A day after JD(U) national president Lalan Singh stepped down, paving the way for the return of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to the top post, BJP MP Sushil Modi said there was more than meets the eye.
Speaking to media on December 30, the former Bihar deputy chief minister claimed that the big churn in the JD(U) has set off a power ‘game’ in Bihar’s primary ruling party and a lot more would happen in the coming days.
“We said earlier that only Lalan Singh would be removed as he engineered the exit of 12-13 sitting JD(U) MLAs from the party and even made attempts to install (deputy CM) Tejashwi Yadav as CM by joining hands with Lalu Yadav. However, Nitish Kumar got a whiff of what was about to happen and pre-empted the move. The stepping down of Lalan Singh came as a timely move. It is just the start of a game and a lot is left to happen,” he said.
#WATCH | Patna, Bihar: BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi says, "We have announced it earlier only that Lalan Singh would be removed since he broke 12-13 MLAs off the JD(U) party and he had prepared to make Tejashwi Yadav CM by joining hands with Lalu Yadav but Nitish Kumar got to know it… pic.twitter.com/3L5EuSlxHD
— ANI (@ANI) December 30, 2023
However, he ruled out Nitish’s return to the NDA, saying there was no way back for him into the saffron fold.
“He held all the reins (of the party) earlier and has returned to the top post in the party. Nitish Kumar was under the impression that the (Opposition) I.N.D.I Bloc would make him the convenor or the party’s face for PM. However, all doors to his return to the NDA are closed,” the former deputy CM added.
At the closing day of the party’s two-day national executive in Delhi on December 29, Lalan Singh resigned from the post of the party’s national convenor. Speaking to reporters after the party’s meeting in Delhi, Bihar CM said that he accepted the post of the party’s national president.
“I have accepted the post of the national president of the party,” he said.
However, Union Minister and senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh claimed that Nitish won’t be able to hold onto the post for too long, adding he only has ‘one option’ left in front of him. Speaking to media, the Union Minister said the Bihar CM has only one option — to ‘promote’ RJD chief Lalu Yadav’s son and his deputy, Tejashwi Yadav, as Chief Minister.
“What is certain is that his days as Bihar CM are numbered. Now he only has one option — to surrender before Lalu Yadav and pave the way for Tejashwi Yadav to be the new CM. Lalu Yadav is a master at opening cracks in parties and forming governments through the back door,” Singh said.
(with inputs from ANI)
