Fending off persistent queries from various quarters about its chief ministerial face for the crucial Bihar Assembly polls, senior BJP leader Syed Shahanwaz Hussain today said the party's Parliamentary Board will take a call on the issue.
"Let us leave the decision on chief ministerial face to our parliamentary board to decide," he said in reply to a volley of questions from reporters here.
"We have a a galaxy of leaders (in Bihar) ... But in BJP it is only the Parliamentary Board that decides on issues like declaring the chief ministerial face or going to polls under collective leadership," the BJP national spokesperson said.
Asked whether BJP felt any pressure to declare its chief ministerial face for Bihar after the secular alliance did so about a month ago by projecting incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the high-profile job, he said, "Our rivals did so as they have only one leader available for the post.
"In contrast, BJP has many choices and has its own decision-making mechanism to take up such matters," he said.
In a jibe at Kumar for sealing his allies' approval as the chief ministerial candidate much in advance, he said the ruling JD(U) has got "only the arrow and not the bow which the BJP has in Bihar."
Hussain referred to arrow as the face and bow as mass base.
On his own name cropping up as a potential chief ministerial face of the NDA, Hussain refused to acknowledge any speculation on his candidature. "If a leader is capable, then caste or religion will not come in the way of selection for any post (in BJP)."
Mocking at Kumar's slogan 'Aage badhta rahe Bihar, Phir ek baar Nitish Kumar', Hussain said that one could give good governance on hoardings, but not on ground.
"Bihar's perception has diminished and not grown as is being claimed by the Chief Minister," he said and charged the state government with promoting corruption and its leaders being filled with arrogance.
Hussain also charged the JD(U) government with misuing official machinery to coerce mukhiyas and members of local bodies to vote for the secular alliance' candidates in the July 7 Legislative Council polls for 24 seats.
