Patna: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today said that it will not declare anyone as its chief ministerial candidate in Bihar where assembly election is due in September-October this year.
Ananth Kumar, Union Minister and election in-charge of BJP in poll-bound Bihar, said that the BJP will contest upcoming elections in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"The party will not announce any name for the chief ministership. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the face of party for the upcoming election," he told reporters at Patna airport.
Incumbent CM of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, has been declared the chief ministerial nominee of the Janata Dal-United, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress combine for the forthcoming polls.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav had last week also dared the BJP-led NDA to declare its CM candidate for the polls.
Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP and Union Minister Upendra Prasad Kushwaha-led RLSP are the other allies of BJP in the state.
Meanwhile, the ruling JD(U) said that the BJP is indulging in caste-based politics and hence it is running away from declaring its CM nominee.
Party's state unit president Vashisht Narayan Singh said, "Will Modi be made the in-charge of Bihar? BJP is playing caste-based politics and this is the reason why they are not making announcement. They are trying to mislead the electorates."
Kumar was last week made election in-charge of BJP in poll-bound Bihar where it will take on the formidable RJD-JD(U)-Congress combine. Kumar will be assisted by another Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, a former in-charge of party affairs in the state. Pradhan is also election co-incharge of the party in Bihar.
