Dharmendra Pradhan clears the air: "No confusion, Nitish Kumar our CM face"

Patna (Bihar) [India], November 10 (ANI): Union Education Minister and BJP in charge of Bihar Dharmendra Pradhan, who has been campaigning in Bihar ahead of the second phase of assembly elections, on Monday firmly stated that there was no confusion about Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar being the Chief Ministerial face of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
"Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has been very clear. He has already said that we do not have a vacancy. Why should we name the person (who is the sitting CM)? The name is Nitish Kumar. Where is the confusion? We don't have any confusion. Our (CM) face is Nitish Kumar," Pradhan told ANI in an interview.
On being asked about possible disgruntledness among the Kushwaha community over not categorically naming Nitish Kumar as the CM face, Pradhan said, "The Kushwaha community is on our side this time. Those who were angry all came back. Samrat Chaudhary, Upendra Kushwaha, two great Kushwaha leaders of this country, are with the NDA."
The BJP leader further questioned Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, who have also been campaigning in Bihar, for not stating that Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav is the Mahagathbandhan's Chief Ministerial candidate.
"Where did all this discussion come from? There was no agreement in the Mahagatbandhan on whether to announce the Chief Minister. Did Rahul Gandhi come and say this? The PM has said this many times that he and his brother Nitish Kumar, who is the face of Bihar, will develop the state. Are Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi saying that Tejeshwi is the CM candidate of Bihar? They have not said it till now," Pradhan said.
As the opposition remains concerned about Nitish Kumar's health, Pradhan argued that the Bihar CM has been travelling 250 kilometres a day. He stated that age can't be a factor in assessing someone's health.
"As far as Nitish Kumar's health is concerned, he is travelling 250 kms every day. In the last two months, I have been in constant touch with him. I have known him for the last 20-25 years, and I see no difference. How can we assess someone's health based on their age? There is absolute unity, understanding and trust among all the parties of the NDA," the Union Minister said.
Responding to the opposition's repeated jibe over Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar not holding election rallies together, Pradhan said that it remains part of the NDA's plan to engage in the election campaign individually.
"Before the elections, PM Modi attended 7-8 government programs at the invitation of CM Nitish Kumar and the Bihar government. On October 24, the election campaign began in Jannayak Karpoori Thakur's village in Samastipur, where all NDA leaders were present, including PM Modi, CM Nitish Kumar, Upendra Kushwaha, and Chirag Paswan. It is a part of our plan. We have decided that all of us will carry out the election campaign individually," the Union Minister said.
He said that Nitish Kumar has allied with the NDA because his opinions align with theirs. He added that it would be "an injustice to call him mercurial".
"Calling Nitish Kumar mercurial is an injustice to him. There are very few mature and calm-minded leaders in Indian politics. I have known him since childhood. He is mature and firm-minded. He has his own policies. Our opinions are similar, which is why we are in the NDA. He has an independent opinion on certain things, and we respect that," Pradhan said.
"NDA is a social alliance, not a political one. If NDA remains as it is, with Nitish Kumar, BJP, Chirag Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi and Upendra Kushwaha, this is a 100% guaranteed formula for Bihar's development," he added.
Following a historic voter turnout in the first phase of polls, voting for 122 assembly constituencies across 20 districts in Bihar will be held during the second phase of the assembly elections on November 11.
The results for the legislative assembly elections will be announced on November 14. (ANI)