Ties with BJP grim, coalition difficult: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar

PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar termed his ties with alliance partner BJP as grim and difficult. His JD(U) is set to walk out of the alliance following the elevation of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the chairman of the party poll panel.

"There have been suggestions from people (read BJP leaders) that the 17 year old alliance should be salvaged at all costs. But there are other people who would want to break free from the alliance. The situation indeed is grim and running a coalition government would be difficult", Nitish Kumar told reporters in Patna on Friday.

Kumar recited a couplet to take a veiled dig at BJP: "People give blessings for a long life, but offer medicines that spell death". Kumar said the party would evaluate the political situation before taking any decision. JD(U) national spokesperson Shivanand Tiwari said the alliance was all but over and only a miracle could salvage it now.

BJP state unit chief Mangal Pandey hit back saying JD(U) will 'betray the mandate' if it walks out of the alliance. "Till June 9, everything was fine and JD( U) leaders termed the elevation of Narendra Modi as an internal matter of BJP. But from the next day, its leaders started issuing statements detrimental to the alliance. JD(U) should explain what has happened. Otherwise, it will be a betrayal of the mandate", Pandey told reporters.

He alleged that JD(U) was poaching on party legislators to shore up its numbers. "This is a very serious issue and is not good for democracy. It is very intriguing that JD(U), which has a political bonding with us for 17 years should be poaching on our legislators", said Pandey. He complained that the government had refused to allot the local Miller school ground for BJP's programme on June 23. "The same ground was used by JD(U) for housing rallyists for the Adhikar Rally but it is now being denied to us", he said.