New Delhi: With Bihar going to polls later this year and BJP non-committal over projecting incumbent Nitish Kumar as NDA’s chief minister face in the state, the JD(U) supremo’s son has made an appeal to the voters to give his father another chance. During a visit to Bakhtiyarpur on Friday, Nishant Kumar made a rare public appearance and urged the public to re-elect his father.
Nishant accompanied his father was there to pay homage to statues of prominent freedom fighters, including his grandfather, Kaviraj Ramlakhan Singh ‘Vaidya’. Speaking to reporters, Nishant said: “Ho sakega to pitaji ko, unki party ko aap sab janata vote karen, fir se layen (If possible, please vote for my father and his party and bring him back. He has done good work for the state).”
Known for keeping low public profile
Nishant’s remarks have started a debate in the political circles given his typically low public profile. People are wondering if he will succeed his father in JD(U). When a reporter asked if he was planning to join politics, he chose not to answer.
Meanwhile, the opposition has latched on his remarks, viewing it as a sign of Nitish Kumar’s dwindling influence. “This emotional appeal highlights the CM’s diminishing mass appeal. Nitish Kumar should step aside and let his son take the reins,” RJD spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav was quoted as saying by the Times of India. “If a doctor’s son becomes a doctor and an IAS officer’s son becomes an IAS officer, then why can’t a politician’s son become a politician?” he asked.
Calculated political strategy, opposition says
Congress’s Rajesh Rathorre described Nishant’s remarks as a calculated political strategy. “Nitish Kumar appears to be planning a significant shift in state politics. We may witness unexpected twists in the coming months,” he speculated.
However, BJP stood firmly by Nishant’s remarks. “The work Nitish Kumar has done for Bihar is unparalleled. Nishant’s statement is a rightful acknowledgment of his father’s achievements,” BJP spokesperson Prabhakar Mishra said to TOI.
Nitish Kumar is an important partner for BJP both at state and national level. The BJP, going against its Delhi unit’s resistance, gave a seat to JD(U) for the February 5 assembly elections in the national capital. It also gave a seat to its another ally LJP-Ramvilas.
