Modi, Nitish to campaign together after 10 years

The two NDA stalwarts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, will kick-start poll campaign in the state by addressing an election rally in Patna on March 3.

Though both of them have attended several government functions together, this will be the first time in the last ten years when Nitish and Modi will address an election rally together.

The last time, the two had together attended a poll meeting in Punjab ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha elections— Modi was then Gujarat's chief minister.

The following year, Nitish cancelled a dinner meeting at his official residence in Patna in June 2010 as Modi had used the Punjab rally photograph (of holding hands with Nitish) to issue an advertisement in Bihar newspapers, when he (Modi) had came to attend the BJP national executive meeting in Patna and also handed over a cheque of Rs 5 crore to the Bihar chief minister for the Kosi flood relief.

“In our culture, it is uncivilised to tom-tom if any help is extended during any crisis. Did not Gujarat receive help from many states when it was hit by an earthquake? Had any state advertised in Gujarati newspapers boasting of any help?” an angry Nitish had said before cancelling the dinner.

In those days, no top BJP leader, including L K Advani, could dare question Nitish’s decision.

The rivalry between Modi and Nitish peaked in 2013, when the JD(U) strongman snapped ties with the BJP soon after Modi was projected as a prime-ministerial candidate.

Later, having flirted with the grand alliance for a short span, Nitish returned to the NDA fold in July 2017.

During the 2019 parliamentary polls in Bihar, the JD(U) and the BJP have decided to contest 17 seats each while leaving the remaining six seats for the LJP.

Though none of the three parties have announced either candidates or the constituencies, sources in the NDA camp told DH: “the seat-sharing pact among the NDA constituents has been done. However, candidates and constituencies will be announced next month soon after the election commission issues the poll notification.”

Meanwhile, the election rally at Gandhi Maidan in Patna on March 3 also holds significance as the third NDA partner in Bihar— Ram Vilas Paswan— will also grace the occasion.

In the present Lok Sabha, the LJP has six MPs from Bihar, the JD(U) has two, while the BJP has 22 MPs out of 40 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.