Ideological conflicts between NDA allies BJP and JD(U) over Narendra Modi’s possible prime ministerial candidature became sharper on Friday, a day before the regional party’s national summit, as leaders of the two allies ruling Bihar combatively asserted their divergent views on public opinion about the Gujarat strongman.
Bihar chief minister and JD(U) stalwart Nitish Kumar, who left for Delhi on Friday evening to attend the JD(U)’s crucial national council meetings slated for April 13 and 14, is learnt to be adamant on his stated position on his party supporting only a PM candidate with secular credentials in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
During his whirlwind tour of Samastipur district to unveil some development projects before leaving for Delhi, Mr Kumar reportedly kept himself minutely informed of political developments before the JD(U) conclave, in which the crucial issue of the NDA’s PM candidate would be discussed.
BJP vice-president C.P. Thakur, known for his staunch advocacy for Mr Modi’s candidature for PM, ruffled the JD(U)’s feathers afresh by saying India’s people want Mr Modi as the next PM and those opposing him suffer from a “mental disorder”. This drew instant retaliation from the JD(U).
, heightening the latest tensions between the two allies hours after JD(U) national general secretary and Rajya Sabha member K.C. Tyagi’s unblinkingly articulated the JD(U)’s “secular, socialist and democratic” ethos.
“All organisations that disregarded public opinion were doomed to failure and extinction all over the world. This is true for India, too. How can anyone ignore the evident public opinion (in favour of Modi as next PM)? All parties have to respect the common people’s opinions,” said Mr Thakur in response to questions over the JD(U)’s resistance to Mr Modi. “Nobody in the BJP is communal. People saying otherwise suffer from a mental disorder. This is an odd fixation,” he added.
JD(U) Bihar spokesman and MLC Neeraj Kumar shot back, “Those talking of public opinion must accommodate it in their own party. They should use their influence in their party to enable it to see the real public opinion”. Even as the JD(U) insisted it was right in asking the BJP to name its PM candidate well before the polls, many in Bihar’s ruling ally BJP sneeringly differed, saying such posturing displayed the JD(U)’s “political selfishness and national ambitions”.