In a large family, there will be tensions: Ravi Shankar Prasad clears rumours about NDA

Patna (Bihar) [India], October 16 (ANI): BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday debunked the claims of differences within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) following seat-sharing arrangement for Bihar Assembly. Referring to NDA as a "large family", he said that there are bound to be tensions.
Ravi Shankar Prasad spoke during a session at Panchayat Aaj Tak, expressing his closeness to Patna. The BJP MP stated that he felt at home after coming to Patna, reflecting on the beginning of his educational and political journey in the city.
"The soil of Patna, I was born here, and this is where I joined the Vidyarthi Parishad (student wing) and BJP. It always feels good to come here. Even though I work at the national level, the happiness I feel when I step onto the land of Patna is something else entirely. We will definitely win. I say this very honestly, when such a large family (NDA) comes together, there are bound to be some tensions, right? And there should be. The way to resolve those tensions is to act wisely and make sacrifices. If you're the elder brother, you need to show more generosity things have been sorted out," Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
Prasad also acknowledged the hard work by BJP workers during the elections. Prasad noted that some sacrifices are necessary for a greater cause.
He also reflected on the BJP playing the role of the larger party in Bihar, despite which, Nitish Kumar became the CM in spite of having fewer seats in the Assembly. The BJP MP emphasised that he feels the pain of the BJP workers, as they have stood by him in difficult times.
"I share the pain of my workers. They keep working hard for the party, and I feel their pain too. My workers have been dedicated -- they're with me through thick and thin. But I will explain to them, and they will understand, that for a greater cause, sometimes a little sacrifice is necessary. At one point, we were a much bigger party than Nitish ji. Yet, we said that he will be the CM. In 2020, his party was reduced to 43 seats, and we (BJP) had 74-75 seats. Still, we said, he will be the CM. So, this is a special situation in Bihar," Ravi Shankar Prasad added.
He also shed light on Nitish Kumar's bond with BJP, stating that he has been with the party for a long time. Prasad stated that Nitish Kumar distanced himself from Janata Dal and Lalu Prasad Yadav, when they were fighting to expose the RJD supremo in the fodder scam along with Sushil Modi, Saryu Rai and Lalan Singh.
"And I want to go on record to say -- Nitish ji is not our ally today. And let me make this clear -- in the fight to expose the fodder scam, it was us. Sushil Modi was the petitioner, Saryu Rai was involved, and later Lalan Singh joined one of the cases too. I was the lead lawyer. Nitish Kumar distanced himself from there, so the association goes back a long way," he said.
Nitish Kumar began his political career by joining the Jayprakash Narayan movement during the Emergency era in the 1970s. He joined the Janata Party in the post-emergency era and later moved to Janata Dal in 1989.
He was also among the founding members of the Samata Party along with George Fernandes in 1994, which merged with the Janata Dal United, becoming his main political platform.
Nitish Kumar became the Lok Sabha MP from Barh in Bihar in 1989, and held several Cabinet ministries including key portfolios of Agriculture, Railways and Transport.
Nitish Kumar has been serving as Bihar's Chief Minister since 2005, with the support of NDA on several occasions. He has been part of the National Democratic Alliance since its formation. However, he had quit the bloc in 2013 and 2022, but later reunited in 2017 and 2024.
Polling for the Bihar elections 2025 will take place on November 6 and 11. The results will be announced on November 14. (ANI)