PATNA: Chief minister
Nitish Kumar will leave for New Delhi on a two-day visit on July 7. Nitish, who is also the national president of JD (U), is scheduled to hold interactions with office-bearers of the party on July 7 and participate in JD (U)’s national executive meeting on July 8.
There are also talks of Nitish calling on LJP chief
Ram Vilas Paswan in the national capital ahead of his crucial meeting with BJP chief Amit Shah in Patna on July 12.
“Ram Vilas ji had called me last evening. Though no meeting has been fixed as of now, Nitish ji will surely try to meet leaders of different NDA allies during his New Delhi visit,” JD (U) secretary general KC Tyagi said on Thursday.
Nitish’s sudden “proximity” to Paswan, whom RJD chief Lalu Prasad used to call mausam vaigyanik (political weather scientist), has kept political observers guessing. Paswan had of late been critical of BJP leaders for issuing controversial statements. He had suggested some “motormouth” BJP netas of exercising restraint while speaking on Muslims and dalits.
Nitish’s Delhi visit and his proposed meeting with Shah are being keenly observed in the backdrop of recent muscle-flexing moves of the JD (U). With next
Lok Sabha elections less than a year away, JD (U) has become aggressive in exercising pressure tactics to get a better bargain from the BJP. Some of the party functionaries even went to the extent of saying that Nitish will be the face of the NDA in Bihar in the next Lok Sabha elections.
Tyagi, however, said nothing much should be read from Nitish’s Delhi visit. “The purpose of the visit is to strengthen the organizational structure of the party. JD (U) will field its candidates in the upcoming assembly elections in four states –
Mizoram, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh. Being the national president of the party, Nitish is trying to strengthen the organization to get maximum positive results,” Tyagi said.
Nitish Kumar