Nobody can match Modi in 2019: Nitish

SHARAD YADAV CALLS DECISION TO END BIHAR TIEUP ‘UNFORTUNATE’, SAYS MANDATE OF THE PEOPLE IN 2015 POLLS WAS NOT FOR THIS

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said on Monday that the re-election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 was inevitable, less than a week after he patched up with the Bharatiya Janata Party to form a new coalition government in his state.

Nitish’s comments represent a significant shift in how he views the Prime Minister, whose candidacy in 2013 was behind his decision to break a decades-long partnership with the saffron party.

“Nobody has the capacity nor is strong enough to take on PM Narendra Modi in 2019 parliamentary elections,” Kumar said in his first media interaction since he parted ways with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress last week, a decision that many see as a significant blow to the Opposition’s unity.

Kumar resigned as the chief minister on Wednesday evening, hours after RJD chief Lalu Prasad refused to budge on demands for action against his son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, who is under investigation for alleged corruption. By midnight, he announced he would accept support from the BJP to return as the CM. “I was left with no option,” Kumar said about his decision to dump the alliance.

Kumar’s senior colleague, the former JD(U) president Sharad Yadav, called that decision “unfortunate” in his first reaction to the matter on Monday.

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