Patna:
As Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his party the Janata Dal (United) cope with the open wound of a disastrous election result, ally BJP supplied a liberal smattering of salt today.
"It is now clear that when Lok Sabha elections are held, the JDU in Bihar needs Narendra Modi as much as the BJP does. This message should be clear. You can ask any Janata Dal United worker to attest to this,"said BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
Mr Kumar and his party have in fact spent the last few months stressing the opposite. At every stage of Mr Modi's ascension within the BJP, the JDU has underscored that he is not a secular leader because the 2002 riots in Gujarat, killing hundreds of Muslims, took place while he was in office. Mr Kumar has warned that he will truncate the alliance if Mr Modi is declared his party's prime ministerial candidate.
The defeat of the JDU candidate in the Lok Sabha constituency of Maharajganj came as Mr Modi delivered six seats for the BJP in Gujarat, all of them wrested from the Congress. That has powered a series of comments by BJP leaders today, urging Mr Kumar to acknowledge Mr Modi's strength as a vote-getter and the fact that the JDU needs the BJP in Bihar.
Maharajganj was won yesterday by Lalu Yadav's party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD. The chief minister says too much is being made of his loss because the constituency was already with the RJD - the member of parliament from here who died, necessitating the by-election, was from Lalu's party. (Watch)
The BJP was quick to suggest Mr Kumar is being dismissive of the facts. "We disagree that it was RJD's seat, this is just a way to console oneself," said Giriraj Singh of the BJP.
"It is now clear that when Lok Sabha elections are held, the JDU in Bihar needs Narendra Modi as much as the BJP does. This message should be clear. You can ask any Janata Dal United worker to attest to this,"said BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
Mr Kumar and his party have in fact spent the last few months stressing the opposite. At every stage of Mr Modi's ascension within the BJP, the JDU has underscored that he is not a secular leader because the 2002 riots in Gujarat, killing hundreds of Muslims, took place while he was in office. Mr Kumar has warned that he will truncate the alliance if Mr Modi is declared his party's prime ministerial candidate.
The defeat of the JDU candidate in the Lok Sabha constituency of Maharajganj came as Mr Modi delivered six seats for the BJP in Gujarat, all of them wrested from the Congress. That has powered a series of comments by BJP leaders today, urging Mr Kumar to acknowledge Mr Modi's strength as a vote-getter and the fact that the JDU needs the BJP in Bihar.
Maharajganj was won yesterday by Lalu Yadav's party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD. The chief minister says too much is being made of his loss because the constituency was already with the RJD - the member of parliament from here who died, necessitating the by-election, was from Lalu's party. (Watch)
The BJP was quick to suggest Mr Kumar is being dismissive of the facts. "We disagree that it was RJD's seat, this is just a way to console oneself," said Giriraj Singh of the BJP.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
