Nitish Kumar ducks queries about rumours of major organisational change in JD (U)

Patna, Dec 28 (PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday ducked queries about rumours of major organisational change in his Janta Dal (U) ahead of a crucial two-day party conclave which will begin in Delhi later in the day.

The JD (U) supremo in a brief interaction with journalists before boarding his flight to Delhi asserted that the party meet in Delhi was ‘normal’.

“These meetings take place every year. It’s normal there is nothing specific at all. These are routine meetings”, said the CM when journalists sought his views on rumours of major organisational change in JD(U) during the two-day party conclave.

His remark came in the backdrop of rumours that Kumar’s key aide Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’ has told the former that he wanted to step down as JD(U) national president.

The CM evaded a direct reply when asked whether Lalan was likely to make a formal offer of his resignation at the JD(U)’s crucial meetings scheduled in Delhi on December 29.

The CM also evaded questions about rumours of his joining NDA.

His attention was also drawn to a claim of senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, who as a former deputy CM had known Kumar from close quarters, that the JD(U) supreme leader was growing uneasy with his party chief’s closeness with his ally, and fearing sabotage.

The BJP leader claimed that “speculations” about Kumar’s possible return to the NDA camp were being deliberately spread by his party, the JD(U), as part of his gameplan to keep the Grand Alliance partners RJD and the Congress in check in Bihar. “But the fact is that the BJP’s doors have been closed for him (Nitish Kumar),” he had said.