Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday dismissed speculation of rifts within the NDA in Bihar, stressing that the alliance will contest the upcoming polls under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s leadership. Speaking exclusively to India Today TV, Shah said the BJP and its allies will decide on a chief ministerial candidate only after the elections. He further said that the NDA will break all previous records when the results are announced on November 14.
Talking exclusively to India Today TV, Shah said, “I am not the one to decide whether Nitish Kumar will be CM or not. For now, we are contesting under Nitish Kumar’s leadership. After the elections, all allies will sit together and decide on their leader.”
Shah further revealed that after the last assembly elections in 2020, Nitish Kumar had approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi, emphasising that Bihar should have a Chief Minister from the BJP, as it had secured more seats than his party.
“But we always respected our alliance, and Nitish was made the Chief Minister based on the respect he had earned and his seniority,” he told India Today TV.
When asked about Nitish Kumar’s track record of frequently switching sides, Amit Shah said that he had hardly been with the Congress for 2.5 years and that his political life has largely been defined by opposing the Congress – starting with the JP Andolan in 1974, which later snowballed into a nationwide movement against then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, ultimately leading to the imposition of the Emergency.
Clearing the air on the Opposition’s repeated claims regarding Nitish Kumar’s frail health and alleged erratic behaviour, Amit Shah said that after having long conversations with him, either face-to-face or over the phone, he had never observed any of that.
Shah added that while some issues might arise due to old age, he clarified that it is not only the Chief Minister but also his team that manages affairs alongside him.
Meanwhile, Shah tore into the Mahagathbandhan, saying people in Bihar who have witnessed Lalu Prasad Yadav’s rule don’t want to see its return, no matter how much times have changed.
Taking a swipe at the RJD’s ally, the Congress, Shah said the Grand Old Party has always looked down upon smaller allies. “By trying to belittle others and think small, the Congress itself has become small,” he told India Today TV.
He added that this arrogance has cost Congress its foothold across states – from Bihar to Bengal.
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