Amid growing strain in the relationship between the BJP and the Janata Dal(U), Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has decided to cancel a scheduled visit to Delhi to attend a joint conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts, an event which is being held after a gap of six years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is inaugurating the event.
A stickler to protocol, Nitish rarely skips such event where Chief Ministers of most other states are expected be present. It’s not that Nitish has any pressing engagement back at home to avoid the Delhi visit. He is flying to Purnia to launch an ethanol factory.
Of late, Nitish has been in the news for politics of iftar. He met RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav for the third time in five days at iftar parties. On Friday, the iftar was hosted by Hindustani Awam Morcha leader Jeetan Ram Manjhi.
On Thursday, the JD(U) hosted the iftar where Nitish Kumar went to see off Tejashwi all the way to his car and offered him a shawl. Before that, Nitish had himself walked to former Chief Minister Rabri Devi’s residence to attend an iftar party hosted by the RJD.
While BJP leaders present at the Friday iftar claimed that nothing much should be read in Nitish and Tejashwi’s frequent meetings, sources in JD(U) said the CM was keeping his options open and may walk out of the NDA if the BJP did not stop putting pressure on him to vacate the CM chair for the BJP. Incidentally, Nitish did not attend an iftar party hosted by Congress.
