PATNA: Former Union Minister and senior BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Choubey advocated for making Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) President Nitish Kumar the Deputy Prime Minister, creating ripples in political circles in the poll-bound state.
Talking to media persons, Choubey said that he wanted to see Nitish Kumar as Deputy Prime Minister, the second from Bihar to serve the office after late Jagjivan Ram, a Congress stalwart.
“Nitish Kumar’s contribution to the NDA is tremendous. He has been strengthening hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by playing the role of an anchor in the NDA. It’s my wish that he be made the Deputy PM,” he told the media.
The former Buxar MP’s remarks came at a time when state assembly elections are due in October-November. Choubey’s statement is being viewed as BJP’s future plan to make an ‘honourable exit’ for JD(U) president, who is seeking his next term as chief minister after assembly elections.
Choubey had served as a minister in the Nitish Kumar cabinet before moving to centre as a minister in NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
However, he was denied ticket from Buxar in 2024 Lok Sabha elections as central leadership was tipped off that there was strong resentment among people against Choubey in the constituency.
Earlier, Choubey had described Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant Kumar as CM material and said that Nishant’s entry into active politics should be welcomed.
“Choubey is lobbying for a ticket for his son in the upcoming assembly elections. That’s why he is trying to appease the central leadership of the BJP making such a statement,” a senior BJP leader confided.
Nitish, sources said, had earlier wished to serve as Vice President. But he was not offered the post by BJP central leadership, which reportedly made him to leave the NDA and join hands with Opposition INDIA bloc in 2022. He, however, returned to NDA in January 2024 after he was not given due respect in the Opposition camp.
BJP’s ally--JD(U), however, tried to downplay the controversy by saying that BJP stalwarts, including union home minister Amit Shah have declared that the 2025 assembly elections would be contested under the leadership of Nitish Kumar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also in favour of Nitish, a JD(U) leader said.
JD(U) MLC and chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said that the NDA would contest the assembly elections under Nitish Kumar’s leadership. “It has already been decided by top leaders of NDA that assembly elections would be fought under the leadership of Nitish Kumar,” he asserted.
He quoted the latest interview of union home minister Amit Shah, which endorsed Nitish’s leadership in the assembly polls in the state. In addition, Shah, at a recent rally in Gopalganj, had also said that the NDA would fight the assembly elections under Nitish’s leadership.
On the other hand, RJD spokesperson Mritunjay Tiwari said that it’s true that BJP wanted to get rid of Nitish Kumar, who has politically become ‘obsolete’. “Dekhte jayiye aage aage hota hai kya (see what happens next),” he said, in an oblique reference to Nitish Kumar’s ‘exit’ from active politics.
“But here I would like to mention that our leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav will become the next chief minister of Bihar. If the seat is vacated by Nitish, it will be occupied by Tejashwi Yadav and no one else,” he added.
Another RJD leader, who did not wish to be named, said that Nitish may be offered the post of Governor because of his poor health conditions.
In a response to a query, RJD functionary said that Choubey was unhappy with his party’s central leadership for not being accommodated after he was denied ticket in the Lok Sabha elections from Buxar, the seat he had represented twice (in 2014 and 2019).
Rumours were doing the rounds that Choubey wanted to become Governor but was not offered the coveted post.