New Delhi: The ruling BJP held consultations today as Delhi voted for a new government and Bihar confronted a fierce battle for chief ministership that could precipitate an election months before it is scheduled. Top party leaders met at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence this evening.
Sources say PM Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj, who represent the party's "core group," discussed today's high-voltage polling in Delhi and the situation unfolding in Bihar, where its former ally turned rival Janata Dal United battled a crisis over its decision to replace Chief Minister Jitan Ram Majhi and bring back Nitish Kumar.
This evening, Janata Dal United lawmakers voted for Nitish Kumar's re-entry as Chief Minister and the removal of Mr Manjhi.
Mr Manjhi refused to step aside quietly, and called a cabinet meeting where he was authorised to recommend the dissolution of the assembly. The majority of cabinet ministers left the meeting in protest.
Sushil Modi, the BJP's top Bihar leader, arrived in Delhi this evening and met Amit Shah. "We are keeping an eye on the situation every minute," Mr Modi told reporters.
The state BJP has indicated that it is not averse to early polls. The BJP, powered by the Prime Minister's campaigns, has won a series of state elections. It hopes to add Delhi to its list, but faces a tough challenge from the Aam Aadmi Party of Arvind Kejriwal.
Many in the JDU fear the BJP's rise in Bihar and want Nitish Kumar as the face of the party's campaign for the state polls later this year.
"This is Nitish Kumar's fifth mistake. Every decision he made has boomeranged. He knows he can't come to power, so he is trying to come to power for at least six months," said Bihar BJP leader, Nand Kishore Yadav.