BJP Tests Nitish Kumar Leadership in Bihar in Shinde Shadow
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar during an inspection. Image credit JD (U)
JD (U) Asserts Nitish Kumar Leadership for Bihar Elections
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, December 24: Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh on Tuesday asserted that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will be the leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the next year’s Assembly elections.
Singh is the key face of the Janata Dal (United) in the NDA at the Centre. His assertions came close on heels of wild speculations within the NDA over the face of the NDA in the next year’s Assembly elections in Bihar.
The Bihar BJP executive held a brainstorming session in Surajkund in Haryana. The Bihar BJP leaders said that the NDA will contest the next year’s Assembly elections under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kumar.
“It is clear that NDA will contest the next election of Bihar in 2019 under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. He has already started touring all the districts of Bihar. The people there have the feeling that whatever the CM says he does,” said Singh, while addressing media in the national capital on Tuesday.
Yet, a cloud of suspense hangs over the NDA face in Bihar in the Assembly elections. The BJP-led Mahayuti had not projected a CM face in the Maharashtra Assembly elections despite Eknath Shinde leading the alliance government in the state. After the Maharashtra verdict, the BJP installed own CM in Devendra Fadnavis.
In Nagpur, Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah reportedly gave a statement that the NDA face in the Bihar Assembly elections will be decided by the BJP parliamentary board. The statement set off intense speculations in the political circles in Bihar.
The the BJP parliamentary board is mandated to decide on matters of the saffron outfit. Kumar has begun his fresh leg of yatra, beginning from West Champaran. He is aiming to cement his position in the state with the yatra.
Samrat Chaudhary, who is the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, has clarified that the Bihar elections will be fought under the leadership of Nitish Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Except for small phase, Kumar has been the Chief Minister of Bihar since 2005. He is seen as a magnet in Bihar politics.
But the BJP also appears to be putting the JD (U) on notice by fanning the issue of the NDA face in the state elections. The JD (U) had contested 122 Assembly seats in the 2020 assembly elections. The BJP had contested 121 seats in the 2020 Assembly elections.
But Chirag Paswan had led his Lok Jan Shakti Party as a rebel factor against the NDA in Bihar. Paswan’s campaign damaged the JD (U) most in the elections. But the BJP stuck to the pre-poll commitment to back Kumar as the CM of Bihar.
However, the political observers argue that the BJP has long been nursing the dream to take the coveted post of CM in Bihar. The Maharashtra model where the BJP with better numerical strength staked claims on the CM post is hanging thick in the air of Bihar politics.
The JD (U) leaders argue that the party will once more stake claims in 122 Assembly seats in the state. “The BJP from its quota of 121 seats will have to accommodate the other NDA allies such as LJP, RLSP, and others,” said a senior BJP functionary.
Join the WhatsApp Channel of The Raisina Hills54R
Follow on Google News https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMNK2vwsw39HWAw?hl=en-IN&gl=IN&ceid=IN%3Aen
About The Author
