Nitish Kumar Becoming JD(U) Chief Party's "Internal Matter", Says BJP

The BJP on Friday said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar coming back at the helm of the JD(U) as its president is its "internal matter", but the way it has happened has further reduced people's faith in the party.

"The era of cheating is now over. The public will not accept the group of thugs now," BJP legislator and Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly Vijay Kumar Sinha told news agency PTI.

His reaction came after Kumar was elected as the president of the Janata Dal (United) at a meeting of the party's national executive on Friday.

Senior JD(U) leader Lalan Singh stepped down as the party chief at the closed-door meeting and proposed Kumar's name, saying his leadership will be needed at this crucial juncture in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, while he (Singh) will be busy contesting the election.

Singh, who was made the JD(U) president in July 2021, represents Bihar's Munger constituency in the Lok Sabha.

Asked for his comments on the development, Sinha said, "Congratulations to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on becoming the president of the JD(U). It is an internal matter of the JD(U)." But the "cycle of events" in the party has exposed the atmosphere of "confusion, mistrust and infighting", he added.

"Somewhere or the other, people's faith in them has gone down further with the atmosphere of confusion and mistrust (in the party)," Sinha said, adding that such an atmosphere is not right for any political party in a democracy.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also took potshots at Singh and said he should have tendered his resignation from the JD(U) chief's post long ago.

He alleged that Singh had become closer to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and was "cheating" both RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and Kumar.

"That time the chief minister's responsibility was bigger (when Kumar stepped down as the JD-U president). This time there was a much bigger fear of losing the chief minister's post," Sinha claimed when asked if there were differences within the JD(U) owing to which Singh was made to step down.

"I feel sorry for Lalan Singh, who is an MP from my area. The way he has been removed from the post, anybody who has self-respect would not let others embarrass him in such a manner. He should have resigned long ago. There was no point in continuing to hold the post when the party leadership did not have faith in him," the BJP leader said. 

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