'Nitish Kumar Created A Storm That Can Challenge BJP': Shiv Sena On JD(U) Severing Ties With NDA

An editorial in the Sena newspaper 'Saamana' praised Kumar, claiming that the BJP wanted to dissolve his party Janata Dal (United), but he retaliated by breaking relations with the BJP.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Source : PTI File Photo

The Shiv Sena stated on Thursday that by cutting relations with the BJP, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has created a storm that might offer a challenge to the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections if it strengthens into a cyclone, news agency PTI reported.

An editorial in the Sena newspaper 'Saamana' praised Kumar, claiming that the BJP wanted to dissolve his party Janata Dal (United), but he retaliated by breaking relations with the BJP.

The Marathi newspaper also called out Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who revolted against the Sena leadership in June, claiming he "bent the knee" in front of Delhi.

"He (Mr Shinde) should understand that Mr Kumar showed he can survive without it," the editorial was quoted by PTI in its report. 

The Sena further stated that the schism between Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) founder Lalu Yadav must be resolved immediately.

It also hailed Lalu Yadav's son Tejashwi Yadav, who headed the RJD's Assembly election campaign in 2020, praising him as a "young and popular" Bihar politician who had challenged the then-BJP-JD(U) coalition.

The RJD and JD(U) ran against each other in the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections. Kumar's relationship with Lalu Prasad has seen its ups and downs over the previous four decades.

Nitish Kumar left the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Tuesday to form a coalition with the RJD.

According to the Sena editorial, the BJP attempted to destabilise the JD(U) by supporting former Union minister RCP Singh, and after realising this, Kumar left the BJP.

"Nitish Kumar has created a storm. If it intensifies into a cyclone, then it can pose a challenge to the BJP," the Marathi publication said.

It stated that the ramifications of political upheavals in Bihar, the home state of socialist leader Jai Prakash Narayan, are felt throughout the country, and that the state's new political realignment might potentially influence the outcome of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Bihar has 40 Lok Sabha members, the fourth most behind Uttar Pradesh (80), Maharashtra (48), and West Bengal (42).

(With Inputs From PTI)