Nitish Kumar is face of the NDA in Bihar, that is why he is chief minister, JD(U)'s Pavan Varma said.
Highlights
- Nitish Kumar is the face of NDA in Bihar: JDU national general secretary
- BJP-led NDA, which JDU joined last year, is scheduled to meet on June 7
- BJP had bagged 22 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar in 2014
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar "is the face of the NDA in Bihar" as it is the largest constituent of the coalition, JD(U) national general secretary Pavan Varma said amid speculation that the party might press for a seat-sharing arrangement for the parliamentary election in 2019.
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Nitish Kumar is the face of the NDA in Bihar, that is why he is the chief minister. JD(U) is the largest constituent of the coalition," Mr Varma said after a core committee meeting at Mr Kumar's residence.
The JD(U) core committee met in Patna on Sunday ahead of a meeting of the National Democratic Alliance scheduled later this week, reported news agency PTI.
JD(U) national general secretaries KC Tyagi and Pavan Varma who had arrived from New Delhi, poll strategist Prashant Kishor and a few other state leaders took part in the meeting.
The meeting assumes significance as the BJP-led NDA, which the JD(U) joined in August last year, is scheduled to hold a meeting in Bihar on June 7. During the NDA meeting, to be attended by Mr Kumar, the coalition partners are likely to discuss their strategy in the state for the next Lok Sabha polls.
BJP-led NDA, which the JD(U) joined in August last year, is scheduled to hold a meeting in Bihar on June 7.
There is speculation in political circles that the JD(U), which has only two Lok Sabha members, might press for a seat-sharing arrangement commensurate with its strength in the Bihar assembly where it has about 70 MLAs against nearly 50 of the BJP.
Besides the JD(U) and the BJP, the NDA in Bihar comprises Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party and Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samata Party.
The BJP had bagged 22 out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2014, when the JD(U) had fought separately.
In the wake of the poor show by the BJP in a number of bypolls recently, its
allies have started voicing the need for better coordination within the NDA instead of a "big brotherly attitude" displayed by the senior coalition partner.