Nitish Kumar launches attack on BJP, says they are creating hurdles

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar in a news conference said that BJP was creating hurdles for them and that the decision will be announced after the meeting tomorrow.

He ended by quoting rather ceremoniusly, " Dua dete hai jeene ki, davaa dete hai marne ki."

Janata Dal United (JDU) is most likely to part ways with the BJP and end the 18-year alliance this weekend.

According to TV reports, a final decision on snapping ties could be taken at a JDU meeting in Patna on Saturday.

JD(U) President Sharad Yadav has rubbished reports of the party giving an ultimatum to the BJP and maintains that discussions are still on to salvage the alliance.

Reports suggest  that  the crucial decision on the BJP-JD(U) alliance is likely to be taken tomorrow right after the key JD(U) meet.

Ahead of Rajnath Singh's arrival in the state capital on June 23, the BJP in Bihar held an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss its strategy for the break-up and after.

According to sources, the BJP office-bearers gave their go-ahead for a split with the JD(U). Meanwhile, a report said that deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi has asked officials to not seek his approval or clearance for any work. This suggests that the Bihar BJP is already considering itself out of the alliance.

Another report said that BJP leaders in the state were upset with senior JD(U) leaders questioning the existence of the NDA alliance in Bihar. The crucial meeting, which went on for over three hours, was attended by senior leaders, including BJP vice president C P Thakur, deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi and other MLAs.

The BJP reportedly wants Nitish  Kumar to resign as Chief Minister first and then meet the Governor to stake claim to form the government again.

BJP on Thursday mounted hectic efforts to save its alliance with JD(U) which still appeared keen on breaking the coalition and move towards a Third Front of regional parties to fight the Lok Sabha polls.

The Third Front idea got a new supporter in Samajwadi Party, with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav welcoming formation of a non-Congress, non-BJP alliance.

Top BJP leaders including L K Advani, Rajnath Singh and M M Joshi spoke to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav in a bid to convince them not to take any precipitate action.

In another development, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury meets JD(U) President Sharad Yadav to discuss the current political situation.

Former President Nitin Gadkari and senior leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi met Yadav here at the behest of Rajnath Singh.

They urged JD(U) leaders not to go to the extent of breaking the alliance which had swept the Assembly polls in Bihar in 2010 and put up a good show in the last Lok Sabha elections in 2009.

"The alliance will continue. We are trying to ensure that it continues. We do not want to part ways," BJP chief said.

While echoing similar views, party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman, however, asserted that elevation of Modi is "entirely the business" of BJP.

However, JD(U) gave enough indications that it was keen on parting ways in the wake of Narendra Modi being made the Election Campaign Chief of BJP.

Kumar kept BJP on tenterhooks over the continuance in NDA, saying his party is "concerned" about the "recent developments" in BJP and JD(U) would take a call on them after discussing the matter within the party.

At the same time, he said it would be "good" if regional parties like JD(U), Trinamool Congress and BJD form a common front.

Kumar, who had telephonic talks with his West Bengal and Odisha counterparts Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik yesterday, said a 'Federal Front', the idea mooted by Trinamool leader, could take shape. Patnaik has already said there is a scope for a grouping without Congress and BJP.

"We have common cause...we are talking...though it is early to talk about formation of a front but it could take shape in future," Kumar said in Patna.

"Mamata Banerjee's view is that Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal and Jharkhand have some common problems and we should think about them together. I have also said that these problems which are common," he said.

"If all of us together understand these problems and form a common front it would be good.... This is at an initial stage," he added.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav also echoed the need for a Third Front.

Akhilesh said both the BJP as well as the Congress have failed to deliver at the Centre. "There are many issues on which the Congress and the BJP have been unsuccessful. The time has come for the nation to have a Third Front government," he said.

Naqvi said BJP does not want the alliance to break as its principle is to follow "coalition dharma".

"We want JD(U) to remain with us for the benefit of Bihar as well as the country. JD(U) should not do anything that would dent the fight against corruption of Congress-led UPA government," he said.