Bihar Elections 2020: Chirag Paswan also spoke with Amit Shah by phone.
Patna / New Delhi:
Chirag Paswan used his birthday wishes for Union Interior Minister Amit Shah today to demonstrate his loyalty to the BJP as he constantly sharpens his attacks on his ally, Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The leader of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) called Amit Shah his “keeper” in a tweet crafted as a message to Nitish Kumar at the top of the campaign for the Bihar polls that begin next week.
“Best wishes to the country’s Interior Minister, Tutor Amit Shah on his birthday. Sir, you inspire thousands of young people like me to do something for the country. May God always keep you healthy,” Chirag Paswan tweeted on the 56th birthday of the BJP leader.
The 37-year-old LJP MP, who is fighting separately from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the October-November elections in Bihar, also spoke to Amit Shah by phone.
Shortly before the birthday wishes, Chirag Paswan, in three tweets, had targeted Nitish Kumar for what he alleged were “five years of scams” and added that if he came to power, he would have all those responsible jailed.
Chirag Paswan’s strategy of underscoring his continued ties to the BJP while fighting Janata Dal United (JDU) in the Bihar elections has proven to be a major challenge for Nitish Kumar. Multiple pronouncements by the BJP that Nitish Kumar leads the NDA in Bihar have failed to convince his supporters that the ruling party is not secretly backing Chirag Paswan in his mission to overthrow the five-time Chief Minister.
As Chirag Paswan rained accusations and insults on Nitish Kumar, Amit Shah allegedly had to intervene to appease the annoying Chief Minister and assure him that he was still the face of the NDA.
The LJP leader, however, has played on Nitish Kumar’s insecurities by emphasizing that he remains devoted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hopes to form a government in Bihar with the BJP.
In an interview with NDTV, Paswan also claimed that he had shared his reservations about Nitish Kumar before announcing his solo fight and that Amit Shah had been “quiet”.
“It’s not that I sat across the table from Amit Shah and I was breaking the news to him. I met him once and told him that it wouldn’t be possible for him to join me and share a seat, but could it be possible for him to do so? “Put my Bihar First, Bihari First, agenda on the NDA agenda. I said if not, let me turn my candidates against JDU. He didn’t say anything about that … He was quiet, he was listening.” the actor-turned-politician told NDTV last week.
.
