Murli Manohar Joshi

Patna, Aug. 13: Two days after having a long one-to-one session with Murli Manohar Joshi, chief minister Nitish Kumar today broke out in fulsome praise for the BJP leader.

“Joshiji is an erudite leader who has an alternative to the prevailing economic model of the development in the country,” Nitish said, adding, “I met the senior BJP leader, discussing the developmental issues, including our model of development.”

The duo had a 90-minute closed-door parley at BJP veteran R.K. Sinha’s residence on Saturday. Nitish’s new-found proximity to the old BJP warhorse, who is believed to be lying low amid a plethora of the post-A.B. Vajpayee-L.K. Advani-generation leaders vying for the top slot in the right wing party, has again fuelled speculations within the BJP.

What did the two actually discuss and what is Nitish’s motive behind projecting Joshi as the “pioneer” in offering alternative to the prevailing economic model, a BJP leader close to Joshi told The Telegraph: “Nitishji made Joshi feel that the latter was valued highly by the strongest NDA partner. By attaching importance to Joshi, Nitish also sent a signal in the faction-ridden BJP that the JD(U) might throw its weight behind the MP from Varanasi and vice versa at the appropriate time.”

Judging by the BJP leader’s remarks, it appears that Nitish is on the spree to increase his “personal goodwill” among the top BJP leaders amid talks of growing trust deficit between the BJP and the JD(U) in the wake of Nitish’s “anathema” for his Gujarat counterpart, Narendra Modi.

Progress factor

Nitish Kumar today appeared not to give any weight to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s reported statement that his state was performing better than Gujarat under Narendra Modi, reports PTI.

Talking to reporters, Nitish said he was not a person who becomes happy when somebody showered praise on him or nervous or cowered if someone criticised him.

“I am against comparing me with any single state and every state has the right to boast of its progress and development,” he added.