Miffed at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar targeting Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, a section of Bihar unit of the BJP met party president Rajnath Singh and apprised him of its differences with Mr. Kumar and the Janata Dal (United).
The group of leaders, considered loyal to Mr. Modi, has been nursing a grudge against the Mr. Kumar ever since he refused to share the dais with Mr. Modi in the run-up to the Assembly election, and is of the view that the central leadership should not indulge Mr. Kumar beyond a point.
Among those who met Mr. Singh were the former State unit chief, C.P. Thakur, Health Minister Ashwani Choubey, Giriraj Singh and Chandramohan Rai.
They told Mr. Singh that the party stagnated in the State due to its alliance with the JD (U), and conveyed their opposition to continuing the ties .
“We have told our party president about all the issues. He has promised us that he will take an appropriate decision at an appropriate time,” Mr. Giriraj Singh told reporters after the meeting at the BJP headquarters here. The BJP president is believed to have counselled the State unit leaders to exercise restraint and not air their views in public.
Meanwhile, another long-term ally — the Shiromani Akali Dal — said it was with the BJP and would stand by any decision taken by the alliance on the prime ministerial candidate . “We have no problem if [the] NDA announces its candidate. But NDA will have to meet first [to take a decision],” SAD veteran and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal told reporters.
