With Nitish for CM, NDA takes aim at UPA rift

The clear projection of Nitish Kumar in the build-up to the elections—in marked contrast to the March campaign—seeks to magnify the confusion in the Congress-RJD camp over the issue of a chief ministerial candidate. Both the Congress and the RJD are fighting shy of either declaring Rabri Devi as their chief ministerial candidate, or projecting anyone else instead. ‘‘We challenge the Congress-RJD alliance to declare their chief ministerial candidate,’’ Modi said.

This projection of Nitish is also an attempt to broad-base the alliance, particularly among the middle castes and Muslims who have been the deciding factor in elections in Bihar. Nitish Kumar has managed to win over a section of Muslims recently, declaring his support for reservation for Dalit Muslims. However, at a forum where BJP leaders Arun Jaitley, Sushil Modi, Nand Kishore Yadav and Sharad Yadav were present, Nitish said support for reservation for Dalit Muslims was the ‘‘JDU’s stand only’’.

In turn, trying to capitalise on the rift between UPA partners—with the Congress and RJD bitterly opposed by the LJP and CPI—Nitish Kumar said the UPA was bogged down by infighting, while the NDA had surged ahead. ‘‘Our joint campaigns will begin from October 3,’’ Kumar said, adding that the issue of the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly and ‘‘forcing another election on Bihar’’, would be the main poll planks in their campaign, besides the ‘‘RDJ-Congress misrule in the state’’.

‘‘President’s rule in Bihar has been an extension of the RJD rule. Things have worsened in Bihar,’’ Kumar said.