On President’s rule in Maharashtra, Nitish Kumar on the same page with the BJP

india

Updated: Nov 14, 2019 20:19 IST

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has suggested that imposition of President’s rule in Maharashtra could have been the only “way out” for the Governor since “no one” was in a position to form the government.

Nitish’s comment follows Shiv Sena accusing the Governor of bias for not giving it more time to form a government. A miffed Sena also pulled out its lone minister from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre, signaling the end of its three-decade-long alliance with the BJP over power-sharing tiff in Maharashtra.

“What is the way out when no one is able to form the government,” Kumar asked reporters seeking his party’s views on the developments that led to the bitter separation between fellow NDA constituents.

After Shiv Sena’s exit, Nitish’s JD (U)—with its 16 MPs, has become the second largest party in the NDA. Shiv Sena has 18 MPs in the Lok Sabha.

Nitish also repeated that the dispute with Sena was an “internal matter” for the BJP which runs the Bihar government jointly with the JD (U).

“What do I say; we have nothing to do with it. Political parties in Maharashtra should see the matter,” Nitish said before backing Koshiyari.

The JD (U) has no alliance with the BJP outside Bihar and it will contest the upcoming Jharkhand elections separately. Nitish had also refused to accept one cabinet berth in the Central government offered by the BJP after the Lok Sabha polls saying it preferred proportional representation.