Bihar BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Modi on July 3 said his party would not join hands with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar again at any cost “even if he rubs his nose at the BJP’s door”.
His comments come amid reports of a Maharashtra-like situation arising in Bihar politics with Mr. Kumar taking a U-turn to join hands with the BJP again following his recent meetings with party MPs, MLAs, MLCs, leaders and workers at his official residence.
The ruling JD(U) leaders reacted sharply to Mr. Modi’s comments. “A leader of Sushil Modi’s stature should not make such comments on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Has Nitish Kumar made any petition to the BJP to join hands again?” senior JD(U) leader K.C. Tyagi said.
‘Stampede-like situation’
Mr. Modi told mediapersons in Delhi, “In JD(U), there is a stampede-like situation among party leaders to desert Nitish Kumar after Mr. Kumar accepted Rahul Gandhi as his leader and verbally declared RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as his successor. Several JD(U) leaders are in touch with the BJP as well. But one thing is clear. The BJP will not join hands with Nitish Kumar again at any cost, even if he rubs his nose at its doors... The BJP will not carry this baggage [Mr. Kumar] any more.” He added, “Union Minister Amit Shah had earlier said that all doors of the BJP have been shut forever for Nitish Kumar”.
Mr. Modi had served as the Deputy Chief Minister to Mr. Kumar in the NDA government in the State.
“Nitish Kumar, in his 17 years as CM, has never given any time to his party MPs, MLAs, or MLCs but today, he is giving them half-an-hour time and listening to them. Several JD(U) MPs are frightened over their political future and exploring options in other parties. Mr. Kumar has also taken a decision to merge the JD(U) into the RJD. So, there is a stampede-like situation among JD(U) leaders which has made Nitish Kumar nervous,” the BJP leader claimed.
Meanwhile, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan, his uncle and leader of Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party Pashupati Kumar Paras, and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) leader Santosh Kumar Suman, too, echoed similar views and said that Mr. Kumar had been meeting his party leaders individually to avoid the imminent split in the JD(U).
JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh ruled out the theories and said, “Sushil Kumar Modi and others are merely seeing Mungerilal ke haseen sapne [they are day-dreaming like Mungerilal]”.
