Patna:
After maintaining a diplomatic silence on Narendra Modi's three-day fast in Gujarat, Nitish Kumar finally addressed the issue today. "It is not proper for me to comment on each and every fast by BJP leaders", the Bihar Chief Minister said in Patna today.
It doesn't need a magnifying glass to read between the lines. "Our alliance with the BJP is limited to Bihar and Jharkhand...we have no alliance in Gujarat", Mr Kumar said, predictably distancing himself from Mr Modi, who has dedicated his fast to "promoting harmony". Many have criticized Mr Modi for failing to apologise for the communal riots of 2002, in which 1200 people were killed across Gujarat, most of them Muslims.
Mr Kumar had made it clear during the last elections in Bihar that the BJP could not send Mr Modi to campaign in his state. Mr Kumar wanted to preserve his secular image, and he won his election handsomely; the BJP also saw major gains, leading many to point out that the absence of Mr Modi, an acknowledged crowd-puller, had not hurt his party.
The BJP's other allies - like Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Badal and the Shiv Sena - have lent their support to Mr Modi's massive camp at the Gujarat University in Ahmedabad. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa also sent two representatives to attend Day One of the fast. The BJP's big guns - Rajnath Singh, L K Advani and Arun Jaitley - were present then too, but it was clear that Mr Modi was the star. He delivered a lengthy speech to inaugurate the fast and will address the audience once again this weekend with closing remarks at 5.30 pm.
Mr Modi's fast is seen as his self-driven launch pad for a bigger role in national politics. He is particularly keen, sources say, to be projected as the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2014 elections. Mr Kumar said of that possibility, "As far as candidacy for the PM is concerned, our party will react only when the BJP announces the name of the candidate...right now, the Lok Sabha elections are far away."
It doesn't need a magnifying glass to read between the lines. "Our alliance with the BJP is limited to Bihar and Jharkhand...we have no alliance in Gujarat", Mr Kumar said, predictably distancing himself from Mr Modi, who has dedicated his fast to "promoting harmony". Many have criticized Mr Modi for failing to apologise for the communal riots of 2002, in which 1200 people were killed across Gujarat, most of them Muslims.
Mr Kumar had made it clear during the last elections in Bihar that the BJP could not send Mr Modi to campaign in his state. Mr Kumar wanted to preserve his secular image, and he won his election handsomely; the BJP also saw major gains, leading many to point out that the absence of Mr Modi, an acknowledged crowd-puller, had not hurt his party.
The BJP's other allies - like Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Badal and the Shiv Sena - have lent their support to Mr Modi's massive camp at the Gujarat University in Ahmedabad. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa also sent two representatives to attend Day One of the fast. The BJP's big guns - Rajnath Singh, L K Advani and Arun Jaitley - were present then too, but it was clear that Mr Modi was the star. He delivered a lengthy speech to inaugurate the fast and will address the audience once again this weekend with closing remarks at 5.30 pm.
Mr Modi's fast is seen as his self-driven launch pad for a bigger role in national politics. He is particularly keen, sources say, to be projected as the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2014 elections. Mr Kumar said of that possibility, "As far as candidacy for the PM is concerned, our party will react only when the BJP announces the name of the candidate...right now, the Lok Sabha elections are far away."
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