JD(U) elects Nitish Kumar as Legislature Party leader

However, a few members also feel that the party can achieve its objectives better by supporting the Kumar government from outside than by joining it.

However, the JD(U) was silent on the call for unification from the next politically critical state, Uttar Pradesh.

The Chief Minister himself led the visitors in taking their seats where he served “prasad” to them.

A senior JD(U) leader today claimed that the BJP sustained a “body blow” at the just-concluded Bihar Assembly election by having its strength reduced to half as it did not have the company of Nitish Kumar this time “to do a rescue act”.

After BJP’s rout at the hands of Aam Admi Party at the Delhi Assembly elections in February 2015, the Bihar humiliation is a bad setback for BJP’s intolerant politics.

Suave and articulate, Kumar again became Railway Minister in 2001 and continued till 2004 during which period he was credited with introducing several reforms in the public sector behemoth like internet ticket booking and Tatkal system of instant booking. “Bihar has put its stamp on Kumar in this clash of personality, ideology and work”, Singh said at a press conference.

“Nitish Kumar met the governor and submitted his resignation to him and informed about the cabinet decision”, an official said. Commentaries recalling Advani’s past brushes with the party leadership have sprouted in the media in what appears to be an attempt to denigrate him sufficiently so that what he has said is rejected as motivated for personal reasons.

Apart from caste issues, the other reason why Nitish did well is good governance in otherwise “lawless Bihar”.

These comments came nearly simultaneously with Akhilesh Yadav’s call that there is a possibility of a Grand Alliance in UP. As per sources, the Grand Alliance has extended invitation to senior BJP leaders, including L K Advani, dissident BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha, former finance minister Yashwant Sinha and former Bihar BJP president C P Thakur.

Earlier in the day, all the three parties held their legislature party meetings separately before converging on the Bihar legislature premises for a joint meeting which was presided over by JD(U)’s state president Vashishtha Narayan Singh. But he chose to desert them and contest the state election independently.

The jointly signed letter by the geriatric quartet of BJP leaders made a very pointed charge that in the past one year the BJP had been “emasculated” and “forced to kowtow to a handful” in the party. “I look forward to being there”, Omar tweeted.

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“But the trouble with Maywati is that she does not align with anyone”.