Custom Search

Patna, Sep 13 (IANS) A Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Monday asked the party leaders to rethink its decision of allying with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after there were reports that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi would campaign in the coming assembly elections in the State.

JD(U) member of parliament (MP) Shivanand Tiwari said: "The party should rethink over the decision of forging an alliance with the BJP after spokesman of the saffron party Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi announced that Modi would campaign in the next assembly elections in Bihar."

He said that it was a closed chapter that Modi would not campaign in Bihar but some BJP leaders have been trying hard to give a fresh lease of life to the issue.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar told newspersons here Monday that he has no information about Modi campaigning in Bihar. "I don't have information about it," Nitish Kumar said.

JD-U president Sharad Yadav said no to Modi campaigning in the state for the assembly elections in October-November.

Bihar will elect a new 243-seat assembly in a staggered month-long polling from Oct 21 to Nov 20 in what is expected to produce a stiff battle for power.

Modi had not campaigned for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar in any election after the Godhra riots of 2002.

JD(U), which has been consistently making attempts to woo Muslim voters in the state, strongly opposed Modi's coming to Bihar for even the Lok Sabha election campaign in 2009.

In June, some BJP leaders of state questioned Nitish Kumar's decision to return the money given by Gujarat in 2008 for flood relief.

Differences between Nitish Kumar and the BJP began June 12 when he expressed displeasure over newspaper advertisements featuring him and Narendra Modi. An angry Nitish Kumar cancelled a dinner for BJP leaders attending its national executive meeting here.

Comment

comments...