Former Bihar chief minister and Janata Dal (United) national president Nitish Kumar on Monday met party legislators, who authorised him to elect the party’s legislature party leader. He also said he would travel across the state to gather feedback on key NDA schemes started during his tenure.
This was the first meeting of JD(U) legislators since Nitish Kumar on April 14.
Nitish Kumar’s son, Nishant Kumar, who is not a legislator, did not attend the meeting. However, he may seek nomination to the Bihar Legislative Council against upcoming one-third vacancies. Though the party has appointed two deputy chief ministers — Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Vijay Kumar Choudhary — neither has been chosen as the legislature party leader.
JD(U) MLC and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar, who attended the meeting, told reporters: “Nitish Kumar attended the meeting to perhaps tell us ‘Main hoon na’ (I’m still there). The party passed a resolution thanking him for a series of pioneering schemes launched during his tenure as CM. We also authorised him to elect our legislature party leader.”
Quoting Nitish Kumar, he added: “After some time, he would move around the state along with NDA leaders to seek feedback on key schemes, including ongoing programmes under Saat Nischay-3”. He said Nitish Kumar would divide his time between and Patna and, besides his responsibility as a MP, would continue to guide the NDA government in Bihar.
Asked about Nishant Kumar’s role, Neeraj Kumar said: “There are no two ways about of the party after Nitish Kumar.”
Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, party national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, and the two deputy chief ministers also attended the meeting.
The JD(U) meeting assumes significance as the party has transferred power to ally BJP after its long dominance in state politics, and sought to address discontent over the shift within its cadre.
