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‘Not interested in what people say’: Nitish Kumar rubbishes Chirag Paswan’s remarks; puts up united front with BJP
The two parties who are fighting the Bihar assembly elections together and said that only those who accept Nitish Kumar as leader of NDA in Bihar will fight along side BJP-JD(U).
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (United) or JD(U), who are fighting the upcoming Bihar Assembly election together, put up a united front on Tuesday, accusing some people of spreading lies about a rift between the allies.
“There is no misunderstanding between JD(U) and BJP. We have been working together for years, and will continue to do so,” chief minister Nitish Kumar said at a press conference where BJP leaders Devendra Fadnavis and Bhupendra Yadav were also present.
Kumar said that both the parties have already announced that they are fighting the elections together. “We have been working together for 15 years, and have shown a new way forward to Bihar.”
Targeting the Rashtriya Janata DaL (RJD), which was in power before Kumar’s government, the chief minister said that lawlessness prevailed during the previous regime. “Where was development during the previous regime? There was gundaraj and employees were poorly paid. We are seeking votes based on the work we have done,” he said.
The centrepoint of the media interaction was the recent statement made by Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Chirag Paswan, who recently said that his party would fight the assembly elections separately and not as a part of the JD(U)-BJP alliance. Kumar’s deputy Sushil Modi, who was also present in the press conference, said that it has already been decided that the elections will be fought under the leadership of Nitish Kumar.
“We have made it clear that those who are ready to accept Nitish ji as their leader will stay in NDA. He is the chief ministerial candidate of NDA and will remain the CM,” said Modi.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar also highlighted that Ram Vilas Paswan became a Rajya Sabha member due to support from BJP and JD(U).
He said, “I am not interested in what people say. But did Ram Vilas Paswan reach Rajya Sabha without the help of BJP and JD(U)? We have a long friendship, he is unwell and I wish him speedy recovery.”
The BJP’s hardening of the stand follows after Chirag’s out-of-turn announcement. He had said that Bihar would have a BJP-LJP government after the elections and also urged the electorate not to waste even a single vote by backing the JD(U) candidates.
The elections for the 243-member Bihar assembly will be held on October 28 and November 3 and 7.
The results will be declared on November 10.
