After JD(U)'s stellar show in LS polls, ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ poster hails Nitish Kumar
JD-U leaders asserted that dubbing Kumar as 'tiger' is appropriate as his influence bolstered the NDA's performance in the recently held Lok Sabha elections.
Ahead of the much-anticipated swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as the prime minister of India on Sunday, a prominently large poster of Bihar chief minister and Janta Dal (United) (JD(U)) supremo Nitish Kumar with words "TIGER ZINDA HAI" (Tiger is alive) appeared in Patna on Friday.
The party workers have put up the poster at a vantage point near the planetarium in the capital city, depicting Kumar as a pivotal figure in the formation of the NDA government at the Centre.
The poster features the chief minister along with the words 'Tiger Zinda Hai' with party leaders asserting that dubbing Kumar as the 'tiger' is appropriate as his influence significantly bolstered the NDA's performance in the recently held Lok Sabha elections within the state. Colourful banners and posters lauding Kumar have also been put up at various locations across the city.
"There is no doubt that the party's morale is high after JD(U)'s impressive performance in the Lok Sabha polls. The concept and ideas for such posters are generated by party workers, who then display them across the city. The JD(U)'s commendable performance underscores Nitish Kumar's popularity among voters. Prior to the declaration of the poll results, he faced political scrutiny for various reasons. However, it is now evident that he is the popular face of the NDA in Bihar," news agency PTI quoted JD(U) leader Neeraj Kumar as saying.
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The poster comes amid reports that the INDIA bloc had sent overtures to Kumar and N Chandrababu Naidu, whose TDP won 16 Lok Sabha seats. However, both are allies of the BJP-led NDA and have given written support to Narendra Modi.
The critics had predicted his political epitaph in the Lok Sabha elections owing to his frequent flip-flops. He was even mocked on social media for holding up a BJP insignia during the roadshow in Patna held by PM Modi. But he emerged as a kingmaker, as being the third largest party in the NDA after BJP and TDP.
JD(U) and BJP contested elections on 16 and 17 seats, respectively. Both the parties won 12 seats each. BJP-led NDA has won 293 seats in the recently concluded general elections, while the opposition's INDIA bloc won 234 seats.
Nitish Kumar had switched sides to the BJP-led NDA in January ahead of Lok Sabha polls, days after Mamata Banerjee had proposed the name of Mallikarjun Kharge as the potential PM candidate and convenor of the opposition's INDIA alliance.
Kumar had claimed that he quit the INDIA bloc because of the "ill-treatment" by the Congress and other parties.
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Nitish, who is known for switching sides for political gains, had said that his party wouldn't go back to the INDIA bloc -- a promise he made during campaigning on several occasions.
(With inputs from PTI)
