Patna: Senior BJP leader C.P. Thakur on Saturday expressed hope that the alliance between his party and the Janata Dal (United) remains intact, and said that the leaders of the saffron outfit should not skip their meeting with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
"There is no end in politics. There should still be an attempt to ensure that the alliance is intact. There is no question of not meeting. The leaders should go and meet," he told Asian News Internal (ANI) here.
NDA Convenor Nand Kishore Yadav and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Saturday refused to meet Nitish Kumar.
Yadav earlier in the day said that they were called by Nitish Kumar, but this morning they read in a newspaper that he has raised the issue of Prime Ministership.
Yadav said the national leaders can only speak on this issue, and added that they are not authorised to discuss it.
"He had called me and Sushil ji. But he has raised the issue of who would be the Prime Ministerial candidate and Narendra Modi, we have jurisdiction to talk about. The BJP national leadership is in touch with him, he should discuss this issue with the national leadership and not with us," he said.
Nand Kishore Yadav`s remarks came against the backdrop of a media report that quoted Nitish Kumar as saying that BJP should publicly declare that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi will not be its Prime Ministerial candidate in the 2014 polls.
Nitish Kumar, who returned from a tour to Patna on Friday, made it clear that there is a strain in the ties between the Janata Dal (United) and the BJP, and said that the current situation of the coalition is very difficult.
"And, we have to now decide on what to do in this difficult situation. Talks are going on from almost all quarters. On one hand, they are saying that the alliance should continue for its very old. On the other hand, the situation is such... there are difficulties," said Kumar.
"Dua dete hai jeene ki, dawa karte hai marne ki (You wish me a long life, but offer medicines that will poison me)," he added.
JD (U) has 118 MLAs in 243-member Bihar assembly and needs the support of only four more MLAs to reach the magic figure.
There are 91 MLAS from BJP, 21 from RJD and one each from LJP and CPI in the State Assembly.
ANI
