Nitish should be made Deputy PM, says senior BJP leader Choubey

Patna: Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey on Thursday voiced a "personal" opinion that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar should be made the Deputy Prime Minister.

Talking to reporters here, the BJP leader, who had served in Kumar's Cabinet before moving to the Centre, said he wanted to see the JD(U) supremo as the second Deputy PM from Bihar, after the late Jagjivan Ram.

"Nitish Kumar's contribution to the NDA is tremendous. He has been strengthening the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by playing the role of an anchor in the coalition. It is my personal wish that he be made the Deputy Prime Minister.

"If the wish is granted, Bihar will see the second son of its soil, after Babu Jagjivan Ram, rising to the office", said Choubey.

The remarks come in the backdrop of speculations in a section of the media that the 74-year-old JD(U) supremo, who wants to run for a fifth consecutive term in assembly polls due later this year, may be offered an "honourable exit" by the BJP, which was fed up with playing second fiddle to Kumar in Bihar.

BJP leaders like the late Sushil Kumar Modi have even claimed that Kumar had wanted to become the Vice President and quit the NDA, in 2022, in protest against not being considered for the top Constitutional post.

However, remarks of Choubey who was denied a ticket in last year's Lok Sabha polls, were made light of by the JD(U) as well as the opposition party RJD.

JD(U) MLC and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar cited Union Home Minister Amit Shah's latest interview to a news channel to underscore that "all NDA partners acknowledge the chief minister as the coalition's leader for the upcoming assembly polls".

RJD spokesperson Ejaz Ahmed belittled Choubey, calling him "a self-proclaimed spokesperson of the BJP, sidelined by his own party which is not willing to accommodate him or his son".

"Of course, the BJP wants to get rid of Nitish Kumar. But Choubey should realise that the CM's chair will be occupied by our leader Tejashwi Yadav. All BJP leaders may daydream about the highest seat of power in Bihar," the RJD leader said.