Bihar 2020 Election Result: Amit Shah spoke to Nitish Kumar on the phone, sources say
Patna:
As the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) appeared poised to keep Bihar with a comfortable majority, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar received a call from Home Secretary Amit Shah. Sources said Amit Shah called Nitish Kumar to discuss the results, but details are not yet known.
While the NDA is at the top in Bihar, Nitish Kumar has been reduced to third, even behind the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) party of Tejashwi Yadav, the son of rival Lalu Yadav.
Nitish Kumar, 69, is likely losing the senior partner status he enjoyed in Bihar for years. As the BJP insists he will remain Chief Minister should the NDA win, Nitish Kumar’s power is likely to be significantly diminished.
He may have to deal with more BJP members in his cabinet and may be forced to play second fiddle, at least informally. But some reports suggest that there is also a feeling within a section of the BJP that with Nitish Kumar not being able to deliver the punches, his position as chief minister can no longer be achieved.
The BJP never had a chief minister in Bihar and it never won these many seats. But Nitish Kumar’s party Janata Dal United made it clear – the BJP had given their word ahead of the election that they would be chief minister regardless of how many seats they won. The party also stressed that without it, the BJP could not hope to obtain a majority in Bihar.
“Whether we win fewer or more votes, Nitish Kumar will be the chief minister and this has been ensured by the top leadership of the central BJP. Only a few special interests speak out against Nitish Kumar,” JDU spokesman KC said. Tyagi.
Amit Shah notably skipped Bihar in the last weeks of the campaign and chose to travel to Bengal, where elections are scheduled six months later.
