Nitish will never return to BJP: JD(U) chief

JDU president Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lalan on Thursday asserted that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was fully with the Mahagathbandhan and would not realign with the BJP even in seven lifetimes.Saat janam mein bhi nahin, exclaimed Lalan, who also charged the former ally with engaging in a whisper campaign to create a false impression that Kumar, the JDUs supreme leader, who had dumped the saffron party a year ago, was having a change of mind.I know there are many supporters of the BJP in our own party who are involved in giving rise to such confusion.

JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’ on Thursday asserted that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was fully with the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ and would not realign with the BJP ''even in seven lifetimes''.

''Saat janam mein bhi nahin'', exclaimed Lalan, who also charged the former ally with engaging in a whisper campaign to create a false impression that Kumar, the JD(U)'s supreme leader, who had dumped the saffron party a year ago, was having a change of mind.

''I know there are many supporters of the BJP in our own party who are involved in giving rise to such confusion. One such element was Ranbir Nandan whom we expelled yesterday. He had been saying that Nitish Kumar should join hands with (PM) Narendra Modi in the interests of Bihar; as if the CM acted as per Nandan's advice,” Lalan told reporters here.

A state unit spokesman and former MLC, Nandan was expelled for repeatedly going against the party line, though he later claimed that he had quit the JD(U) before the order of expulsion was issued since he had grown disillusioned with Kumar.

Lalan expressed strong displeasure over continued speculations of yet another volte face by the chief minister in a section of the media which, the JD(U) chief alleged, was acting at the behest of the ruling BJP at the Centre.

''These channels and anchors are acting as per the script prepared by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is also producer and director of this farcical show,” he claimed.

“But, the fact is, Nitish Kumar will never go back to the BJP...'', Lalan said.

He added that the BJP is now known only for the rhetoric (‘jumla’) of Narendra Modi. ''What is left in the BJP? Did it fulfil any of its promises like two crore jobs a year?” said Lalan, who also blamed the party's spin doctors for the ongoing controversy over the alleged denigration of ‘Thakurs’ by Manoj Jha of current ally RJD.

Lalan, who had played an instrumental role in bringing Kumar and arch-rival Lalu Prasad, the RJD supremo, together a year ago, was also asked about a number of meetings the two leaders have had in the last few days.

''I wonder what is so unusual in that? Both of them are key pillars of the ruling ‘Mahagathbandhan’ in the state and also the nationwide INDIA coalition. They meet and will continue to meet to discuss a number of issues,” the JD(U) chief said.

Reacting to Lalan’s remarks about the BJP, its state president Samrat Choudhary said, ''Nitish Kumar owes his standing to the benediction (‘kripa’) of the BJP. Without its support, he would have never become the chief minister.” Choudhary also said Kumar and his “henchmen” keep saying they will not join hands with the saffron party. “They should know that nobody in the BJP wants to join hands with them,” he asserted.