With senior BJP leaders claiming that next Assembly polls in Bihar may take place anytime, the race for the post of Chief Minister in the State unit has begun.
In the recently concluded two-day State executive committee meeting, senior party leaders and Cabinet Ministers in the Narendra Modi Government, Radha Mohan Singh and Ravi Shankar Prasad reportedly suggested Sushil Kumar Modi’s name for the post.At the meeting, Modi appealed to the party leaders and workers to get ready as the Assembly polls might take place anytime. “There is a serious rumbling among the JD(U) legislators and anytime the Manjhi Government could fall … so you all should get ready for the elections,” said Modi.
Interestingly, some party leaders also suggested State BJP president Mangal Pandey’s name for the Chief Minister’s candidate at the same meeting, but Pandey immediately shot it down saying party’s first priority was to get 175 seats in the upcoming State Assembly polls.Though, Modi himself has not made any comment on the issue yet, but he is expected to be the frontrunner for the post.
“Why notIJ He is one of the senior most party leaders in the State and has also experience of running the Government as he was the Deputy CM in the NDA Government for over eight years,” said one of his party supporters.Interestingly, another senior party leader Prem Kumar, who was a Minister in the BJP-JD(U) alliance Government, on Tuesday said he too could be the chief ministerial candidate of the party.
“I’ve been serving the party for the last 40 years and an MlA for five terms … why can’t I be the party’s CM nominee,” said Kumar.Similarly, some leaders are batting for leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Nand Kishore Yadav. Supporters of Yadav said he even sold tea like Narendra Modi in his student days in a theatre canteen of one of his relatives.
“Yes, I did everything from serving tea to samosas but that can’t be the sole criterion for selecting anyone,” said Yadav.When asked about who would be the chief ministerial candidate from his party, Yadav who was also a Minister in the Nitish Kumar Cabinet, said that such issues are decided by the party’s parliamentary board.
“The name of Narendra Modi for the PM post too was decided by the party’s parliamentary board, the potential CM for the State for 2015 Assembly polls too would be decided at that forum,” he said.His supporters argued that he would be the most suitable candidate for the party’s CM post as he would decimate the Yadav vote-bank of RJD chief lalu Prasad.