"The people of Bihar now want to see a BJP leader as the chief minister," Sanjay Paswan said
The BJP should rein in its leaders who speak out of turn and violate "coalition dharma", Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal United suggested today after a leader pitched for another Chief Ministerial candidate from his party.
The BJP has already officially accepted Nitish Kumar as the Chief Ministerial candidate of the alliance. Party chief Amit Shah has publicly mentioned the matter several times.
But on Wednesday, BJP MLC Sanjay Paswan had pitched for a chief minister from his party to replace Nitish Kumar, vocalizing the sentiments of a section of the party.
"The people of Bihar now want to see a BJP leader as the chief minister... We are in a position to form a government in the state on our own, though we shall abide by whatever decision Narendra Modi and Sushil Modi (Deputy CM and BJP leader) take," Mr Paswan had told reporters.
The state unit of the BJP hastily distanced itself from the views by Mr Paswan, a former Union minister.
"Sanjay Paswan is a senior and respected leader of our party. He may have said something in his personal capacity. It is not the party's official stand," BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said.
A Dalit leader, Sanjay Paswan had irked the JD(U) a few months ago as well, demanding that Nitish Kumar be replaced as chief minister by a BJP leader.
The JDU insisted that had it been their party, action would have been taken immediately for such blatant statements.
"Had a member of the JD(U) been guilty of repeatedly violating coalition dharma in this manner, he would have faced the consequences for sure. I hope the BJP takes note of leaders who keep shooting their mouths off despite Amit Shah''s intervention and act against them," JD(U) spokesman Rajeev Ranjan Prasad said in a statement.
The state assembly polls approaching, the ruling allies of Bihar have been sniping at each other for months.
Last month, it was JD(U)'s Prashant Kishor who ruffled feathers in the BJP camp, suggesting that his party must get a lion's share in seat distribution for the assembly election.
Furious, the BJP said those who entered politics by running a company that "collects poll data and frames slogan" are hurting the National Democratic Alliance with their adverse remarks.
Without naming Mr Kishor - election strategist who worked for the BJP, JD(U) and the Congress and whose team is currently advising Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal -- Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi tweeted: "A person running a business for profit first tries to create a market for his service, thinks about the welfare of the country later".