PATNA: RJD MLA Bhai Birendra, considered close to party chief Lalu Prasad, on Thursday said they would “welcome” Bihar CM Nitish Kumar if he split from the BJP.
“There are no permanent friends or enemies in politics. If Nitish comes to us after breaking alliance with communal forces, we will welcome him,” Birendra said. His comments came amid an apparent tug-of-war over whether Nitish will be the face of the NDA in next year’s assembly elections. Birendra caused a stir by telling journalists to “be careful” of more “political games” that Bihar has seen in the past. “Khela hota raha hai aur aage bhi hoga. Dekhte rahiye (The state has witnessed political games in the past and they will happen again. Keep watching).”
Nitish’s JD(U) dismissed the comments as “nonsense”. “RJD has been constantly trying to create confusion among people. There is unrest within the party after its disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha and assembly by-elections (last month),” JD(U)’s Neeraj Kumar said. BJP’s Dilip Jaiswal accused RJD of desperation.