BJP, JD-U squabble in Bihar on claims of rift in ruling party

BJP on Sunday claimed that JD(U) in Bihar was headed for a split between two power centres led by the incumbent Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and his predecessor Nitish Kumar even as the ruling party trashed the remarks saying they "lacked substance".

Patna: BJP on Sunday claimed that JD(U) in Bihar was headed for a split between two power centres led by the incumbent Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and his predecessor Nitish Kumar even as the ruling party trashed the remarks saying they "lacked substance".

"Both the incumbent chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and his predecessor Nitish Kumar are speaking in contradictory voices and so are some ministers owing allegiance to the two leaders, giving an impression that the JD(U) is headed for a split," former deputy chief minister and senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi told PTI.

There was also confusion in the ruling party ranks as to who will lead its campaign for the next assembly polls, he said, adding that some ministers close to the present chief minister have publicly said that the elections will be fought under Manjhi`s leadership even as the former chief minister Nitish Kumar had got a resolution passed by the party that he will lead the campaign next time.

"Going by the affairs in the JD(U), it was obvious that a deep division has set in with Manjhi leading the JD(U)-M, while the other faction, called JD(U)-N being led by Nitish Kumar," Modi said.

The BJP leader charged some senior JD(U) ministers with showing "disrespect" towards Manjhi saying that the Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh had contradicted the Chief Minister`s remark that he was misled by the senior bureaucrats and district magistrates on assessment of drought situation in Bihar.

Singh contradicted the Chief Minister on the floor of the house last week saying that the bureaucrats had submitted a fair report to the chief minister on the drought situation, days after Manjhi had accused officials of misleading him on the issue, Modi said.

Zee News App: Read latest news of India and world, bollywood news, business updates, cricket scores, etc. Download the Zee news app now to keep up with daily breaking news and live news event coverage.