PATNA: Amid rumours that CM Nitish Kumar wants simultaneous Lok Sabha and Bihar assembly elections, BJP leader and deputy chief minister
Samrat Choudhary
on Tuesday said he would welcome any such proposal from him.
"If the CM comes up with a proposal for early polls, BJP will welcome it. We are always battle-ready," Choudhary told TOI on Tuesday.
He also warned of "stern action" if anyone attempted horse-trading in a bid to destabilize the
NDA
govt in the state.
The Nitish Kumar-led NDA govt will seek trust vote on February 12.
Nitish dismantled the erstwhile Grand Alliance govt to form a new one with BJP and HAM(S) on January 28.
"We would initiate stern action if anyone attempted horse trading," Chaudhary said on returning from Delhi after meeting top BJP leaders, including PM
Narendra Modi
and Union home minister Amit Shah.
Choudhary had started his political career with RJD, which is reportedly trying to destabilize the NDA govt. RJD leader and former deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad had said after the fall of the GA govt that "khel to abhi shuru hua hai (the game has begun now)". Choudhary said RJD chief Lalu Prasad is well aware of his party's own vulnerability to a split although "BJP does not believe in such tactics".
RJD said BJP was quite agitated after it faced serious setback in Jharkhand where it had planned to topple the JMM-led Grand Alliance govt. "We don't believe in horse-trading or causing splits (in rival camps); rather we believe in people's power and respect the people's mandate," state RJD spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan told TOI on Tuesday.
"We have nothing to do with the NDA govt, which will fall on its own due to internal contradictions. We have got the people's sympathy and don't want it to go waste," Gagan explained, claiming strong resentment prevailed among the BJP and JD(U) legislators due to formation of NDA govt, barely 17 months after they had joined the GA.
But Choudhary claims BJP's relationship with JD(U) had matured over the years, except for a few bitter experiences in between. "The synergy will be on display during the trust vote which we will sail through," Choudhary claimed, adding HAM(S) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi would gain nothing by aligning with RJD.
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