AFTER THE Congress’s poor show in the recent Assembly polls, the JD(U) has renewed its demand to project party supremo and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as probable prime minister face of the INDIA bloc, adding that the party’s brand of politics would dominate the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Coincidentally, the JD(U) announced that Nitish would not attend the INDIA bloc meeting, which was to be held on Wednesday before it was postponed, saying the CM was not keeping well.
This was after JD(U) and Congress ally RJD had confirmed the participation of its chief Lalu Prasad and Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav in the meeting.
JD(U) chief national spokesperson KC Tyagi told The Indian Express: “Though it is the call of INDIA bloc constituents to decide whether the alliance should go with a PM face or not, we will reiterate that Nitish Kumar has all the qualities a PM should have. Nitish Kumar’s brand of development and socialist politics will dominate the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.”
Tyagi also highlighted the caste angle, saying Nitish was the only leader in the INDIA bloc who had shown the courage to hold a caste survey and, on the basis of it, to increase the quota cap from 50% to 65%. “While some states conducted similar surveys before, none dared release the report because of political reasons… The INDIA bloc should revisit its politics, with Nitish Kumar playing a key role in it,” said Tyagi.
Days ago, the JD(U)'s Bheem Sansad meeting in Patna saw Nitish being greeted with slogans of “Desh ka PM kaisa ho, Nitish Kumar jaisa ho (The country's PM should be like Nitish Kumar)”.
On Monday, the Trinamool Congress had put forward its supremo Mamata Banerjee’s claim to lead the INDIA bloc, saying a person who had beaten the BJP “multiple times” and had long administrative experience should be picked.
Tyagi also lashed out at the Congress over “never taking allies into confidence”, when asked about its loss in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. “It also turned down our proposal to hold joint rallies in poll-bound states. This loss shows that the Congress will have to rethink its politics if it wants the INDIA bloc to succeed.”
Asked if regional parties would play a bigger role in the Lok Sabha elections, the JD(U) leader said: “Don’t call us regional parties. We are parties of sub-nationalism and socialism. The BJP has become a party of North India alone. The Samajwadi Party and RLD in UP, the RJD-JD(U) in Bihar, the TMC in West Bengal and the DMK in Tamil Nadu are still very strong forces.”
On Nitish plans to skip the INDIA bloc meeting, JD(U) MLC and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said: “He has not been keeping well, but he is recovering. The CM presided over today’s Cabinet meeting as well and gave key suggestions on holding a meeting to commemorate socialist icon and former CM Karpoori Thakur.”
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First published on: 05-12-2023 at 19:55 IST
