to the FIR, Kushwaha's family gave her furniture and five tolas of gold in the wedding. They also gifted a gold chain, gold ring and 4 lakh in cash to Maurya. The FIR said Maurya wanted to buy a house and took Rs 5 lakh from his father-in-law. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai After her marriage, Kushwaha would frequently call up her family and tell them about her husband's demands for money. Maurya had registered the flat in Kushwaha's name and had taken a bank loan in her name. He asked his wife to get the EMI payments from her father. But her father explained that he did not have any money left. Kushwaha complained of being beaten and taunted in her marital home. On June 28, Kushwaha's father received a phone call from the cops about her suicide.
