Patna: Following the split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra led by rebel leader Ajit Pawar, opposition leaders in Bihar including those of the BJP have claimed that the ruling JDU led by chief minister Nitish Kumar will not survive in the state. Chirag Paswan, the national president of LJP, which itself was formed following a split from the Janata Dal has targeted Nitish Kumar after the political crisis in Maharashtra.
Chirag claimed that JDU MLAs and MPs were “not feeling comfortable with RJD” in Bihar Mahagathbandhan. “Nitish Kumar has realized this and that is why there is hesitation on part of Nitish Kumar. But nothing will happen now. Let the time for Lok Sabha elections come, people will see for themselves,” Chirag said.
The LJP leader said that Nitish Kumar is “so scared that he is constantly meeting his MLAs and MPs, he is now feeling that his party will not survive”. “Nitish Kumar has done the work of breaking many parties of Bihar and now his party will also break soon,” Chirag said adding that many JDU leaders are in touch with him.
BJP state president Samrat Chaudhary too said that the ripple effect of Maharashtra political drama will be felt in Bihar. “Here also the leaders of the Grand Alliance are scared. The people of Bihar are seeing how public opinion has been insulted here. Not only public but also JD(U) workers are watching everything,” Samrat said.
Over a question whether the leaders of the JD(U) were in touch with him, the BJP state President said that there was nothing like that happening now. “When something like this happens you will be told,” he said. Samrat Chaudhary said that RJD leader and former Bihar CM Lalu Yadav, “whom Nitish Kumar considered a registered corrupt person, fought a battle against him, became the chief minister and today he is enjoying the chair by sitting in the lap of the same registered corruption leader”.
“This is the reason why Lalu Yadav is inaugurating the book written by Uday Kant Mishra on the life of Nitish ji,” he said. Bihar BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said that the rebellion in Sharad Pawar's party NCP is the “result of the Patna meeting of opposition unity in which the ground was being prepared to project Rahul Gandhi as PM candidate”.
“Sensing that Maharashtra-like situation may arise in Bihar as well, Nitish Kumar has started talking to MLAs and MPs separately,” Sushil Modi said adding that JDU MLAs-MPs will “neither accept Rahul Gandhi nor Tejashwi Yadav”.
