Nitish should be NDA's face in Bihar during LS polls: JD-U

Patna: Rumblings within the NDA grew louder with some JD(U) leaders demanding that “chief minister Nitish Kumar should be the face of NDA in Bihar” during the 2019 general elections.

The idea was floated during the core committee meeting of the JD(U) on Sunday evening which was attended by senior party leader K.C. Tyagi, party national general secretary Pawan Verma and election strategist Prashant Kishore.

“Chief minister Nitish Kumar has been working tirelessly for the development of the state. The NDA should contest Lok Sabha elections on his face in Bihar as he is the tallest leader and the JD(U) is the largest constituent of the coalition,” party national general secretary Pawan Verma told reporters in Patna.

Insiders said that the JD(U)’s core committee members assembled in Patna to draw strategies for the NDA meeting scheduled for June 7 where issues related to better coordination and seat sharing are to be discussed.

Clarifying BJP’s stand on the issue Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said, “There is no trouble within the NDA as Narendra Modi being a Prime Minister is the face of the NDA in the country and Nitish Kumar, who is the chief minister of the state, has been working hard for the development of Bihar. So people will give their votes keeping this aspect in mind.”

Political analysts are of the view the NDA allies started raising the need for better coordination instead of “bid brotherly attitude” after the BJP’s performance dropped in byelections which were held recently.

RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha was the first to raise the issue of “better coordination” within the NDA.

The party was also the first to send signals that RLSP would not sacrifice any of its seats in the general elections.

According to political analysts here, Mr Kushwaha may not agree on leaving any of his seats for other parties, especially the JD(U), which returned to the NDA fold in July 2017.

According to a source, “The RLSP may ask for more seats from the BJP this time that’s why they want the issue to be discussed at the earliest.”

In 2014 general elections the RLSP had won all three seats in Bihar.