"Even If Nitish Kumar Rubs His Nose On BJP's Door....": Sushil Modi

In the event of a Maharashtra-like political crisis in Bihar, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will not accept Chief Minister Nitish Kumar into its fold at any cost even if he rubs his nose on BJP's door, BJP MP Sushil Modi said on Monday.

Speaking to ANI, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar said, "Amit Shah has already said clearly that he will not accept Nitish Kumar at any cost even if Kumar rubs his nose on BJP's door. We have carried Nitish Kumar for 17 years. Now BJP will neither accept nor carry him in the future."

After Sunday's political crisis in Maharashtra, senior BJP leader Sushil Modi said that a situation of rebellion is also brewing in Bihar.

"A situation of rebellion is also being created in Bihar because Nitish Kumar has never given even one minute to meet his MLAs and MPs in the last 17 years. They had to wait. Now each of them is being given half an hour time."

Sushil Modi said that many MPs fear that they will lose their tickets since Nitish Kumar has accepted Rahul Gandhi as his leader and has made Tejashwi Yadav his "successor".

"Ever since Nitish Kumar accepted Rahul Gandhi as the leader for the next fight in a way and made Tejashwi Yadav his successor, since then there is a situation of rebellion in JDU. Tejashwi Yadav is not ready and therefore a large number of MPs know that their ticket is going to be cut," he said.

The senior BJP leader further mentioned that the Janata Dal (United) will not get more than eight to 10 seats and hence the MPs are thinking about their future with Nitish Kumar.

"Last year JDU got 17 seats, will JDU get 17 seats this time? In today's situation, there is no scope for JDU to get more than 8-10 seats. So the MPs also think what will be their future after Nitish Kumar. There is no future. Everyone is seeing their future in darkness. So there is a situation of panic. MPs and MLAs are contacting other parties. There is a stampede-like situation," Sushil Modi said.

Sushil Modi also added that a large number of MPs and MLAs are in contact with the BJP. "A large number of MP and MLAs are in contact with us. Whom will we take or not depends on many things but overall there is an atmosphere of instability. There is sadness inside JDU."

The former Deputy Chief Minister also claimed that the JDU will be merging with the RJD in four to six months. "It has even been decided that Janata Dal will merge United in RJD, it is a matter of time that it takes 4-6 months."

Putting forth another theory why the JDU Ministers are discontent, Sushil Modi said "RJD chief Lalu Yadav has made his son the successor of JDU. Nitish has also declared RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as his successor instead of making someone from his party his successor."

Speaking about the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bihar at the cost of Nitish Kumar, Sushil Modi said, "I am watching and I have seen the increasing popularity of Narendra Modi. In 2014, when Nitish Kumar contested the elections alone, he was reduced to two seats. Nitish Kumar's vote bank has completely shifted to the BJP."

Earlier last year Nitish Kumar took oath as Bihar chief minister for the eighth time after snapping ties with the BJP and joining hands with the Rashtriya Janata Dal. Nitish Kumar is known for his frequent back and forth with his allies.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)