Now,JD-U mocks BJP,says regional parties rising

A day after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the UP poll verdict was a lesson for national parties to respect regional parties,JD(U) national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Shivanand Tiwari on Wednesday termed ally BJP as a “so-called national party”.

Reacting to the UP results,Nitish had said “whatever coalition (between JD(U)-BJP) was there,BJP ended it in UP polls”. Nitish had stressed the need for a “broader coalition” in the age of coalition politics,with regional parties having a strong foothold in their respective states. “UP election sends a strong message to Congress and to the other national party,” he had said.

On Wednesday,Tiwari said: “The so-called national party BJP is only going down in states and regional parties are growing. While it was SP in UP,another regional satrap,the SAD,made it in Punjab. The BJP gloating over wresting power in Goa means nothing as it is the Hindi heartland results that matter.”

Story continues below this ad

Referring to Uttarakhand CM B C Khanduri’s defeat,he said: “Loss of such personalities is a rare phenomenon and does not bode well for BJP.”

Tiwari regretted that though BJP was an ally,it did not contest with the JD(U). “We are not saying it would have made much difference but coalition politics is the only truth,” he said.