Nitish Kumar to lead NDA in state polls: Bihar BJP

The two-day meeting of the core group of Bihar BJP in Suraj Kund ended on Monday during which the BJP leaders came out strongly in support of JDU chief Nitish Kumar as the leader of the NDA in Bihar. The BJP leaders said the party is willing to contest the upcoming assembly elections under Kumar's leadership.

"We have a leader and face of the NDA in Bihar. Nitish Kumar is the chief minister of the state and we will go for the upcoming election under his leadership," Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal told ET post the meeting.

Before Jaiswal, Bihar deputy CM Samrat Choudhary also reiterated that Kumar is the leader of the alliance. Over the past few days, several BJP state leaders have reiterated that Nitish Kumar remains the leader and the CM face of the alliance.


The clarification from the BJP about the CM face in Bihar came after the rumours started going on in political circles of the state that there could be another political shift before the assembly polls.

The rumours emanated after the BJP formed the government in Maharashtra with Devendra Fadnavis as the CM. Political watchers in Bihar linked it to the upcoming polls in the state and observed that the Maharashtra model could well be implemented in Bihar.

The rumours got further wind when Union home minister Amit Shah, during a TV interview, didn't clearly name Nitish Kumar as the CM face. Though Shah didn't say anything to create doubt, him not naming Kumar became another news in Bihar.