Amit Shah’s cryptic remark on Nitish Kumar triggers flurry of meetings in Bihar
A comment made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently to a vernacular daily has raised questions about the coalition government in Bihar.
When asked if former allies like Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar would be welcomed back into the NDA fold, Shah said if anyone has a proposal about it, it would be considered. Amit Shah’s comments were interpreted as an admission of doors not being shut on Nitish Kumar, who dumped the BJP less than two years ago.
“I do not know. Maybe you people have better knowledge of what Amit Shah wanted to imply,” Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav told the media on Friday when asked about Shah’s remarks, reported news agency PTI.
The Home Minister’s remark also triggered a flurry of meetings both among leaders of the ruling Mahagathbandhan and the Opposition BJP. One such meeting was held at Nitish Kumar’s residence and another was held at the house of Vijay Kumar Sinha, the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly.
After the meeting, Tejashwi Yadav talked to reporters and lashed out at the BJP and accused the saffron party of spreading rumours. “The BJP has been agonised ever since Lalu (Yadav) and Nitish (Kumar) joined hands. It is under the same frustration that they’re making such statements,” said the RJD leader.
He claimed the BJP will be “washed off” from Bihar’s political sphere and the saffron party’s “frustration” at its prospect is making the leaders resort to “rumour mongering”.
“We’re running the state government together. We need to meet regularly to ensure swift development of the state,” said Tejashwi Yadav.
He also asked the BJP how many seats they planned to field candidates for in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Bihar has 40 Lok Sabha seats in total.
The Bihar Deputy Chief Minister also said “all is well” within the Opposition INDIA bloc after speculation arose that Nitish Kumar was unhappy with the alliance.
Nitish Kumar and his party snapped ties with the BJP-led NDA in 2022 and formed the Mahagathbandhan government with the RJD.