Madarihat by-election campaign heats up
As the Madarihat by-election approaches on 13 November, the stalled road over bridge (ROB) at a railway crossing in Birpara has emerged as a key campaign issue.
Amidst reports of a rift between the JD(U) and the BJP, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi were on Monday seen attending the ‘Iftar’ party hosted by LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan in Patna.
JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar and BJP’s Sushil Modi were seen sitting on either side of Pawan at the party. Governor Lalji Tandon was also present at the event.
All is well in the NDA in Bihar and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is our leader in the state, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan had said on Sunday, downplaying the JD(U) leader’s decision not to join the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
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“All is well in the NDA. Nitish Kumar is our leader. Too many conclusions must not be drawn. He (Kumar) has also said that he was, is and will remain in the NDA. Moreover, I am there to act as a cementing force,” Paswan told reporters.
Nitish Kumar had on Sunday inducted eight JD-U MLAs as Cabinet Ministers, leaving out his ally the BJP and fuelling speculation of a rift between the two parties.
The Cabinet expansion came two days after the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) chief decided that his party won’t join Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new government because it was offered just one seat — a “symbolic” representation.
However, Nitish Kumar clarified that there was no split in the NDA. “BJP has decided that induction of their quota in the Cabinet would be done later,” he said.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Senior Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh asked Kumar to join the Grand Alliance.
Singh, a former Union Minister, said Nitish Kumar, who is also the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) chief, should join hands with the non-BJP parties to fight against the saffron party.
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