Mammen Matthew heads the Bihar edition of Hindustan Times. He has nearly three decades of reporting experience on socio-economic issues and politics in Bihar and Jharkhand. He has specialised in health, Left Wing Extremism and issues of flood plains.
Articles by Mammen Matthew
Lalu gets 3.5 years in jail: Supporters say it’s too soon to write off RJD chief
RJD sympathisers and workers believe, the party would be strengthened by the incarceration of their leader, but detractors say it will wither
Updated on Jan 07, 2018 08:14 AM IST
Hindustan Times, Patna | Mammen Matthew
Return of Sushil Kumar Modi in Avatar 2.0
The BJP leader exposed one by one the role of former Union ministers from the RJD in fattening Lalu’s purse and expanding his landed possessions and how the RJD chief made his followers transfer land for a slice of pelf and power.
Updated on Jul 27, 2017 06:06 PM IST
New Delhi, Hindustan Times | Mammen Matthew
Here’s why ‘Bihari’ Nitish Kumar once again became friends with ‘Bahari’ Modi
Nitish Kumar had realised his fling with the RJD and rest of the anti-BJP parties was not going anywhere.
Updated on Jul 27, 2017 04:42 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Patna | Mammen Matthew
Midnight coup: When Nitish Kumar, Sushil Modi redrew strategy to beat Lalu Prasad
Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi met Bihar governor Keshri Nath Tripathi a little after midnight to submit a list of JD(U) and NDA legislators and stake claim to form the next government.
Updated on Jul 27, 2017 01:30 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Patna | Mammen Matthew
BJP the big winner in Bihar, ‘opportunist’ Nitish Kumar will struggle to explain U-turn
The grand alliance -- between Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), Lalu Prasad’s RJD and the Congress -- was a model that the opposition was keen to expand to take on the BJP in the next Lok Sabha polls.
Updated on Jul 27, 2017 12:24 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Patna | Mammen Matthew
In overnight drama, Tejashwi Yadav, other RJD leaders march to Raj Bhavan, stage sit-in
Tejashwi Yadav led a large group of RJD leaders and supporters to the Raj Bhavan at around 2.30 am on Thursday, attempting to storm the governor’s official residence.
Updated on Jul 27, 2017 09:04 AM IST
Hindustan Times, Patna | Mammen Matthew
As Nitish, Sushil meet governor, Lalu says RJD too will stake claim to form Bihar govt
Lalu Prasad says his party’s claim to govern stands because it is the largest party in Bihar.
Updated on Jul 27, 2017 01:15 AM IST
Patna, Hindustan Times | Mammen Matthew
Explain source of wealth or Tejashwi Yadav must quit: Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) tells Lalu’s RJD
The JD(U)’s demand, dismissed by RJD chief Lalu Yadav, came despite attempts by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to broker truce among the allies.
Updated on Jul 15, 2017 12:06 AM IST
Hindustan Times, Patna | Mammen Matthew
Opposition’s move to name Meira Kumar as presidential candidate puts Nitish in a spot
Nitish Kumar’s choice was hinged on the premise that Ram Nath Kovind is the first governor of Bihar to be chosen for the supreme seat and a Dalit.
Updated on Jun 24, 2017 10:36 AM IST
Hindustan Times, Patna | Mammen Matthew
Oppn split in sight? Speculations fly as Nitish picks Modi lunch over Sonia meet
JD-U spokespersons insisted that the Bihar chief minister’s acceptance of Narendra Modi’s invite was mostly out of respect for the Mauritian premier, in whose honour the lunch is being held.
Updated on May 27, 2017 02:33 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Patna | Mammen Matthew
Lalu shuts up as controversies test RJD alliance with Nitish Kumar’s JD(U)
Not since 1997, when RJD chief Lalu Prasad was arrested for the first time in the estimated Rs 1,050 crore fodder scam case for fraudulent withdrawals from treasuries in undivided Bihar, has he been known to retreat into a shell.
Updated on May 09, 2017 12:36 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Patna | Mammen Matthew, Patna
Lalu shuts up as controversies test RJD alliance with Nitish Kumar’s JD(U)
Not since 1997, when RJD chief Lalu Prasad was arrested for the first time in the estimated Rs 1,050 crore fodder scam case for fraudulent withdrawals from treasuries in undivided Bihar, has he been known to retreat into a shell.
Updated on May 17, 2017 08:28 AM IST
Hindustan Times, Patna | Mammen Matthew, Patna
Kala azar case load down in Bihar
Bihar, which contributes 70% of the total kala azar cases in India, has witnessed 81% decline in the disease burden, with the case load coming down from 33,187 in 2011 to 6,245 in 2016.
Published on Mar 15, 2017 12:16 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Patna | Mammen Matthew
Man of the moment Nitish Kumar: Master tactician, tough opponent
Nitish knew he could not out talk the charismatic Modi, but that it would be the aura of a cool, restrained, chief executive that he could draw to save himself.
Updated on Nov 21, 2015 05:23 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Mammen Matthew, Patna
Vote on Modi? PM’s Bihar campaign comes crashing down
The Nitish Kumar-led grand alliance appeared headed to form the next government in Bihar on Sunday, a verdict that comes as a huge blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for whom the election was seen as a key test of popularity.
Updated on Nov 08, 2015 03:47 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Mammen Matthew and Vijay Swaroop, Patna
Bihar results: Congress, RJD gain big as Nitish trumps Modi’s BJP
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar registered an emphatic victory in the assembly elections on Sunday as his grand alliance inflicted a heavy loss on a BJP-led coalition, belying all predictions of a closely-contested poll battle in the politically crucial state.
Updated on Nov 09, 2015 01:25 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Mammen Matthew and Vijay Swaroop, Patna
‘The fear stays’: Muslims back grand alliance in Bihar polls
A new face evokes suspicion and Muslims tend to live in little ghettos in the small town that was once the capital of legendary Mahabharata warrior Karna’s mythical kingdom.
Updated on Oct 01, 2015 08:05 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Mammen Matthew, Patna
Congress finds itself marginalised in the 2015 race for Bihar
Once a force to reckon within Bihar, the Congress today is a humble presence in the so-called grand alliance, led by the Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, that has been cobbled together to take on the BJP’s growing might.
Updated on Sep 22, 2015 12:06 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Mammen Matthew, Patna
Bihar polls: BJP releases second list of 99 candidates
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its second list of 99 candidates on Saturday, accommodating its allies, senior leaders' kin and several rebels of the Nitish Kumar led Janata Dal (United).
Updated on Sep 19, 2015 11:42 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Mammen Matthew & Binod Dubey, Patna
Elitism, feudal outlook: The fall and fall of Congress in Bihar
Once a force to reckon with in Bihar, the Congress today is a humble presence in the so-called grand alliance led by the JD(U) and RJD that has been cobbled together to take on the BJP’s growing might.
Updated on Sep 17, 2015 02:32 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Mammen Matthew, Patna
Bihar polls: NDA seat-sharing pact staves off HAM-LJP tussle
The BJP leadership has deftly staved off a major crisis among its allies that had threatened the party’s efforts to broaden its caste base and take on the grand alliance in the Bihar assembly election starting October.
Updated on Sep 17, 2015 03:22 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Mammen Matthew, Patna
After Samajwadi Party exit, Grand Alliance on a shaky ground again
Barely a week ago, the so-called Janata Parivar looked set to beat the BJP and romp home to victory in the Bihar assembly election.
Updated on Sep 27, 2015 09:49 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Mammen Matthew, Patna
BJP banking on Modi magic for this Bihar election
A giant cut out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi looms over Patna’s busiest IT Circle. “Modi ney diya, wadey sey jyada” (Modi gave more than he promised), the giant banner alludes Modi’s Rs 1.25 lakh crore package for Bihar.
Updated on Sep 17, 2015 05:17 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Mammen Matthew, Patna
BJP looks for caste fillip for Bihar polls as Modi magic fades
With the JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad shaking hands to form the Mahagathbandhan to take the BJP at loggerheads in Bihar, the saffron party is now calculating the odds, after its Modi trump card seems to be fading.
Updated on Sep 17, 2015 06:14 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Mammen Matthew, Patna
In Bihar, Modi targets raw wounds, chants growth mantra
With the unveiling of a Rs 1.25 lakh crore special development package for Bihar on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi effectively took the NDA battle to the opposition camp on Tuesday, drawing ‘a bigger development line’ than what Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar could ever have hoped to make.
Updated on Aug 19, 2015 03:32 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Mammen Matthew, Patna
PM Modi talks development in Bihar but subtly plays caste card
Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked mostly development on Saturday but subtly played the caste card by repeatedly invoking Yadavs and Mahadalits, who together make up about a third of the state’s population, as he opened campaigning for the state polls.
Updated on Jul 26, 2015 08:58 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Mammen Matthew, Patna
Nitish struggles for a ‘new identity’ via Arvind Kejriwal
Facing a crucial assembly polls, shaping up as a do-or-die political battle for all, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is keen on projecting himself as truly ‘clean’, ‘secular,’ and ‘pro-poor’.
Updated on Jul 20, 2015 10:36 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Mammen Matthew, Patna
Bihar elections: Sushil Modi tops BJP’s list of CM probables
Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi is likely to become Bihar’s chief minister if his party wins this year’s assembly election though it has refused to announce a candidate for the coveted post, sources say, with the eastern state’s complex caste equations tilting the odds in his favour.
Updated on Jul 11, 2015 09:03 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Mammen Matthew, Patna
Return of Chanakya in Bihar: Nitish back after outfoxing Manjhi
As senior Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar prepares for a third term as Bihar’s chief minister, he faces the onerous task of navigating the choppy sea of state politics before he goes into election mode within the next five months.
Updated on Feb 20, 2015 05:38 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Mammen Matthew, Patna
Jitan Ram Manjhi, protégé who tried to be a man on his own
Mahadalit leader resigns as Bihar chief minister after rebelling against mentor Nitish Kumar.
Updated on Feb 20, 2015 12:33 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Mammen Matthew, Patna