The BJP has started exercising for the Presidential and Vice Presidential elections to be held in August. Although it is very easy for BJP to win the Presidential and Vice Presidential elections but still they do not want to take any risk. In this sequence, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for the first stop. The meeting with Nitish is also important because in which side he should go, nothing can be said. In the last elections, Nitish has been surprised by changing his camp.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan held a meeting with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for about two hours. It is being told that talks have taken place between the two regarding the upcoming Presidential and Vice Presidential elections. BJP’s meeting with JDU supremo Nitish Kumar has taken place at a time when talks of increasing distance between the two are coming to the fore. It is surprising that the information about the meeting between the two was not given to the Bihar BJP. It is believed that the BJP leadership is upset over the attitude of the state unit towards Nitish Kumar.
On Bihar, BJP sources have said that the central leadership is unhappy with the news coming out of the state. The image of the NDA alliance and the unity of the government are being damaged in public statements. The central leadership does not want the state BJP leaders to create an impression that they are desperate to replace Nitish with another face. It is clear that the leadership is not in the mood to change the state till the Lok Sabha elections.
Bihar BJP has no news of the meeting
A Bihar BJP source said, “The state unit was also not informed about the nearly two-hour meeting of Union Minister Pradhan with the CM. We have been told that this was part of the BJP’s efforts to meet friendly chief ministers to ensure their support for the presidential and vice-presidential elections.”
Why is BJP’s meeting with Nitish important?
Nitish has earlier supported presidential candidates fielded by rival parties. In 2012, he supported Pranab Mukherjee of the opposition for the presidency despite being part of the NDA at that time. In 2017, when he was in the Grand Alliance with RJD and Congress, he had supported NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind for the post of President instead of Meira Kumar, the opposition candidate.
Sources say that the decision to send Dharmendra Pradhan to a face-to-face discussion with Nitish was taken after consultations between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President JP Nadda. At the same time, BJP will reach out to BJD and YSR Congress party among other chief ministers. Sources in both the parties say that they are willing to vote with the BJP. Significantly, MPs in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha vote in the vice-presidential election, which is due in August and the BJP-led NDA has a clear lead in both the houses.