RJD taunts Nitish for his 'helplessness' post 'BJP pressurised me to be CM' revelation

On Monday, RJD took a dig at ex-JD(U) president Nitish Kumar for his revelation that BJP pressurised him to become the Chief Minister after the Bihar Assembly election. Speaking at the meeting of the party's National Executive on December 27, Kumar maintained that he was not greedy for any post. RJD MP Manoj Jha expressed surprise at the fact that pressure was exerted on Kumar despite JD(U) winning 43 seats in the state Assembly. Questioning the Bihar CM for caving in, he castigated JD(U) for its inability to respond effectively after 6 of its MLAs in Arunachal Pradesh switched their allegiance to BJP. According to Jha, the people had not seen any tall leader of Bihar showcase such helplessness. 

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JD(U)'s reduced clout in Bihar

The 2020 Bihar Assembly election witnessed a voter turnout of 57.05% as against that of 56.66% in the 2015 polls. The polls turned out to be a nail-biting contest with NDA emerging victorious in 125 seats as against that of 110 seats won by the Mahagatbandhan. BJP, RJD, JD(U), Congress won 74, 75, 43, and 19 seats respectively.

BJP winning more seats than JD(U) for the first time in a Bihar Assembly election led to the speculation that JD(U)'s clout in the alliance will reduce. LJP, who lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and targeted Nitish Kumar throughout the election campaign, is believed to have damaged JD(U)'s prospects in 32 seats despite bagging a solitary seat. While Kumar again took oath as the CM of Bihar, BJP has two Deputy CMs in 4-time MLAs Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi.

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BJP attempts damage control

Earlier in the day, former Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi sought to clarify Nitish Kumar's comment. While acknowledging that the ex-JD(U) chief didn't want to become the CM, he mentioned that Kumar was convinced to take up the post as he was the face of the coalition in the polls. Modi asserted that there is no problem in the NDA alliance.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi remarked, "What he wanted to say is that BJP and JDU leaders pressurised him to be CM because the mandate of people was for him. He didn't mean to say force. He was not ready to be the CM but we told him that the elections were conducted using his face and people voted for him, so then he took up the post. There is no problem in the alliance. I am sure the NDA will flourish with the cooperation of new JDU president RCP Singh ji."