Modi will return to power, no one can challenge him in 2019: Nitish Kumar
- Modi has no challengers left. He will return to power in 2019 too, said Nitish Kumar.
- Nitish Kumar had snapped his 17-years tie with BJP when Modi was declared the PM candidate for the party and formed the grand alliance with RJD and Congress in Bihar.
- He said, he would continue to support Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the opposition's candidate for the August 5 vice-presidential elections and said that the BJP does not have any issues with that.
FollowThis, coming from a minister who had once aspired to be the Prime Minister himself, is a complement for the Modi government in itself. Days after forming an alliance with the BJP, Nitish Kumar's statement on the expected victory of Modi in the 2019 general elections does not come as a surprise anymore. Addressing his first press conference after dumping the Mahagathbandhan, he said, "Koi dusra kaabiz nahi ho sakta... 2019 mein Modi hi honge. Modi ji ka muqabla karne ki kisi mein kshamta vagairah ab hai nahi (There cannot be any other challenger for Modi. Modi will have the reins in 2019. Nobody has the power to contest Modi)."
Nitish Kumar had snapped his 17-years tie with BJP when Modi was declared the PM candidate for the party and formed the grand alliance with RJD and Congress in Bihar. While this happened in 2015, recently, he was reinstated as the Bihar chief minister with the support of NDA. Nitish said that the proposal to form the new government with BJP's support came from the top leadership in the party. Nitish Kumar, having cleared the floor test, also won the court's confidence who dismissed the two PILs challenging the new government.Â
The minister refuses to say much on Congress as an ally, but he said that he could be a supporter but not a follower. He said, he would continue to support Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the opposition's candidate for the August 5 vice-presidential elections and said that the BJP does not have any issues with that. Commenting on his national ambitions, he said, "I have already served as a Union Minister. I know that my party is a small one and I don't harbour higher ambitions."
Speaking on his changing alliances, he said, "How could I remain silent as I talked about zero tolerance on corruption? Had they (RJD) clarified (on corruption charges against Tejaswi), the situation could have been different." He further added, "JD made objectionable statements, even against me... Lalu ji never condemned them. Nobody from JD-U said anything against RJD's supreme leader. I tolerated everything, thought all this happens in an alliance, and continued to work... but I didn't have a choice."
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