Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday urged workers of his Janata Dal (United) to look at the future banishing memories of the recent assembly elections in which the party suffered humiliating losses. The JD(U) de facto leader, who relinquished the post of the party’s national president earlier this month, also asserted that the government in the state will "complete its five-year term", in an indirect rebuff to opposition leaders who have been speaking of political instability.
Kumar was addressing the party’s state council and state executive meetings in Patna, in presence of leaders like RCP Singh, who has succeeded him as the national president, and state unit chief Vashishtha Narayan Singh. The JD(U) could win only 43 seats in the October-November polls, down from 71 in the last elections in 2015.
The Chief Ministers assertions of completing the term came at a time when opposition leaders like Tejashwi Yadav and ally turned adversary Chirag Paswan have been speaking of the possibility of "mid-term polls" pointing towards the changed equations in the NDA in which the BJP now seems to have gained the upper hand. Moreover, the BJPs failure to rein in the rebellion by Paswan, who continues to swear by his loyalty towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has riled the JD(U) cadre.
"We must strive to work for all those who voted for us as well as those who did not. I would urge the candidates who fought and lost in the recent elections to devote themselves to serving the people with gusto", Kumar said. He also asked party workers to "make use of the social media to spread positivity and counter those who misuse the virtual mediums for spreading falsehoods".
The 69-year-old, who returned as the Chief Minister for the fourth consecutive term after the elections, reiterated that he was reluctant to hold on to the seat of power "but agreed only because you all insisted that I continue working". Addressing the function, JD(U) president RCP Singh cautioned the rank and file against the hubris that comes from being the party in power.
Vashishtha Narayan Singh said "we are incapable of treachery though we might ourselves get cheated sometimes. But we have held our own in the face of adverse circumstances and there is no alternative to our leader (Nitish Kumar) nor can anybody match his calibre".
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