Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s conspicuous absence from two election campaign meetings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bihar on April 16 in Gaya and Purnea has triggered talk among political circles that Mr. Kumar was told by BJP leaders not to share the dais with the PM after his recent gaffes in a previous public rally.
In a meeting at Nawada on April 7, the CM had taken over 20 minutes to speak and inadvertently stated that the BJP would get four lakh seats and in an attempt to correct himself uttered that the party would secure “more than 4,000 seats” in the Lok Sabha polls. Mr. Kumar had then turned towards the PM and was seen touching his feet at the dais.
Leader of the Opposition and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav took a dig at Mr. Kumar’s absence from the PM’s public meetings. “It is up to you (media persons) to find out why the Chief Minister was not present in PM’s public meetings at Gaya and Purnea on April 16. Why is the BJP not inviting him in rallies?” asked RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on April 16 at Sheikhpura.
