In Bihar Race, Ashok Gehlot's 'E Shinde Was Betrayed' Note For Nitish Kumar

Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party Friday for not announcing a chief ministerial candidate for next month's Bihar Assembly election.

Gehlot offered a warning to the incumbent - Nitish Kumar. The BJP, he said, will betray the Janata Dal United boss for political gain, just as it did with the Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde in Maharashtra last year.

Conditions in Bihar, Gehlot declared, are deteriorating in terms of employment, education, and governance, and this makes it essential for the opposition alliance to win November's poll.

"But the current political scenario in Bihar raises questions. Why isn't the BJP declaring Nitish Kumar as its chief ministerial face?" he said, echoing the challenge the opposition bloc threw down Thursday, after it named the Rashtriya Janata Dal's Tejashwi Yadav as its lead face.

This, he claimed, is because the BJP plans to 'deceive' Nitish Kumar like it tricked Shinde.

The saffron party had initially backed Shinde - who broke away from Uddhav Thackeray's camp in June 2022, leading a batch of lawmakers into an alliance with the BJP and causing the Maha Vikas Aghadi government to fall. Shinde was made Chief Minister by way of a reward.

But last year the BJP bade him stand down and replaced him with Devendra Fadnavis.

"The BJP has abundant resources and is using every means - money, power, and manipulation - to fight these polls," Gehlot raged, accusing the party of 'only wanting to win by projecting Nitish Kumar's face'. Even Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he said, had indicated that Nitish Kumar's time at the top - he is Bihar's longest-serving Chief Minister - is coming to an end.

"So why the hesitation? These questions raise doubts among the people," Gehlot said.

On Thursday, after confirming Yadav's elevation as the opposition's chief ministerial candidate, Gehlot said, '... our leader is Tejashwi Yadav. Now they should confirm who is theirs..."

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The RJD leader was a unanimous pick, Gehlot stressed. "Our question is simple... why haven't they announced their (chief ministerial candidate). If the BJP is saying they will contest under Nitish Kumar's leadership, then what is stopping them from formally announcing his name?"

In other comments, Gehlot praised Rahul Gandhi for his 16-day rally, declaring it had created a positive impact on voters. And with the Chhath happening, Gehlot said the combination of Gandhi's on-ground efforts and the festival means 'the public mood has changed'.

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Meanwhile, also today, PM Modi said the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance will contest under Nitish Kumar's leadership, although he did not identify him as the alliance's chief ministerial candidate.

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