BJP central leaders look beyond Nitish

Life of the BJP after Nitish” was discussed at length at the party’s meeting convened in New Delhi to discuss the names of the next state president. We were surprised to see names of more than half a dozen aspirants popping up. But more surprising was the fact that the issue of the next president was never discussed,” said a leader who attended the meeting chaired by Nitin Gadkari. The central leaders were more interested to know how the state unit of the BJP would survive without Nitish Kumar's support. “A Bihar leader even remarked if the Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi was made the prime ministerial candidate, the alliance with Nitish would break. A central party leader asked the leader if he could guarantee that the alliance would be intact if the party did not project Modi as the PM candidate. That leader remained silent,” said a BJP leader, stressing that the party would have to gear up to survive politically without Nitish.

Cars follow doctors

The swanky cars following doctors’ rally along the Frazer Road on Sunday demanding pay hike and NPA (non-practising allowance) amused a lot of people. “Some of the cars were brand new. Even their ribbons were intact. Several of them were expensive cars,” said an onlooker, wondering why government doctors required NPA when they could afford expensive cars. “Not all doctors can afford expensive cars. But there appears to be a perception that we all make lot of money,” said an gitating doctor.

Nobel truth

The NDA-II government in Bihar has been harping on the state’s double-digit GDP growth over the past five years. Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, also the finance minister of the state, got a warning on the issue from none other than the Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz. In is lecture in Patna, he had said the GDP rowth did not necessarily mean development. Even chief minister itish Kumar declared that he did not perceive the GDP growth as a sign of development. “Perhaps Modiji should go slow on the GDP now,” said an economist.

Curd crisis in Dal feast

The feast organised by the RJD on the occasion of Makar Sankranti went off peacefully, but there was a hindrance in the one hosted by the JD(U). Both the parties dished out beaten rice, curd (dahi) and til to their supporters, but the Dal party organisers ran out of curd after a while. The feast was suspended till fresh curd was procured from the market. “Actually, there was a wave of the JD(U) supporters and workers after a function at Eco Park. We did not estimate such a big crowd,” said a JD(U) leader. Interestingly, the BJP announced the feast at its state office quite late. “We came to know that we were invited only after 1pm,” a BJP worker said.