Contrary to the speculation that there is a growing rift between the Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal over Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s ambition for a role in national politics, RJD chief Lalu Prasad said on Tuesday that his party would support Nitish Kumar for Prime Minister.
Taking a dig at Mr. Kumar, the Opposition BJP said he could realise his ambition but he should first make way for Tejaswi or Tej Pratap Yadav to become Chief Minister. Tejaswi is the younger son of Mr. Lalu Prasad and Deputy Chief Minister, and Tej Pratap Yadav, his elder brother, is Health Minister.
“Yes, Nitish Kumar will be the next Prime Minister, and the RJD is always with him…,” Mr. Lalu Prasad said here. Ever since Mr. Nitish Kumar became JD(U) president, all parties had become nervous, he said. “They are unable to digest Nitish Kumar’s growing popularity. With so much praise, Mr. Kumar has risen in stature. He is ready to go on a national platform and seeing this, the other parties have become scared that he could be the next Prime Minister.”
After becoming JD(U) president, Mr. Kumar said if the BJP had to be defeated in the 2019 elections, all non-BJP parties should unite. “There should be the largest possible unity among the parties…,” he had said. Mr. Kumar has also started working for the merger of the JD(U), the Rashtriya Lok Dal and the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajtantrik) for the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, due next year. He called for a Sangh mukt Bharat (an RSS-free India), prompting BJP leaders to dare him to ban the RSS.
On Tuesday, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said Mr. Nitish Kumar could realise his ambition but “first he should make way either for Tejaswi or Tej Pratap Yadav to become the Chief Minister.”
“Ever since Mr. Nitish Kumar has become JD(U) president, his focus has drifted away from Bihar, where law and order has gone from bad to worse. Why should Bihar suffer for his national ambition,” he asked, pointing to recent incidents of crimes.
