Trouble lurks in PM proposal

section of the BJP leaders fears agriculture minister Narendra Singh could land in trouble for advocating Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal as the next Prime Minister. In the JD(U), there can be only one prime ministerial candidate and that is Nitish Kumar,” a BJP leader told Singh, stressing that the BJP ministers were thrown out because they favoured Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate. Singh said he would not mind if he was ousted from the ministry. He also declared that Nitish would expand his ministry soon. “Nitish always denies that he has ambition to become the Prime Minister. But the slogans raised in the Sankalp Rally were in favour of him becoming the Prime Minister of the country,” said another JD(U) leader. Nitish himself joked that there were two politicians (Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan) who openly said they wanted to be the Prime Minister of the country. Both of them became politically marginalised.

BJP banks on Charan’s voice

Former minister of the Lalu-Rabri era Ravindar Charan Yadav joined the BJP, prompting speculation that he might be fielded by the BJP to take on the JD(U) national president, Sharad Yadav, in Madhepura - the heartland of Mandal politics. The BJP leaders recalled that Ravindra Charan was known for his vocal ability. “He never required a microphone to shout us down when we were in the opposition and he was a minister,” said a former BJP MLA, hoping that Ravindra Charan would use his vocal chord in favour of the BJP and against Yadav.

Views vary after seat change

Chief minister Nitish Kumar said Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Nand Kishore Yadav had changed big time after the latter tore into the claims of Nitish’s good governance. “He used to praise me when he was on this side of the Assembly (trasury bench). But now he is on the other side and saying something different,” Nitish said. Transport minister Brishen Patel said: “Why have you gone there in favour of a Gujarati. Come back and sit with us.” A JD(U) leader declared that former BJP ministers were keen to come back because they were missing the perks. “All the JD(U) MLAs want us to join them because defeat is staring at them at their respective constituencies,” said a BJP leader.

Khan, not a terrorist

The BJP bench shouted at minority welfare minister Shahid Ali Khan when he was replying to a question in the Assembly. The Sitamarhi-based minister has been visibly upset ever since the intelligence input that he might have links with ISI. He parrots a dialogue of Shah Rukh Khan when he is among friends: “My name is Shahid Ali Khan and I am not a terrorist.” Chief minister Nitish Kumar and the police headquarters have given him a clean chit. But the BJP is not willing to let the matter go.