BJP chief Amit Shah chalks out Bihar strategy with leaders

NEW DELHI: BJP today attacked JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar accusing him of doing injustice to a 'mahadalit' and said it was keeping a close watch on political situation in Bihar as senior leaders from the state held discussion with party chief Amit Shah here.

Nitish Kumar was today elected as Leader of the JD(U) Legislature Party at a meeting called by party President Sharad Yadav to replace Jitan Ram Manjhi as Chief Minister of Bihar. A defiant Manjhi skipped the meeting.

Shah took stock of the emerging political situation in the state where the saffron party, with which JD(U) had snapped ties ahead of Lok Sabha polls, is hoping to wrest power.

Shah met Bihar's former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi and held discussions with him and other leaders from the state.

Others present at the meeting were Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, party general secretary Bhupendra Singh and senior party leader Nand Kishore Yadav.

"We are keeping a close watch on the situation in Bihar. Nitish Kumar has done injustice with a maha-dalit Jitan Ram Manjhi," Yadav told.

Sushil Modi also said that the party is closely observing the Bihar situation.

While party leaders were tight-lipped on the changing situation, sources indicated that Manjhi may meet BJP leaders in Delhi and has taken off from Patna.

Earlier during the day, senior Union ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Ananth Kumar met Shah at the party office along with Yadav and discussed the Bihar situation.

In Patna, the meeting which elected Nitish Kumar today was attended by 97 JD(U) MLAs and 37 out of a total of 41 members of the Legislative Council, party sources said.

In the 243-member Bihar Assembly, JD(U) has 115 MLAs, BJP 88, RJD 24, Congress 5, CPI 1, Independents 5 (2 supporting JD-U) and 5 seats are vacant.