Bihar politics went into overdrive once again with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar leaving no doubt about his strong objection to the projection of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2014 lok Sabha elections while a group of senior BJP leaders from the State vehemently opposing Chief Minister’s utterances against their “most popular leader”.
Besides BJP vice-president CP Thakur, three Cabinet colleagues of Nitish — Giriraj Singh, Ashwani Kumar Choubey and Chandra Mohan Rai — called on BJP president Rajnath Singh to express their frustration with the Chief Minister’s comments on Narendra Modi.
Nitish who returned to Patna on Sunday evening after making a veiled and vitriolic attack on Narendra Modi remained elusive for the waiting mediapersons while he again disappointed them when he did not hold his customary Press conference being held after his weekly Janata Dabar.
Though it is yet to be seen how frayed tempers of the BJP leaders will be pacified by the BJP central command, it is certain that a section of State BJP leaders has a strong grudge against Nitish for his attack on Narendra Modi time and again, informed a senior BJP leader on the condition of anonymity.
A young BJP MlA Nitin Naveen told The Pioneer that Narendra Modi is one of the party’s respected leaders and any prominent leader of an alliance partner should refrain himself from attacking him. He said that Nitish should concentrate on cornering Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh so that the UPA Government’s failures could be highlighted in the right way.
Meanwhile, activists of Narendra Modi Vichar Manch have erected posters of Narendra Modi, describing him as the “next PM” while Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the “best PM” across Patna. On one side of Narendra Modi, there is a photograph of CP Thakur while on the other side, photograph of BJP secretary and party MlA Rameshwar Prasad Chourasia is seen.
Senior BJP leader and State labour Minister Janardan Singh Segriwal said that the State BJP has not given any permission to erect these posters and activists of Narendra Modi Vichar Manch had done so on their own.
Sharpening his diatribe against the Chief Minister, RJD chief lalu Prasad said that Nitish Kumar is only “symbolising” the present alleged infighting within the BJP on Narendra Modi and he is just parroting what some BJP leaders want.
He said that even the Godhra train burning happened when Nitish Kumar was the Railway Minister and hence he should not make tall claims on secularism.
The Congress’s Bihar affairs co-in-charge, Sanjay Nirupam told The Pioneer that both the BJP and the JD(U) have made up their minds to part their ways as the BJP could not stop itself from projecting Narendra Modi as the PM nominee and the JD(U) has also committed itself not to support the Gujarat Chief Minister.
“NDA is vertically split on the issue of Narendra Modi and both the BJP and the JD(U) are buying time and fooling people of the State by claiming that the BJP-led alliance is intact,” he remarked.
On the possibility of the Congress aligning with the RJD and the lJP for the 2014 lok Sabha polls, Nirupam said that the Congress has contested several bypolls, held after the 2009 lok Sabha elections all alone but can review its course of action for the next general elections if it finds it necessary to do so.