Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday cleared the air over the chief ministerial face of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar Assembly elections. The BJP veteran did mention that the election is being run under the leadership of JDU’s Nitish Kumar but refrained from directly naming him the alliance’s CM face.
Addressing queries in a conversation with news channel NDTV, Shah stated that he had already clarified multiple times. “I clarify once again, Nitish ji is the chief minister, we are fighting the election under his leadership. There is no confusion in NDA regarding this, nor should it be spread,” Shah said at the Patna event.
Shah’s ‘after election’ response
When asked why the NDA had not made a clear and formal announcement about its CM candidate like Mahagathbandhan did for Tejashwi Yadav and whether Bihar could witness a repeat of the “Eknath Shinde scenario,” Amit Shah said that the formal decision on the chief minister’s post would be taken after the election in accordance with constitutional procedure.
“The process for selecting the chief minister is a constitutional one determined by all MLAs sitting together after the election,” he told the news outlet.
The reference was to the Maharashtra elections, where despite the BJP and Shiv Sena winning together, Eknath Shinde was made deputy chief minister while the saffron party kept the CM’s golden post for Devendra Fadnavis.
The clarification came amid persistent opposition attacks suggesting internal uncertainty within the NDA over Kumar’s leadership. Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Saturday claimed that Nitish Kumar “knows he won’t become Chief Minister this time.”
Earlier, in an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav also alleged, “CM Nitish Kumar is not in good health and has lost control over the administration. He is not coming back. He will be finished after the polls,” Yadav said.
On Nitish’s health
Responding to questions on whether the short manifesto release was linked to Nitish Kumar’s health, Amit Shah brushed aside such speculation. “There were six people. If six people give 20-minute speeches, it will go on for an hour and a quarter,” he said.
He further added, “He is doing five rallies every day in five villages. Campaigning in Bihar is considered a sign of good health in itself,” NDTV reported.
Shah further exuded confidence that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would secure around 160 of the 243 seats in the Bihar Assembly and return to power for the fifth consecutive term since 2005. In the 2020 elections, the NDA won 125, with the BJP bagging 74 seats.
The opposition’s criticism intensified after the NDA’s election manifesto for Bihar was released in a short event that lasted less than a minute. Congress leaders alleged that Nitish Kumar was sidelined during the programme and was not allowed to speak, calling it an “insult to Bihar and Biharis.”
Ashok Gehlot also took a dig at the event, claiming that the ruling alliance “was afraid of facing questions from journalists about their 20-year rule.”
At the manifesto release, CM Nitish Kumar, his deputy Samrat Choudhary, BJP president JP Nadda, Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, and Chirag Paswan were present.
All leaders left the venue soon after the brief launch, except deputy CM Choudhary, who stayed back to answer a few questions from the press.
Bihar gears up for polling
The Bihar Assembly elections for 243 seats will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11. Simultaneously, by-elections for eight seats across seven states and Union Territories will also take place on November 11. Counting of votes for all will be held on November 14.
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