 "Sushil Modi, Nitish Kumar")
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Friday said that doors are never permanently closed to anyone in politics, amid reports that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may revive ties with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), his former ally, as his equations with INDIA bloc partners reportedly turned sour.
If reports are to be believed, it is uncertain whether Nitish Kumar, the unquestioned head of the Janata Dal (United), has reached an agreement with BJP officials.
"As far as Kumar or the JD(U) are concerned, doors are never permanently closed in politics. Closed doors open when the time comes, but whether they will open or not is for our central leadership to decide," Sushil Modi was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Sushil Modi served as deputy chief minister under Nitish Kumar's governments for a long time; however, he was not re-elected after the BJP-JD (U) alliance took power following the 2020 assembly election.
After Nitish Kumar split away from the NDA in 2022, the BJP stated that its doors were permanently closed to Bihar's longest-serving chief minister, but it appears that its leaders have recently become more conciliatory as the INDIA bloc faces an internal crisis.
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Sushil Modi, the BJP's Rajya Sabha MP, has been involved in the BJP brass's confabulations this time, implying that the experienced politician may be trusted with a significant duty if the two parties join forces again.
Sushil Modi, who had friendly connections with Nitish Kumar when they were together, became a vocal opponent after the JD (U) leader left the BJP for the second time in 2022.
Meanwhile, the BJP has been in contact with its Bihar allies, including Chirag Paswan and former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, about the state's events, but they have not been given a clear picture of Nitish Kumar's potential return to their fold, PTI reported.
Former Lok Janshakti Party president Chirag Paswan stated he was "in constant touch with the top BJP leadership" but dismissed the topic of whether Nitish Kumar would be acceptable as a new NDA partner as "hypothetical."
Paswan, who had come to the Bihar capital on Thursday evening, told reporters that he has “cancelled” engagements in the state to hold deliberations over the “crucial next few days” in Delhi.
“I have been in constant touch with the top BJP leadership. I spoke to them before coming here last evening, when I held a meeting of party workers. I am going back to Delhi. I have cancelled my trip to late Karpoori Thakur’s village in Samastipur and to Sitamarhi, which I had been wanting to visit after having paid obeisance at Ayodhya," Paswan said.
