Bihar polls: BJP almost confirms Nitish Kumar is NDA’s CM pick

PATNA: Nitish Kumar is the leader and CM of NDA govt in Bihar and people trust him and PM Narendra Modi to deliver on their promises in the state, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said Thursday while NDA tore into INDIA bloc after the opposition named RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad as its chief ministerial face before elections in Nov.

NDA called the bloc’s move a “shameful alliance of corruption and opportunism”.“Charges have already been framed against Tejashwi in the IRCTC case. The court has stated that this is a very serious case of corruption. Tejashwi is an accused in this case under Section 420 of the IPC,” Prasad said. When reporters asked him who will be the NDA’s CM face, Prasad said: “Where is a vacancy?”BJP, JDU, and LJP (Ram Vilas) functionaries — joined by political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor — accused the opposition bloc of pushing Bihar toward a “return of jungle raj” under the shadow of the alleged scam.

Bihar deputy CM Samrat Choudhary of BJP said RJD was “torturing even its allies”. “This is a day of shame for Bihar that Grand Alliance promised to make the son of a thief the CM for sake of power.

Everyone knows when Lalu was in office, criminals were encouraged. They want to bring back the same govt, and Congress is encouraging this.”The IRCTC land-for-jobs scam dates back to the period when RJD chief Lalu Prasad, as railway minister during first UPA govt of 2004-2009, allegedly awarded contracts for two railway hotels in exchange for land plots transferred to a firm linked to his family.

Both Lalu and Tejashwi have denied wrongdoing, calling the case politically motivated.UP deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya said RJD-Congress tie-up was “a mismatched game”, recalling that Lalu was jailed during Congress’s tenure. “Now he is aligned with the same Congress. This alliance will not work in Bihar,” Maurya said.Union minister and LJP (RV) chief Chirag Paswan mocked the alliance for sidelining Congress.

“After so many controversies, what would they do if they accepted your face? Congress was insulted as the face of just one man was visible in the entire press conference,” he said.JDU targeted both Tejashwi and INDIA bloc’s social arithmetic, taking a swipe at reports VIP chief Mukesh Sahani was promised the deputy CM post. “Laddoos for 2.60% of the Mallahs, pumpkins for 18% of the Muslims. Are Muslims there only to scare them to vote?” JDU wrote on X.Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor ridiculed Tejashwi’s promise to provide govt jobs to one member of every family. “The one who promises three crore jobs isn’t saying what he did when his parents were in power. Now all that’s left to hear is that Tejashwi will make Bihar a golden Lanka in a few days,” he said.BJP national spokesperson Ajay Alok said Congress had “sold its self-respect” by agreeing to Tejashwi’s projection. “Sitting on a stage where Rahul Gandhi’s photo was not even on the poster, Ashok Gehlot exposed his party’s helplessness by declaring Tejashwi as CM face.... Let Nov 14 come, they will be seen fighting each other,” he said, referring to the date of poll results.