Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday cleared uncertainties over the final merger of the constituents of the Janata Parivar and said it was on right track. Earlier on Friday, Mr. Kumar held meetings with Janata Parivar leaders in Delhi.
“The merger process is on the right track and I think it will not take much time,” he said at a conclave on skill development in Patna.
He added that the date of the next meeting on merger would be decided soon and thereafter everything would be clear.
Earlier on Friday, the State JD(U) chief Basistha Narayan Singh had said in Muzaffarpur that if merger of Janata Parivar was delayed, the alliance parties — the JD(U), the RJD and the Congress — would contest the upcoming Assembly elections under a political understanding. “But, after the poll there will be one party, one flag,” he said.
During the meeting on Friday, Mr. Kumar is believed to have apprised the Janata Parivar leaders about the necessity of a merger ahead of the polls.
Special financial aid
During his Delhi visit, Mr. Kumar also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr. Kumar later said he apprised Mr. Modi of the loss to Bihar due to 14th Finance Commission recommendations.
“The Prime Minister assured me to look into the matter. I also requested him to provide special financial assistance to Bihar at the earliest,” said Mr. Kumar.
Meanwhile, BJP leaders have emphatically denied the possibility of an alliance with the JD(U). The BJP will contest the next Assembly election in alliance with its partners Lok Janshakti Party and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, said BJP leader Syed Shahnawaj Hussain.
The LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan too said, though it is for the BJP to decide, “it appears impossible that there will be further alliance between BJP and JD(U) as Nitish Kumar had gone too far against Narendra Modi.”
The Bihar CM is believed to have apprised the Janata Parivar leaders about the necessity of merger ahead of the Assembly polls
