- Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini created a flutter by saying that BJP leader and Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary will deliver poll victory
By: India Weekly
WITH Bihar set to go to the polls at the end of this year, the two main political blocks, RJD-led Mahagathbandhan and the ruling National Democratic Alliance, are busy formulating their electoral strategies.
However, Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini created a flutter by saying on Monday (14) that BJP leader and Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary will deliver victory in the polls.
This put a question mark on the future of incumbent chief minister and Janata Dal (United) president Nitish Kumar.
The 74-year-old politician is Bihar’s longest-serving chief minister and last year took oath for the ninth time after joining hands with the BJP.
Known for swiftly switching sides between the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan, he has earned the moniker ‘Paltu Ram.’
The opposition was quick to seize on Saini’s remarks to state that Nitish’s days as chief minister are numbered.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said that Saini’s statement “makes it clear that the BJP will not allow Nitish to enjoy another term in office”.
JD(U) national spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad shrugged off the Haryana leader’s comment and asserted that the ruling alliance faces no crisis over its chief ministerial face in Bihar.
Prasad said, “The Bihar assembly elections will be held under the leadership of Nitish Kumar, and he will be the face of the National Democratic Alliance. Chief minister Nitish Kumar will head the NDA government which is certain to be formed after the elections for a full term till 2030.”
He said senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has spoken on similar lines in the past.
Prasad took a swipe at the opposition INDIA bloc, claiming that it is going to unravel in Bihar as it has in many other states in the recent past.
He pointed out that while RJD has declared Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial face, Congress leader Sachin Pilot had said recently that a decision on their alliance’s leader in Bihar will be taken after the elections.
To control the fallout caused by Saini’s statement, Samrat Choudhary too asserted on Monday that the NDA will retain power in the state and form the next government “under the leadership” of Nitish Kumar.
When asked about the controversy sparked by a Saini’s statement, Choudhary said, “The BJP-led NDA is running a government in the state under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. We look forward to forming the next government under his leadership”.
Choudhary lambasted Tejashwi Yadav for his statements, “Tejashwi should tell us what his father and mother, who ruled Bihar for 15 years, did for the state. They could not even set up a medical college.”
Incidentally, Choudhary was himself a minister in the cabinet of Yadav’s mother Rabri Devi, who succeeded her husband Lalu Prasad, the RJD president, as the chief minister.
Choudhary also made light of union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s remarks that the BJP did not give a fair deal to his Hindustani Awam Morcha in last year’s Lok Sabha polls.
“It is only natural for all leaders to raise the demands of their party. It will be taken care of,” the BJP leader said.
Tejashwi meets Kharge, Rahul
Meanwhile Tejashwi Yadav met senior Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, in Delhi on Tuesday (15) to discuss the Mahagathbandhan’s preparedness for the upcoming Bihar assembly polls.
Yadav, along with RJD MPs Manoj Jha and Sanjay Yadav, met the Congress leadership at Kharge’s residence.
He urged the media not to speculate over Mahagathbandhan’s (grand alliance) chief ministerial face and said the constituents would talk among themselves and decide.
“I don’t know why you all are worried about the CM face; we will talk among ourselves and decide. Things will become clear; you all should not worry about it,” the former deputy chief minister said.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting with Congress leaders, Yadav alleged that Nitish Kumar has been “hijacked” by the BJP.
“Nitish ji has been hijacked. Amit Shah has been saying that they will fight elections under his leadership but does not say he will become the chief minister,” Yadav said.
He said the Congress and the RJD will sit in Patna to finalise a strategy and asserted that the INDIA bloc is committed to taking Bihar on the path of progress.
“The government that has been there for 20 years in Bihar and PM Modi is at the helm for 11 years… amid all this, Bihar has been given step-motherly treatment.
“Bihar is the most economically backward (state), with the lowest per capita income, lowest farmers’ income and highest migration. We all want to fight the elections on real issues,” Yadav said.
“We are in the opposition. It is our responsibility to highlight the limitations of the government to the public,” he said.
The RJD leader asserted that it is certain that there won’t be an NDA government in Bihar and an INDIA bloc government will be formed.
In a post in Hindi on X after the meeting, Kharge said that change is certain in Bihar at this time.
“In the coming elections, we will give the people of Bihar a strong, positive, just and welfare option. Bihar will be freed from BJP and its opportunistic thug alliance,” he said.
“Youth, farmers, labourers, women, backward, extremely backward and all other sections of the society want a Mahagathbandhan government,” he asserted.
Gandhi also shared pictures from the deliberations on his WhatsApp channel and called it an “important meeting”.
Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Kumar and AICC Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru were also present in the meeting.
Allavaru later told reporters that the second meeting will be held in Patna on April 17.
Asked if Tejashwi would be CM’s face, Kumar did not give a direct reply and said, “We will sit on different dates and discuss all the points”.
The meeting comes amid indications that hard bargaining is on the cards among Mahagathbandhan allies, with all parties looking to strengthen their hold on the ground.
The meeting also comes weeks after Congress firmed up its strategy for the upcoming Bihar assembly polls at a meeting in Delhi.
Last month, the Congress said it would contest the elections as part of the INDIA bloc and asserted that the alliance partners would take a “collective decision” on the chief ministerial face.
The Mahagathbandhan is looking to wrest power from the NDA in the upcoming assembly polls.
Prashant Kishor attacks Nitish
Meanwhile, Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor recently claimed that the upcoming assembly polls in Bihar will be the “political funeral” of Nitish Kumar.
The former poll strategist turned politician made these remarks at the Bihar Badlaw Rally’ in Patna on Friday (11).
He also asserted that people of the state have been let down by Nitish Kumar, RJD president Lalu Prasad and prime minister Narendra Modi.
Kishor, however, seemed displeased at the turnout, as he chose to speak for barely 10 minutes, and accused the administration of having tried to thwart the entry of his supporters from other parts of the state.
“Let us resolve to root out this government. The people of Bihar were let down by Lalu Prasad who brought in ‘jungle raj’. They are now reeling under a new type of bureaucratic ‘jungle raj’ under Nitish Kumar. And (prime minister) Narendra Modi, who backs Nitish, has also disappointed the people,” Kishor said.
Kishor also recalled his participation in the protests by BPSC aspirants earlier this year, which gave the Jan Suraaj Party a boost, months after it had failed to make an impact in by-polls to five assembly segments. (PTI)
