Janata Dal-United (JDU) leader Rajiv Ranjan, popularly known as Lalan Singh, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi today (February 2) in Delhi.
In a post on X, Singh posted pictures of him greeting Modi at his office and described it as a courtesy meeting.
The Lok Sabha MP had been a bitter critic of the central government and was considered instrumental in his party's decision to snap its ties with the BJP in 2022. He was the JD (U) president before Kumar took over from him in last December. The regional party joined hands with the BJP for yet another time recently after walking out of the opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A.
There was no official word on the details of the meeting which came amid the perceived hiccups involving his party and the ally BJP in the expansion of the state's council of ministers and allocation of portfolios.
Besides Kumar, eight ministers, including three each from the JD (U) and the BJP, were sworn in on January 28. However, portfolios have not been allocated yet to any of them. A source said an expansion of the ministry may take place next week and then portfolios will be allocated.
Jitan Ram Manjhi on cabinet expansion in Bihar:
Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi today (February 2) said that we have been in politics for 44 years. Whenever a Cabinet is formed in Bihar, the departments are usually divided or expanded by the evening of the same day.
Manjhi said the 'Mahagathbandhan' people were offering me the post of Chief Minister in Bihar and they had a complete discussion on this topic with my family members.
"Jitan Ram Manjhi can be poor but cannot be dishonest. If someone thinks that they can offer me big amount for a post then it is only their misunderstanding," HAM chief told media on Friday.
If cabinet expansion will be done by February 5 in the state then there will be no delay in the process.
"We want two ministerial posts, an independent minister has been given a ministerial post, in Magadh one post has been given to a Scheduled Caste (SC) then one post should also be given to an upper caste. We have Anil Singh as a strong leader," Manjhi said.
"We had talked to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he said that it seems difficult but making the difficult task easy is not a big problem for Amit Shah," the HAM chief added.
Nitish Kumar led NDA government to seek trust vote on February 12:
The newly formed NDA government in Bihar, headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, will seek the trust vote on February 12, the inaugural day of the budget session, according to a revised notification issued on the matter on Thursday (February 1).
Earlier, the less-than-a-week-old government was scheduled to seek the vote of confidence on February 10. However, according to a fresh notification, the session will now commence on February 12 which will also witness the governor’s address to a joint session of members of both Houses.
JD(U) president Nitish Kumar on January 28 took oath as Chief Minister of Bihar for a record ninth time, ditching the Mahagathbandhan and the opposition bloc INDIA and forming a new government with the BJP, which he had dumped less than 18 months ago. The election of a new Speaker, who would succeed Awadh Bihari Choudhary of the RJD, is also scheduled on February 12 and so is tabling of the state Economic Survey.
The budget which was earlier slated for tabling on February 12, will now be presented a day after. The session will come to a close on March 1 after eleven working days. It is likely to be a stormy budget session as the NDA has moved a no-confidence motion against the Speaker (of the RJD), who has not resigned so far.
Hectic lobbying is on for the posts of the Speaker and ministers.
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