Post Nitish denial of any rift, his close aide raises poll face issue

Within 24 hours of Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar’s public assertion that there was no rift in Bihar NDA and that issued related to polls would be discussed at the times of poll, his close aide Ashok Choudhary on Tuesday raked up another election related crucial issue; the face of the poll.

Choudhary, a former Education Minister, said there was no important face in Bihar than Nitish Kumar and any attempt to belittle him would be disastrous. “Without Nitish NDA will be finished in Bihar,” he said and reminded what happened to the NDA in 2015 when Nitish was not in this alliance.

During the past one year Choudhary, a dalit and former president of Bihar Congress, has become a very close confident of Nitish and he is speculated to be appointed present of Bihar JD(U) in view of very poor health of current president Bashistha Narain Singh. What the former Congressman said on Tuesday that it was NDA’s compulsion to put Nitish’s face on the front. “He is the best opener batsman and if you want him to bat last the result will be disastrous,” said Choudhary smiling beneath his thick moustaches. About Narendra Modi, he said, Modi ji is the PM but Nitish is a big name in Bihar politics.

BJP retaliated in no time. Agriculture Minister Prem Kumar said the poll face would be Narendra Modi and it hardly mattered who said what. “Modi is the face of India and also in Bihar, undoubtedly,” he said.

However, the question is why Choudhary made these observations without any provocation and that too a day after Nitish made it clear that there was no difference in the NDA and poll related matters would be discussed at appropriate time.