In what is being seen as a declaration of his support to Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar in the upcoming polls in Bihar, chief minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal will be sharing the stage and felicitating his Bihar counterpart at a function in the national Capital on August 19.
This is the first time Kejriwal will be sharing the dais with the leader of another political party. Kumar will be the chief guest at a function titled ‘Bihar Samman Samaroh’.
Though Kejriwal has serious reservations about Kumar’s alliance partner, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad, whom he had named in his list of India’s most corrupt politicians — his relations with Kumar have been cordial.
In fact, the JD(U) had supported Kejriwal’s candidature against then BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi at Varanasi. Both Kejriwal and Kumar have publicly praised one another on several occasions in the past.
As an outcome of several meetings between Kumar and Kejriwal, poll strategies including a robust social media campaign for the upcoming Bihar elections have been formulated. “The Aam Aadmi Party will continue to provide logistical support, but it is unlikely that Kejriwal will travel to Bihar to campaign for the secular alliance,” sources close to Kejriwal said.
JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi, however, claimed that the Delhi chief minister would also visit Bihar to address political rallies in the state.
{{/usCountry}}JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi, however, claimed that the Delhi chief minister would also visit Bihar to address political rallies in the state.
{{/usCountry}}“The August 19 event should be seen in the context of strategies to reach out to non-resident persons of Bihar, who are opinion-makers,” he told HT. As part of his outreach programme, Kumar plans to address gatherings at nine locations including Ghaziabad, Mumbai, Kolkata and Guwahati in the coming weeks.