Amidst, all parties deciding on taking up sides as to whom to support, NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind or Opposition candidate Meira Kumar, Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan has invited Nitish Kumar to join NDA.
After, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced his support to NDA candidate for the presidential election, Ram Vilas Paswan in his statement to TOI, apprecited his support saying the Bihar CM seems to be uncomfortable sharing the power with Lalu Prasad‘s Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Paswan said that even the people of Bihar are angry with Nitish Kumar for being in contact with a corrupt party and invited him to join BJP-led coalition. He advised Nitish Kumar to not to ride on two boats and to take a proper stand and join NDA.
Nitish and Lalu Prasad Yadav always shared good relations from the time they were young leaders. The differences started arising when Nitish allied with BJP and ended a decade year long rule of Lalu in Bihar. However the alliance dint last for long and Nitish had to approach Lalu again during 2014 LoK Sabha Polls. With the help of RJD Nitish was able to defeat BJP in 2015 assembly polls, however tensions between the two parties always remained.
Ram Vilas Paswan pointed out that, only once there has been a dalit President KR Narayanan in 1997, that too under the BJP government under the rule of I K Gujral. He further added that victory of Ram Nath Kovind is inevitable adn that the elections are just a formality. He also appealed to all the parties to support the NDA candidate and show unity on one platform for the cause of upliftment of poor and dalits in the country.
Paswan also commented that the Bihar government will soon collapse as the mahagathbandhan that they claim to enjoy was never a gathbandhan, it was only a opportunistic alliance to come to power.