BJP Bows to Bihar Allies, Says They'll Be Consulted About PM Narendra Modi's Role

Patna: The BJP has decided to take the protests of its allies in Bihar seriously. In a reversal of policy, the party today announced that its partners will be consulted about whether the campaign for the forthcoming state election should be centred around Prime Minister Narendra Modi instead of announcing a presumptive Chief Minister.

The Bihar election is scheduled to begin mid-September. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has tied up with former rival Lalu Prasad in an attempt to counter the BJP's plans to ride the Prime Minister's popularity in its attempt to come to power.

The BJP has three allies in the state; among them is the party headed by Ram Vilas Paswan, who is a union minister in the PM's coalition government. Another important partner, the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, has recently demanded that its chief, Upendra Kushwaha, be declared the alliance's chief ministerial candidate. It also said its candidates should be assigned 68 of the 243 assembly seats. The Kushwaha community constitutes six per cent of the state's population.

So far, the BJP had ignored those demands along with criticism of the fact that in over a year, it has not called a meeting with its allies. BJP leaders had also said that the party, as the largest member of the alliance, would alone decide on a chief ministerial candidate. But today, BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi announced, "Everything from the leadership to seat-sharing will be decided in the meeting of the National Democratic Alliance," though he did not set a date for that session.

Sources in the BJP say that the new approach is prompted partly by the fact that opponents Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad overcame grave differences to seal their alliance.