Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Bihar president Samrat Choudhary, and Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly Vijay Kumar Sinha, on Thursday took a dig at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at a time when the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) Opposition grouping is meeting in Mumbai.
Both leaders claimed that Mr. Kumar’s “illusion of becoming the Prime Minister” was going to shatter. Mocking the Bihar CM, Mr. Choudhary said that he may be appointed the convener of one or two tolas (hamlets).
“Nitish Kumar was under the illusion that he would become the Prime Minister of the country. His illusion will be shattered. The leaders of the INDIA alliance will neither declare Nitish Kumar as the prime ministerial candidate nor would he be appointed the convener of the alliance. There is a possibility that he may be appointed convener of one or two tolas,” Mr. Choudhary said.
The INDIA Opposition bloc was an “arrogant alliance” and its leaders were “dividing the country”, Mr. Choudhary alleged. He further said that Mr. Kumar was not going to get any role in the Opposition grouping at the national level.
Mr. Sinha too attacked the INDIA bloc, saying “all the jugnus (fireflies) are gathering at one place to replace the Sun, which is not going to happen at any cost”.
“INDIA is an alliance of appeasement, dynasty politics, and corrupt people. The people of the country are aware of the fact that these people want to pursue dynastic politics. These people may hold meetings or form any alliance — it will not make any difference. The people of the country are with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and they have always appreciated his vision. In 2024 as well, the Prime Minister of the country will be Narendra Modi,” Mr. Sinha said.
Election strategist Prashant Kishor also launched a scathing attack on Mr. Kumar, claiming the Bihar CM held no place in his own State and could do nothing at the national level.
“If you follow the sequence, you will find that the largest party is Congress, then Trinamool Congress (TMC), and then Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) — they have 20-25 MPs. Nitish Kumar is left with nothing, neither party nor image. So, on what basis should he be made convener [of the INDIA bloc]? No one is talking about Nitish, whether in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, or Bengal,” Mr. Kishor said, when asked about Mr. Kumar’s stand that he did not wish to hold any post.
Mr. Kishor also said that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) had no Members of Parliament and yet spoke of who would run the country. “Nitish has 42 MLAs and 16 MPs. This time, everyone is aware how many seats he will get. Combining both the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) and INDIA together, 26-27 parties sit on both sides. Two-thirds of these parties are such that they do not have any single MP. It is the convention of parties to count the numbers, so everyone is being made to sit. This does not mean that Nitish will turn national politics upside down,” Mr. Kishor said.
