Bihar 2020 election result: Amit Shah spoke to Nitish Kumar by phone, sources said
Patna:
As the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) seemed ready to retain Bihar with a comfortable majority, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar received a call from Interior Minister 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 is down to number three, even behind the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) party of Tejashwi Yadav, the son of archrival Lalu Yadav.
Nitish Kumar, 69, is probably losing the senior partner status he enjoyed in Bihar for years. While the BJP insists that he will remain prime minister should an NDA win, Nitish Kumar’s power is likely to decline considerably.
You may have to deal with more BJP members in your cabinet and may be forced to play a supporting role, at least unofficially. But some reports suggest that there is also a feeling within a section of the BJP that since Nitish Kumar is not in a position to make the decisions, his chief ministers can no longer be a given.
The BJP has never had a Chief Minister in Bihar and has never won so many seats. But Nitish Kumar’s party, Janata Dal United, made it clear: The BJP had given its word before the election that he would be prime minister regardless of how many seats he won. The party also noted that without him, the BJP could not hope to win a majority in Bihar.
“Whether we win fewer or more votes, Nitish Kumar will be the prime minister and this was assured by the top leaders of the central BJP. Only some vested interests are speaking out against Nitish Kumar,” said JDU spokesman KC Tyagi.
In particular, Amit Shah bypassed Bihar in the last weeks of the campaign and chose to visit Bengal, where elections will be held six months later.
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