NEW DELHI/PATNA : Emboldened by the NCP split, the Bihar BJP is expecting a Maharashtra redux. Senior BJP leader and former deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi on Monday claimed in Delhi that a good number of JD-U MLAs and MPs were willing to be with his party as they were “upset with the Nitish Kumar’s leadership.”
In Patna, BJP’s prospective allies, including former Union minister and Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal (RLJD) chief Upendra Kushwaha and LJP (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan have intensified their attack on Nitish. “A strong atmosphere of rebellion is brewing within the JD-U as most of its MLAs and MPs are in touch with the BJP and other parties,” former Bihar deputy CM told media.
Modi said most JD-U leaders were not accepting RJD leader and deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav as a “successor” of Nitish Kumar or Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as the face of JD-U-supported Opposition. He said the BJP would not accept Nitish Kumar “even if he returns and rubs his nose at the door of BJP.” “Kumar has proved himself as an unreliable person”, he remarked.
In Patna, LJP (Ram Vilas) chief and MP Chirag Paswan said Nitish was apprehensive of his party splitting. He said that was the reason he was meeting his party MLAs and MPs. Upon being asked whether Bihar is likely to witness a Maharashtra-like development. Sushil Modi said that JD-U is facing a strong possibility of a split in the party and “anything is possible in coming days.”
“A large number of JD-U MPs know they are not going to get the ticket in the next election. They see their future in dark since Nitish Kumar announced Tejashwi Yadav as his successor. That’s why there is chaos in the JD-U,” Said Sushil Modi.
On the other hand, JD-U national chief and MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh said that Sushil Modi was day-dreaming. “He is so depressed that he is making tall claims to get himself re-established in the party,” he said. “In fact, Sushil Modi is trying to appease his party’s top bosses by making such statements against JD-U and Bihar CM,” he said.
Meanwhile, lending his support to NCP founder Sharad Pawar, RJD chief Lalu Prasad said, “Sharad ji is a strong leader and the split will not have its impact on him. What happened with Sharad Pawar, we will not let that happen in Bihar,” he asserted.
