Patna/Gopalganj, May 3: Bickering between NDA partners JD(U) and BJP came to surface again with BJP workers displaying large advertisements portraying Narendra Modi as prime ministerial candidate at Gopalganj where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is staying for the past two days.
Senior BJP leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi has also talked tough saying no party has power to impose veto in democracy and BJP will take final decision as who will be NDA's prime ministerial candidate.
Gopalganj witnessed a large number of display boards in the town put on by BJP workers portraying Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as PM hopeful after 2014 polls.
The advertisements have come when Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is in Gopalganj as part of his “Sewa yatra” to test effectiveness of governance at grassroot. Defending advertisements, Gopalganj town BJP President Deepak Kumar Deepu said, “Narendra Modi is secular so why Nitish Kumar is opposing him? We have put up billboards to make our feelings known to him (Nitish) and others.”
The big size banners has names of Gopalganj BJP District president Brahmanand Rai, District party secretary Chandramohan Pandey, youth wing district president Manish Kumar Shrivastava besides Deepu.
But, district JD(U) leaders are not happy. Describing it as a matter of indiscipline, district JD(U) president Sadanand Singh said he would take up the matter with JD(U) and BJP state chiefs.
When Bihar BJP President Mangal Pandey was asked about it, talking to PTI in Patna he said it was merely expression of feelings by party workers. His JD(U) counterpart Bashist Narayan Singh refused to comment.
Meanwhile, addressing a meeting of BJP Extremely Backward Castes workers in Patna yesterday, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi asked them to prepare for elections and not to bother about PM candidate which party Parliamentary board will decide at appropriate time.
“We will consult our NDA partners but final decision will be that of BJP, the largest constituent,” Sushil Kumar Modi had told workers.
Sushil Kumar Modi, considered as architect of JD(U)-BJP alliance in Bihar, said feelings of party workers would be kept in mind while deciding name of Prime Ministerial candidate from party.
In a veiled criticism of partner JD(U) which claims itself as championing the cause of extremely backward castes (EBC), Modi said “no one party has monopoly over EBCs.”
“The condition of the EBCs improved in the state because BJP and JD(U) worked together for their well being,” he said.
