As they waited for Jharkhand governor M.O.H.

The jigsaw puzzle of Jharkhand’s politics came together as before when the BJP and the JMM rejoined hands on Tuesday to form a government under the BJP’s leadership three months after the two parties had bitterly parted ways and forced the Centre to impose President’s Rule in the state.

LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan on Tuesday said the Allahabad high court’s verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit, expected to come later in September, could cause “extreme disturbances” in poll-bound Bihar and security arrangements must be heightened before the ruling came.

Despite the Mao-ists’ assurance that they will release the three Bihar policemen held hostage for the past eight days, there was no trace of the three on Sunday and uncertainty grew over their lives.

The communalism bogey looked ready to enter Bihar’s election campaigns in a big way after Congress in-charge for the state and Union minister Mukul Wasnik on Sunday chastised chief minister Nitish Kum

The Maoists, who took four Bihar policemen hostage a week ago and killed one of them, on Saturday got a strong, credible offer for negotiations from the Nitish Kumar-led government at the end of an all-party meeting convened to seek ways to secure the safe release of the three living hostages.

The body of a Bihar Military Police constable, Lucas Tete, one of the four policemen taken hostage by Maoists five days ago, was found lying on a deserted forest track in Lakhiserai district on Friday morning, contrary to the Maoists’ claim on Thursday that they had killed sub-inspector Abhay Yadav.

Facing biting criticism from all sides for the murder of an abducted policeman by the Maoists, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Friday proposed an all-party meeting to seek a political consensus on how best to deal with the hostage crisis. Leaders of all the parties were invited to this meeting to be held on Saturday.

One of the four Bihar policemen taken hostage by Maoists four days ago was killed by the rebels on Thursday as an unhurried state government groped for solutions before and beyond the two deadlines se

With the cold-blooded murder of one of the four abducted policemen by the Maoists on Thursday sending a chill down the spine of Bihar’s police force, the Nitish Kumar government came under bitter atta