Bihar chief minister Nitish KumarтАЩs one-on-one meeting with his party MLAs has drawn eyeballs of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies, with BJP leaders calling it тАЬa sign of nervousnessтАЭ.
Kumar recently had on Friday met all legislators of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) individually, a move that has set off frenzied speculation in the state and among the BJP. The Bihar CM will next meet his party MPs individually for the next three days.
JD-U leaders say it is NitishтАЩs idea to get feedback about the ground realities and the challenges in the state.
Being a leader of the House and the main face of the party, it is not unusual for a CM to meet his legislators. In view of the forthcoming monsoon session of the Bihar legislature and Parliament later this month, all parties call their legislature party meeting to work out floor strategy, but the one-on-one meeting is uncommon, and that is what has drawn attention towards the exercise.
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The BJP has described KumarтАЩs one-one-one meet with his party leaders as тАЬa sign of nervousnessтАЭ. тАЬHe is shaky about his own legislators and therefore he is meeting them. Soon, the JD-U will disintegrate and lose its existence, and that is what Nitish is worried about,тАЭ said Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi.
Meanwhile, Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha has been fanning the talk of likely merger of the JD-U and the RJD. тАЬJD-U will be history before too late,тАЭ he said.
тАЬJD-U will be merged with RJD soon, and thereafter, there will be an exodus of party leaders to join other parties. Several JD-U leaders are in touch with me and the BJP,тАЭ Kushwaha had claimed while addressing media persons in Patna earlier this week.
Reacting to this, parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary said that there was nothing unusual about a leader meeting his party legislators. тАЬIt is beyond me why people are speculating. He is the leader of legislators and that is why he is meeting them. He can do it whichever way he wants,тАЭ he added.
Choudhary said that the BJP was hoping for something to happen for the last six months and making all kinds of speculations, but nothing is happening.
тАЬThe fact is that the BJP is desperate ever since all the non-BJP parties gathered in Patna at the call of Nitish Kumar and resolved to take on the BJP unitedly. Now, the prospect of another meeting has made them jittery. They are free to speculate,тАЭ he added.
Former director of AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies and social analyst DM Diwakar said that Kumar meeting his MPs and MLAs was a significant step from the party point of view, especially in the context of his idea of taking on the BJP one on one in thr 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
тАЬIt is a fact that few would match the social engineering skills of Nitish Kumar. In the election year, he wants to cover all the corners and, therefore, he is meeting legislators and MPs individually. He would not like any dissent, which the Opposition BJP would like to fan and take advantage of. So, he is meeting leaders individually to get feedback and plan accordingly for better coordination. It is good for the organisation and a timely move, as election year witnesses flux in all parties,тАЭ he added.
