Doors never permanently closed in politics, says Bihar BJP leader Sushil Modi

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may return to the National Democratic Alliance, according to BJP sources.

Giving a strong indication that Janata Dal(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may be returning to the National Democratic Alliance, senior BJP MP and former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on January 26 said that “doors never get closed permanently in politics” and “they open as per requirement”.

The statement comes in the wake of meetings held in New Delhi between Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J.P. Nadda, Bihar BJP president Samrat Choudhary, Mr. Sushil Modi, Union Minister Nityanand Rai, and BJP general secretary in-charge of Bihar Vinod Tawde.

The BJP, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and the Congress have called meetings of their respective legislature parties on Saturday.

BJP sources said that while the party was not in a hurry to close a deal with Mr. Kumar, it has called a meeting of its State Executive and party leaders in Patna on Saturday. “All sorts of ideas have been floated, that Nitish Kumar will have a Deputy Chief Minister from the BJP, that there will be no simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, and Assembly may see renegotiations on seats,” a BJP leader privy to the developments in Delhi said.

The buzz in the political circles of Bihar is that Mr. Kumar may form a new government with the BJP on January 28, and Mr. Sushil Modi would be the Deputy Chief Minister again.

BJP leader and former Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha, who is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and who has been known for his bitter opposition to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, was seen chatting with the latter at the high tea organised at the Raj Bhavan on the occasion of Republic Day.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav was conspicuous by his absence at the event, adding more fuel to the speculation.