Nishant Kumar, son of Janata Dal (United) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, said on Tuesday that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) should declare his father the chief ministerial candidate ahead of the Assembly election in the State.
He made the statement a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Mr. Kumar the “ladla” (beloved) Chief Minister of Bihar, during a function in Darbhanga.
Soon after Mr. Modi’s Bihar visit, a section of the JD(U) leaders said that the Prime Minister should have announced that the NDA would be contesting the Assembly election – due later this year – under the leadership of Mr. Kumar, but he did not make any such statement except attacking Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad and the Congress.
“NDA should declare my father the chief ministerial candidate, even the JD(U) leaders should move ahead in this direction by forwarding his name as the CM candidate,” Mr. Nishant said after paying tributes to his mother late Manju Sinha on her birth anniversary along with his father.
The same day, Mr. Kumar held a closed-door meeting with BJP president J.P. Nadda in Patna along with both Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha. Senior JD(U) leader and Cabinet colleague Vijay Kumar Chaudhary was also present at the meeting which lasted for half an hour. The leaders who attended the meeting did not share the details.
Several BJP leaders of Bihar have said in the past that the Assembly election would be held under the leadership of Mr. Kumar.
Asked about Mr. Modi addressing his father as “ladla” CM, Mr. Nishant said, “Of course, if we are in alliance, he will definitely say like that.”
Mr. Nishant further said that the JD(U) leaders and workers should go among the people and tell them about the public welfare works done by his father for 19 years.
“People should know about it, then only he will become the Chief Minister again and development work will move forward. I will appeal to all the youth and every section of people to vote for my father, if he has done good work. Last time, we won only 43 seats [of the 243], despite that my father has continued the development work. So, this time the number of winning seats should also increase,” Mr. Nishant said.
Reacting to the same old question whether he would join politics, Mr. Nishant said the public would decide that.
His statement came on a day the review meeting of JD(U) district presidents, divisional in-charges and assembly in-charges was held at the party office on Tuesday.
JD(U) State president Umesh Singh Kushwaha conducted the meeting in which he gave many important guidelines to the party officials in view of the Assembly election. During the meeting, a list of newly nominated district in-charges of the party was also released.
JD(U) eyeing 225 seats
In his address, Mr. Kushwaha reiterated the party’s resolution to win 225 seats out of the 243 and to make Mr. Kumar the Chief Minister once again.
“To win 225 seats in 2025, all the party leaders have to strengthen the organisation by running a campaign at the micro level. The elections are gradually coming very close, so there should be no reduction in hard work and effort. JD(U) workers have immense power and courage, if we work with full strength, then we will easily conquer even the biggest challenges,” Mr. Kushwaha said.
