Amit Shah may assuage Nitish’s ruffled feathers

A day after JD (U) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made a phone call to RJD chief Lalu Prasad to enquire about his health, the BJP has got into damage-control mode.

The saffron camp has initiated steps to assuage the ruffled feathers of Nitish, who is apparently miffed at the BJP’s reluctance to come clean over the seat-sharing of Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar.

The first attempt to break the ice with Nitish will be made on July 12 when BJP president Amit Shah is scheduled to hold a one-to-one meeting with the JD (U) strongman.

“When the two top leaders of the alliance partners will meet in the second week of July in Patna, chances are all the misgivings and confusion within the NDA will be over,” a senior functionary within the saffron camp told DH on Wednesday.

Amid reports of Nitish’s growing disenchantment with the BJP, the saffron camp is aware that a miffed Nitish should not be allowed to cross over the fence in the electorally important and numerically strong Bihar which sends 40 members to the Lok Sabha.

“The reports of differences within the NDA in Bihar are not true. Nitish ji made a call to Lalu Prasad as both have worked together for the past 40 years. It was basically a courtesy call to enquire about Laluji’s health who was operated upon in Mumbai hospital recently,” Nitish’s key aide and Rajya Sabha member RCP Singh said on Wednesday.

He exuded confidence that the bone of contention, if any, within the alliance partners would be resolved when talks would be held between the top leadership of the two parties.

Shah, who has been trying to mollify all the miffed allies, has already visited Maharashtra in his bid to cool down the frayed tempers of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.

At this juncture, the BJP would not like to give a wrong message to its electorate as well as its allies by antagonising Nitish at a time when he will complete his one year in government with the help of BJP’s crutches on July 26.