New Delhi: After breaking ranks with the Opposition to support the NDA presidential candidate, Ram Nath Kovind, JD(U) chief and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar attended a farewell dinner for President Pranab Mukherjee, which was hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.
Besides Mr Kumar, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, whose party had also voted for the president-elect, too, was present at the dinner.
From the Opposition, only Mr Kumar and Mr Patnaik were present.
The notable absentees were West Bengal and Delhi chief ministers Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal. Congress-ruled Punjab’s chief minister Capt. Amarinder Singh too did not attend the dinner hosted at Hyderabad House, as chief ministers of Congress and Left-ruled states stayed away.
Sources said the invitation for the dinner was sent to all chief ministers across the country. On July 23, members of both Houses of Parliament will host a farewell function for the President.
Mr Kumar’s presence in the dinner signals a clear divide within the grand alliance of JD(U), RJD and Congress, which is ruling Bihar. Though earlier in the day, the Bihar chief minister met Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi at the latter’s residence to apparently discuss the political scenario emerging in the state.
The early signs of Mr Kumar swinging away from the Opposition were first seen when the JD(U) decided to support the candidature of NDA’s presidential candidate Mr Kovind, despite efforts from the RJD to talk Mr Kumar out of it.
Quite similar to the Bihar chief minister have been the actions of Odisha chief minister Mr Patnaik, whose BJD voted for Mr Kovind in the presidential elections, while just like JD(U), he has decided to back the Opposition’s vice-president nominee Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
The BJD, though in the Opposition, appears to be a clear fence sitter, as it has always chosen the middle path by not being an out and out critic of the NDA, but at the same time playing the role of a constructive Opposition party.
