Seat-pact with BJP in a month: Nitish Kumar

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday indicated that the issue of seat-sharing with the BJP will be resolved in one month. He, however, refused to divulge what transpired between him and BJP president Amit Shah.

“How can I reveal what transpired at a closed-door meeting between two leaders. Numerous topics came up for discussion during our two meetings. But it will not be proper for me to share the details with the media,” said Nitish. The chief minister was speaking to reporters after concluding his Lok Samvad in Patna.

“So far as seat-sharing talks are concerned, you will have to wait for three-four weeks more. We will get a proposal on this issue in around one month. The issue will be resolved between all the stakeholders — BJP, JD(U), LJP and the RLSP,” averred Nitish.

The seat-sharing talks have become the bone of contention between the two NDA partners with the JD(U) insisting on playing the role of ‘big brother’ in the state which is being ruled by Nitish since 2005. The BJP, however, has argued that it would be difficult for it to forgo any of the 31 seats (out of 40 Lok Sabha constituencies) the NDA won during 2014 parliamentary elections. These include BJP’s 22 seats, LJP’s six and RLSP’s three seats. The JD(U), which contested alone, could win merely two Lok Sabha seats.

Nitish, meanwhile, reiterated his demand that Bihar be accorded a special-status category. “Unless and until the Centre accords special-status category to Bihar, no fresh investment could be made here in the absence of any incentive,” argued Nitish.