"Nitish Kumar Is Chief Minister, We Are Fighting Under Him": Amit Shah To NDTV

BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah today reiterated that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is fighting the Bihar assembly election under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

The question of who would be the chief minister, however, is decided based on the party's constitutional process and that comes after the election, Shah added.

“Nitish Kumar has been addressing five rallies everyday,” the home minister said in response to a question about concerns raised by both supporters and rivals over Kumar's health, especially after a series of unusual gestures at public events.

“I have clarified this 50 times, we are fighting under Nitish Kumar's leadership. He is the chief minister. As far as the chief ministerial candidate is concerned, there is a constitutional process in the party for that. It will be decided after the election,” Shah said during a conversation with NDTV Editor-in-Chief Rahul Kanwal at the NDTV Bihar Power Play.

The most recent one happened in early October when Kumar drew attention after he sat with folded hands for what seemed like a long time, nearly a minute, while another leader read out details of the programme at a virtual event with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Earlier today, Shah took a sharp dig at the Mahagathbandhan over “chaos and infighting” in the Opposition alliance. The home minister then compared the five parties in the NDA to the five Pandavas – a strategy that he mentioned again at NDTV Bihar Power Play.

The NDA in Bihar includes BJP, Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), and Rashtriya Lok Morcha.

The people of Bihar will vote in two phases on November 6 and 11; counting is on November 14.