Nitish dials Chandrababu, keeps options open

In an apparent attempt to keep his options open, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has spoken to his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N. Chandrababu Naidu, who is spearheading the move to unite the Opposition parties against BJP-led alliance National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the 2019 general elections. This has happened despite the fact that Nitish Kumar’s party, Janata DalUnited ( JDU) is already holding discussions with the BJP for seat-sharing in the state. The discussions are said to be at an advanced stage.

Sources said that Kumar had a long telephonic chat with Naidu recently. Though what transpired between the two could not be ascertained, a JDU source said Kumar was exploring options at the last moment for a respectable space in the Opposition front, in the wake of an internal feedback that aligning with NDA may not be fruitful in the coming elections.

While JDU’s general secretary K.C. Tyagi could not be contacted, JDU spokesperson Neeraj Kumar, MLC, said: “I have no information about Nitishji speaking to Chandrababu Naidu. However, I can say that NDA is very much intact in Bihar. We are working for ‘ Saat Nischay’, the seven commitments for welfare programmes, which we had promised to the people in the last Assembly elections. The NDA has adopted it. There is also no problem as far as the leadership issue is concerned.”

However, sources in Hyderabad said Naidu was in touch with many NDA leaders, including Nitish Kumar, in his bid to form an anti-BJP front for the next Lok Sabha elections. “He is talking to