Patna: Ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, Janata Dal (United) candidate and influential leader Anant Singh made a dramatic declaration of loyalty to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying he would resign from the assembly even if he wins, should Nitish Kumar not return as chief minister.
Speaking in an interview with a local news portal, Singh said, “Nitish Kumar brought me into politics. If he is not there, I will also not remain in politics. He trusted me and gave me a chance. If he ceases to be Chief Minister, I won’t sit in the assembly even as an MLA.”
The former Mokama MLA dismissed political strategist Prashant Kishor’s claim that Nitish Kumar might lose power after November 14, saying, “If Nitish is not CM, will Prashant Kishor become one? There is no one like Nitish Kumar in Bihar—neither in the past nor in the future.”
NDA leaders back Nitish as CM face
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari also weighed in, reiterating that Nitish Kumar remains the only chief ministerial face of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar. “Yes, Nitish Kumar is our CM face. Tejashwi Yadav lives in a different world if he thinks otherwise,” Tiwari said.
Union Minister Chirag Paswan echoed the sentiment, asserting that Tejashwi Yadav knows his party cannot form the government. “The people of Bihar have seen 15 years of RJD rule. This time, NDA is united, and the Grand Alliance is divided. We will form a historic government on November 14,” he said.
Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary defended the government’s record, claiming that 18.5 lakh people received government jobs under Nitish Kumar, compared to just 94,000 during Lalu Prasad’s tenure. “The people of Bihar know who works for development and who loots,” he said.
BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain also hit out at the RJD, accusing it of misleading voters over legal issues and law reforms.
Protests in Aurangabad: “Go back Anand Mohan”
Meanwhile, in Aurangabad, former MP Anand Mohan faced protests during a campaign visit for his son Chetan Anand, who is contesting from Nabinagar on a JDU ticket. Villagers raised slogans of “Down with Nitish Kumar” and blocked his path, prompting Mohan to leave the area angrily.
Chetan Anand, who won from Nabinagar in the 2020 Assembly election, had later switched sides during a floor test. His mother, Lovely Anand, is a JDU MP from Sheohar and a former MLA from the same seat.
