Jaitley, Ananth meet Nitish; ties still sour

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An informal BJP-JD(U) breakfast meeting to resolve conflicts between the two over last month’s Narendra Modi advertisements got soured with fresh bitterness on Sunday due to the Bihar government’s recent advertisements praising chief minister Nitish Kumar to the exclusion of his BJP partner.
Senior BJP leaders Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar met Mr Kumar for two hours to iron out strains in the state’s ruling coalition after Mr Kumar’s bitter opposition to the Modi ads, but the meeting saw an eruption of BJP gripes over the Bihar government ads that make no mention of BJP deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi. The bitterness in the BJP over the Bihar government ads was first reported in this newspaper on Sunday.
Mr Jaitley, the BJP’s key poll strategist, and state in-charge Ananth Kumar reportedly told Mr Kumar the state government ads were “a genuine injustice” to the party.
Mr Sushil Kumar Modi, who was also present, spoke little as the two national leaders did most of the talking. Sources said Mr Kumar, put on the defensive, agreed with the BJP’s sentiments.
“The two leaders told Nitishji that the ads caused immense discomfort among millions of BJP supporters across the country,” said a Bihar BJP general secretary. Mr Jaitley and Mr Ananth Kumar, however, described the meeting as only a “social meeting” and said nothing to reporters about what had transpired. A state leader said: “All conflicts will be resolved. We (BJP and JD-U) are together and will remain together.”
Mr Nitish Kumar, who left after the meeting for Saharsa to attend the wedding of jailed politician Anand Mohan’s niece, also said little to the media. He is reported to have agreed to the BJP’s suggestion to keep the seat-sharing pattern of the 2005 Assembly polls intact this time.