Nitish Kumar insecure over BJP-LJP ties, says Chirag Paswan

Amid speculations that the BJP may form the government in Bihar with the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), party leader Chirag Paswan attacked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying that the JD(U) leader is suffering from insecurity.

"I think Nitish Kumar was eagerly waiting for PM, as he wanted to know what he will say here," he said in an interview to NDTV.

Chirag Paswan, son of former Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, pulled out of the NDA in Bihar, has vowed to defeat Nitish Kumar and his JD(U). "It is beyond my understanding that when BJP leaders prove daily that they have nothing to with Chirag, still the Chief Minister is not satisfied," he said.

"I don't think he will be satisfied even if the prime minister says so. After the PM, he would like to hear from the President, the Presidents of other nations and then the American President Donald Trump for his satisfaction that they have nothing to do with Chirag," Paswan said.

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Paswan has been singing paeans to PM Narendra Modi, comparing his fidelity towards Modi to Hanuman's devotion for Lord Rama. He has also sought to drive a wedge between the BJP and the JD(U) underscoring the LJP's unflinching support to Modi government on all issues, unlike the Bihar Chief Minister's party which opposed the scrapping of Article 370, the law against triple talaq and the proposed country-wide NRC.

BJP President J P Nadda, however, has asserted on multiple occasions that berating Nitish Kumar while lavishing praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a "conspiracy" to split votes which could benefit the opposition RJD. He had said some people are trying to make a dent in the NDA alliance during the ongoing polls in Bihar and "we should remain cautious against them."

A total of 71 assembly constituencies of Bihar spread across 16 districts went to polls on Wednesday in the first phase amid tight security and with Covid-19 guidelines in place.

(With agency inputs)