Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, once a harsh critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asked a gathering in Bihar's Purnea to give him a standing ovation for the development projects the Centre is implementing in the state.
The Prime Minister was at Purnea in eastern Bihar yesterday to inaugurate projects worth Rs 36,000 crore, including the first airport in the politically sensitive Seemanchal region. The BJP hopes that the announcements will reap dividends in the upcoming election.
Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar thanked the Prime Minister for the development in Bihar and the country. "I would like to say something. He has done so much for Bihar. Please stand up and greet him. Why are you all sitting?" he said, as the crowd cheered and Prime Minister Modi bowed with folded hands. "The state government has been doing it anyway, and with his support, Bihar will surge ahead," the Chief Minister said.
In an apparent swipe at rival Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Bihar Chief Minister contrasted the current pace of development in Bihar with the situation during the RJD regime. "Before our government was formed on November 24, 2005, there was nothing in Bihar. The previous government did nothing. After we came, continuous work was done," he said, without naming anyone.
Nitish Kumar's JDU is among the key allies of the BJP at the Centre and its support was crucial in the formation of Modi 3.0 government after the BJP fell short of the magic number in the Lok Sabha polls last year.
Interestingly, Nitish Kumar had walked out of NDA over the BJP's choice of Narendra Modi as its Prime Ministerial face before the 2014 polls.
The following decade has seen multiple flip-flops by the JDU chief across the political aisle. He has stayed on as Bihar Chief Minister even though his allies have changed. Mr Kumar is now gearing up for another high-voltage poll battle in an alliance with BJP.
