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" % 39 :8* Addressing a joint Press Taking a dig at the BJP, # conference with Paswan and Tejashwi tweeted that despite ays after the Lok Janshakti Bihar Chief Minister Nitish having achieved power through " DParty served an ultimatum Kumar, BJP president Amit the back door in Bihar and hav- on the BJP to end the logjam Shah asserted that the NDA ing 22 sitting MPs, the party $ over seat-sharing in Bihar, the will win more than 31 seats it agreed to give an equal num- NDA big brother made a major had in 2014 and expressed ber of seats to Nitish, who had % compromise by agreeing to confidence that it will come returned with a tally of only contest five seats less than they back to power in 2019. two seats. “Now you can under- % )%'0 7-3%8* won in the 2014 Lok Sabha The deal suggests a victo- stand the dire straits the NDA polls in Bihar, allotting 17 seats ry of sorts for the LJP, which is in,” the RJD leader said. n a stunning victory to the Janata Dal(U) and six to had adopted an aggressive Ending its 17-year-old ICongress’ Naman Bixal the LJP. The BJP will contest 17 stand seeking a better bargain alliance with the NDA, the Kongadi became the new MLA of the 40 seats in the State. from the BJP after the exit of JD(U) had contested 2014 Lok of Kolebira Assembly While the BJP and the Upendra Kushwaha-led RLSP Sabha polls alone. Following its Constituency by defeating his JD(U) had already agreed to from the ruling alliance. poor performance, it forged the nearest rival BJP’s Basant ry that the results were indica- contest equal number of seats, Shah said all allies will “mahagathbandhan” with the Soreng by 9,658 votes. The tive of the oppressive policies but till the LJP mounted pres- soon decide on distribution of RJD and the Congress and the results of the Kolebira of the BJP. “The people of sure, there were indication that Lok Sabha constituencies alliance achieved a handsome Assembly bypoll were declared Kolebira have given a big mes- the BJP wanted the junior part- among them for fielding their victory in 2015 Bihar Assembly in Simdega on Sunday. sage to the country. It is because ner to agree to contest 4-5 seats candidates in 2019. polls. Nitish, who had in the Notably, Jharkhand Party of the hard work of the work- only. However, the LJP clinched Paswan, whose son Chirag meanwhile taken over as the candidate Menon Ekka, who ers and officers of the Congress a good bargain as besides the had created a flutter with his JD(U) president, walked out of was supported by Jharkhand party, who must be congratu- six seats it will get to contest, comments seen as critical of the the alliance last year following Mukti Morcha and Rashtriya lated on the occasion. We will party chief Ram Vilas Paswan BJP and the Central corruption allegations against Janata Dal secured fourth posi- also visit those areas where we will also be sent to the Rajya Government, on Sunday Tejashvi, his then deputy. tion with 16445 votes. could not get votes to find out Sabah as a NDA nominee. claimed there was never a The JD(U) chief stitched a Rashtriya Sengel Party candi- why those people are unhappy The present strength of problem in the alliance as he 4 ' 153 $ $6 0 /5 6 7 89 new alliance with the BJP, date Anil Kandulna secured with us. The results of Kolebira the BJP in Bihar is 22, while the has nurtured the “NDA tree” $ 'P 0 ' which had been smarting third place by securing 23799 will decide the fate and direc- JD(U) has only two member in for five years under Modi’s under its humiliating defeat in votes. tion of the State politics,” he the Lok Sabha. The LJP had leadership. A Government 32 of the 40 seats in Bihar in Sabha, Nitish Kumar said it is Mahagathbandhan, Tejashwi the Assembly polls. The grand Kongadi, who was given said. contested seven seats in the under Modi will be formed 2009 even though results across a recognition to his long service claimed that the BJP gave in to alliance, of which the RJD is the the winning certificate by elec- Congress legislature party 2014 polls and barring one, all again, he said. the country had gone against it. to the country and also thanked arm-twisting by Nitish and largest constituent, was left tion officer after his win, gar- leader Alamgir Alam said on its candidates had won. The Dalit leader also “This time we will do better the BJP for the decision. Paswan. His remark was a ref- truncated and it suffered set- nered a total of 40,343 votes, the occasion that the people of BJP’s decimation in seat thanked Finance Minister than that,” he said. He was a Paswan is a nine-term member erence to Paswan’s son and LJP backs like former State while BJP’s Basant Soreng got Kolebira rejected the BJP once arrangements prompted the Arun Jaitley, who played a role BJP ally in 2009 before parting of the Lok Sabha and the deci- Parliamentary Board chief Congress president Ashok a total of 30,685 votes after 20 again as they showed their RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav to in brokering peace between his ways with it in 2013. He joined sion means that the 72-year-old Chirag Paswan recently writing Choudhary joining the JD(U) rounds of counting. As many as unhappiness through votes. take a jibe at the BJP for agree- party and the BJP. the NDA again in 2017. leader is unlikely to contest any to Jaitley and requesting him to along with his supporters. It 118914 voters had exercised They have given a clear man- ing to contest only 17 seats in In his comments, the Bihar Commenting on the deci- more popular election and will elucidate the benefits of received a shot in the arm their franchise, out of which date that only the ideology of Bihar in the Lok Sabha polls Chief Minister, who enjoys sion to send Paswan, present- be handing over the reins of the demonetisation so that his recently with the RLSP, a 3694 voted for NOTA. Congress can take the State to next year despite having won good equations with Paswan, ly a Lok Sabha member from party to his son. party could explain the same to former NDA ally, joining the Congress State president greater heights. 22 in the last general elections. noted that the NDA had won Hajipur in Bihar, to the Rajya On his part as leader of the its voters. alliance. Ajoy Kumar said on the victo- Continued on Page 4 O ! police had forced them to " # abandon their plan to visit the hill shrine and return. However, rejecting the ! charge, the police said that the #$ $ % & activists had came back on " '%&"( their own due to security issues, " adding that two cases were reg- % ) )** istered against the protesters , based on the complaint lodged #- by Manithi members. !% )** Earlier, braving several protests on their way, the 11- . /- 0!,! member team, all belonging to % ) the traditionally-barred age group, reached here by 3.30 am . 1 ,!,# through the Idukki- Kambamedu route on the % & Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. ' ; $ # O6 P $ $ 7 Of the 11, six carried the #$ 2 1 4! traditional irumudikettu which 3 1 ' ! is mandatory to climb the “pathinettam padi” (holy steps 3 4 % 2-1&- them away. leading to sanctum sancto- 2 - ! The women and the police rum). But, the women could ! # $ %%% " # ith just four days left for had to virtually run from the not move forward and had to $ & ' ' Wthe culmination of the scene to the safety of a nearby wait at the entry of the forest $ ' ($$ $ $ ) $ (% () first phase of the annual guardroom, abandoning the path for over six hours follow- $ ' $ * +, ' $ M N$/ ( Sabarimala pilgrimage, a group trekking plan. ing “namajapa” (chanting ' 0 1 2%3 4 #*+,- $*. * of 11 women of menstruating Defying prohibitory orders, sacred hymns) protests staged " age on Sunday made an unsuc- hundreds of devotees thronged by hundreds of devotees. cessful bid to offer prayers at the forest path here blocking The BJP and other right- - *5! the Lord Ayyappa shrine as the way of the women, who wing activists too staged nama- 6!! they were forced to return by reached in the early hours japa protests across the State - # protesting devotees. from Chennai. Police tried to including before the Cliff %-81 -&- ;<=:&*7- in Jharkhand. murder case. Babulal Marandi’s community leader who had Accompanied by police remove the protesters by force House, the official residence of '>8-7<8-3 ( With this victory, the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha had won the seat on a Congress personnel, the members of as they were not ready to Chief Minister Pinarayi Congress increases its tally to supported the Congress. ticket in 2017, resigned from '/ 0 Chennai-based women budge despite their repeated Vijayan in he ruling BJP comfortably 8 in the 82-member Jharkhand In Gujarat BJP candidate the party and also the 1234+ 7 empowerment outfit “Manithi” announcements to disperse Thiruvananrhapuram. Twon the bypoll from Jasdan Assembly. The bypoll was Kunvarji Bavaliya defeated Assembly, and joined the BJP. could barely move 100 metres leading to the arrest of some of Kerala-based Dalit activist, Assembly seat in Gujarat on necessitated after Enos Ekka of Congress nominee Avsar With this, the BJP now has !4 8 1 through the traditional forest the protesting devotees.