Bihar: BJP to hold a state-wide protest against Nitish's exit from alliance

Angry with yet another volte face by its old ally, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the BJP's state unit has announced that it will stage massive protests (mahadharnas) against the “betrayal” by the JD(U) leader across all districts on Wednesday which will be followed by agitations at the block level a day later

Reacting furiously to the development, senior leader Sushil Kumar Modi, who had served as Kumar’s deputy for more than a decade and is considered as his most trusted man in the BJP, accused the former boss of telling “blatant lie”.

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“It is a blatant lie that BJP had made RCP Singh a minister without the consent of Nitish ji. Another lie is that the BJP was trying to split the JD(U). He was looking for an excuse to break ties. The BJP will return to power with a thumping majority in 2024," Modi tweeted.

Notably, Kumar had cited a “unanimous sentiment” in his JD(U) as the reason behind making the sudden move. His party’s ties with the BJP, though dating back to the 1990s, barring a four years hiatus that began with his first breaking away in 2013, have been chequered.

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However, in the recent past the two parties squabbled on a whole range of issues though the tipping point, according to JD(U) sources, came with alleged attempts of RCP Singh, a former national president who has for some time come to be seen as “BJP’s man”, to split the party.

At a press conference here soon after Kumar met the governor, along with RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad accused the chief minister of inconsistency in his beliefs.