Nitish, Lalu mock BJP, ask will PM Modi be party's face in panchayat polls too

Patna: Foes-turned-allies Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad on Saturday slammed the 'dearth of leadership' in the Bharatiya Janata Party and mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for campaigning in Bihar as if he was the chief ministerial candidate in the upcoming elections.

Addressing a rally in Nawada, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the BJP does not have leaders in Bihar and that is why it was contesting elections under PM Modi.

“Even today they have no candidate for the CM's post. They keep saying we are contesting the elections under Modi ji,” Nitish said at the rally, as per NDTV.

The way PM Modi is holding rallies in Bihar, it appears that there is a dearth of leadership in the BJP, the JD(U) leader said, adding “next, they will contest even Panchayat Elections in the name of Modi”.

Nitish said the Centre government these days cares about nothing else but only Bihar.

“See how many ministers of the Central government are in Bihar. It is as if Patna has become the capital of India,” he told supporters.

Earlier in the day, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav also hit out at the BJP and PM Modi over their election campaign in Bihar.

The BJP is in such a precarious situation that in Bihar, the PM has to address meetings at Panchayat-level, said Lalu, as per ANI.

Bihar needs a CM, not PM, he added.

Prime Minister Modi has been holding a series of rallies in Bihar and has literally become the face of the National Democratic Alliance.

Elections to the 243 Bihar Assembly constituencies will be held in five phases beginning October 12. The results will be announced on November 8.