Did you speak to PM? Bihar BJP’s dig at Nitish Kumar on early LS poll hunch

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Wednesday while speaking during the review of the rural works department said that there was a possibility of early Lok Sabha elections and so the ongoing projects needed to be completed before next year

Bihar Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Samrat Choudhary on Thursday hit out at chief minister Nitish Kumar over his statement in which Kumar said he is speculating about an early Lok Sabha elections.

Bihar Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Samrat Choudhary (Twitter Photo)

Choudhary asked Kumar if he spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding this, which made him so sure.

“Only the PM can take such a decision, as it will require a cabinet decision for dissolving the Lok Sabha. Did he have any talk with the PM on this, or is it the growing pressure from RJD [Rashtriya Janata Dal] that is making him speculate?” Choudhary asked Kumar.

Kumar on Wednesday while speaking during the review of the rural works department said that there was a possibility of early Lok Sabha elections and so the ongoing projects needed to be completed before next year.

“I was told during the department’s review meeting that all projects would be completed by January 2024. I will request you all to complete all projects as soon as possible. Nobody knows when the Lok Sabha polls will be held. It is also possible that it may be held before time,” Kumar had said.

The Janata Dal-United (JD-U) was quick to respond to Choudhary saying, “Few more states are set to go to polls later this year and the prospects of the BJP look bleak in all of them. To avoid more setbacks ahead of 2024, a panicky BJP can think of early elections. It cannot be ruled out.”

JD-U spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said the fear of the BJP was also over the growing prospect of a united Opposition, which will get reflected on June 23 during the meeting of all non-BJP parties in Patna.

He added, “The BJP has planned visits of its senior leaders like party president JP Nadda and home minister Amit Shah soon after Oppsition’s unity meet. This shows the restlessness of the BJP, and there will be no surprise if goes for early polls.”

Responding to this, Choudhary, said that the visit of senior BJP leaders was planned as part of the ongoing mass contact programme and the JD-U should not get unnecessarily jittery due to its own pitiable situation under the RJD, which wants implementation of the “pre-alliance deal” before too late.

“Nitish Kumar is clearly under pressure and therefore he tries to throw new narratives to prolong his stay in the chair. BJP is hardly bothered about the Opposition meet, which will be nothing more than a photo opportunity for Nitish,” he added.

Former director of AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies and social analyst DM Diwakar said that in the last year of the government, a lot of factors go into deciding the dates. “Nobody can say what is there in the mind of the BJP or the PM. But there is always room for speculation. After all, an early election is not an unheard-of thing in Indian democracy,” he added.