All NDA candidates in Bihar for Rajya Sabha polls will win by huge margins: JD(U)
Patna (PTI): JD(U) national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha asserted that all NDA candidates in Bihar for the Rajya Sabha polls, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, will "win by huge margins".
Jha made the assertion on Saturday, ahead of the March 16 polls.
Six candidates -- five from the ruling NDA and one from the opposition -- are in the fray for five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar. Among those contesting are Kumar and BJP national president Nitin Nabin.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, Jha said, "We don't know what opposition leaders are claiming about the outcome of Rajya Sabha polls in Bihar... Let me make it very clear that all NDA candidates in the Rajya Sabha polls will win by huge margins."
The NDA alliance partners in Bihar on Saturday held separate meetings with their respective MLAs to discuss the strategy ahead of the polls.
While the state BJP's core committee meeting was held at the party office in Patna, Union minister Chirag Paswan's LJP (RV) also called a separate meeting of its MLAs. Union minister Harsh Malhotra and Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma, who are central observers for the Rajya Sabha polls in Bihar, were present in both meetings.
Another such meeting took place at the residence of Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha in the state capital. Kushwaha, an NDA candidate, is seeking a second consecutive term in the Upper House of Parliament.
Speaking to reporters after the BJP's state core committee meeting, Bihar minister Dilip Jaiswal, said, "The meeting was called to train newly elected party MLAs about voting in the Rajya Sabha polls."
Another crucial meeting of all NDA MLAs will be held at the official residence of senior JD(U) leader and Bihar Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary in the state capital on Sunday.
Besides Nabin and Kumar, other NDA candidates in the fray are Union minister Ram Nath Thakur of the JD(U), who aims at a hat-trick, Kushwaha, and BJP state general secretary Shivesh Kumar, a former MLA, hoping to make his debut in Parliament.
RJD's Amarendra Dhari Singh, an MP and businessman-turned-politician, is also in the fray. The RJD held two of the five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar for which polls are being held. But in view of its decimation in the 2025 assembly polls, where it managed only 25 seats, the RJD chose to contest only one seat.
The NDA enjoys a brute majority in the assembly, though its tally of 202 in the 243-member House falls three short of the number needed to secure all five Rajya Sabha seats.
To win a Rajya Sabha seat, one needs the support of at least 41 MLAs in the 243-member Bihar Assembly.
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Kerala polls: LDF pledges Rs 3,000 pension; jobs, growth push in election manifesto
Kozhikode (Kerala) (PTI): Kerala's ruling LDF on Thursday unveiled its Assembly election manifesto, promising a mix of welfare and development measures aimed at improving people's lives across the state. The document was released by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here.
The highlights of the manifesto include a commitment to eliminate absolute poverty in the state, a hike in welfare pensions to Rs 3,000 per month, and efforts to ensure proper healthcare and support systems at the local level.
The Left government had recently announced that extreme poverty had been eliminated in the state and increased the welfare pension from Rs 1600 to Rs 2000.
In its current manifesto, the CPI(M)-led LDF says it plans to identify around five lakh of the poorest families and help them rise above poverty through targeted support.
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Special focus will be given to vulnerable groups such as the Scheduled Castes, fisherfolk, and Antyodaya beneficiaries.
The LDF has also promised better care for the elderly and bedridden patients.
Welfare pensions are set to be increased to Rs 3000 per month, and efforts will be made to ensure proper healthcare and support systems at the local level.
For the youth, the manifesto focuses on employment.
It promises campus placements for students completing their studies and the expansion of skill training programmes. A "Back to Campus" initiative will help job seekers gain practical skills linked to employment opportunities.
Women's employment is another major focus. The LDF aims to increase the participation of women in the workforce to 50 per cent. Support systems such as safe travel, childcare, and skill training will be strengthened to help women take up jobs.
On the development front, the manifesto talks about boosting industries, creating jobs, and attracting investments worth Rs 2 lakh crore over five years. New industrial corridors and innovation hubs are also planned.
Elections to the Kerala Assembly, which has 140 seats, will be held on April 9.
