Sushil Modi rejects talk of rift with JDU, stresses ‘reliable partnership’

NEWDELHI: As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) begins preparations for the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar, deputy chief minister and senior party leader Sushil Modi has dismissed speculation that BJP and the Janata Dal (United), or JDU, will not seek re-election as allies.

Describing the alliance as “a reliable partnership,” Modi said the synergy between the Centre and the state government had created a successful model of governance in the state.

“Schemes at the Centre and at the state level have ensured that Bihar has seen development that eluded it for years. Villages have been electrified, water is being provided under har ghar jal (water in every household), power is being provided for agricultural purposes at low cost,” he said in a phone interview..

Signs of discord between the allies surfaced on the issue of brining back migrant Bihar workers stranded outside the state during the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As BJP leaders pushed for letting the workers travel back home, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar insisted on the Centre first framing guidelines for the return of migrant workers to the state.

There have also been murmurs within the party that the state government’s response to the migrant worker and it inability to offer jobs will have an adverse impact on the electoral fortunes of the allies and that the BJP should consider fighting the Bihar elections on its own.