All is well between JD(U) and BJP: CM Nitish Kumar

PATNA: CM Nitish Kumar on Tuesday tried to ward off speculations about a growing conflict with ally BJP and said, “Sab theek hai (all is well).”
Nitish’s remark came just an hour after his party’s senior leader and poll strategist Prashant Kishor made a frontal attack on senior BJP leader and deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi. “Modi became deputy CM by virtue of circumstances despite his party’s defeat in 2015 elections,” Kishor tweeted.
Journalists sought Nitish’s reaction on the growing differences between his party and BJP over Kishor’s recent assertion that JD(U) must be given larger number of seats in the coming state assembly election due this year because it is a bigger party (than the BJP) in Bihar and the state election would be contested on the face value of Nitish.
Trouble between the two NDA allies began on Sunday after Kishor told media persons that since the assembly election will be contested on the face of Nitish, hence the ratio of seat sharing between BJP and JD(U) cannot be 1:1. “The basis of seat-sharing talks between BJP and JD(U) should be 1:1.4 or may be 1:1.3,” he said.
Kishor has raised his voice against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act despite JD(U) backing the bill in Parliament and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Though Nitish claims all is fine in the NDA, political pundits have started analysing the sudden developments, especially after Jharkhand election results. “The way PK is attacking the Centre on every consecutive day indicates that he is doing it out of some well-planned strategy,” said N K Choudhary, social scientist and former head of economics department at Patna University. “I believe PK is speaking Nitish’s words as the latter is trying to extract the outcome of possible political churning and finalize the seat- sharing with the BJP much to his interest as early as possible, as he did it before the 2019 general elections,” he said.
Nevertheless, reacting over Kishor’s argument on seat-sharing, Sushil Modi on Monday made a stinging remark while reminding him of “his business of collating political data and coining slogans”. Modi tweeted on Monday: “There is no problem in seat sharing. But those who have entered politics not driven by ideology but while engaged in the ‘business of collating political data and coining slogans’ are making utterances in violation of ‘gathbandhan dharma’ and benefiting the opposition’s alliance in the bargain. --- A person engaged in a profitmaking business first prepares his market for his service, he thinks about the interest of country in later stage (sic).”
Kishor’s statement has also been criticized within his party. “Two things are clear about the 2020 polls. First, election will be fought under the leadership of Nitish Babu. Second, seat sharing is not something that will be decided in full media glare,” JD(U) general secretary (Organisation) RCP Singh said on Monday at Manpur in Gaya district, while voicing disapproval of Kishor’s statement.
BJP state president Sanjay Jaiswal has also questioned Kishor. “The seat-sharing issue will be decided by the top leadership of both the parties. Is Kishor the party president of JD(U)? Who is he?” Jaiswal told reporters on Monday.