‘Political opportunism’: BJP’s Dilip Ghosh on Nitish Kumar’s volte-face

PTI, Jan 28, 2024, 2:13 PM IST

Describing Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s volte-face as ”political opportunism”, BJP MP from West Bengal Dilip Ghosh on Sunday said there should be an end to it.

Ghosh, the former president of West Bengal BJP, was speaking to reporters after Kumar dumped the RJD and Congress, and joined hands with the BJP to form a new government in the state.

”A politician usually takes oath as CM once during a five-year term. But Nitish Kumar is such a politician, who takes oath at least twice or thrice during a five-year term, and that too from different camps each time,” he said.

”I think this is political opportunism and it is high time that such things must stop,” he added.

State BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya refused to comment on Ghosh’s statement.

However, he said, ”The fact is a loveless marriage cannot go on forever. The JD(U)- RJD tie-up was a loveless marriage. This was bound to happen.” ”Nitish Kumar by returning to the NDA is atoning his political sins, which he had committed by dumping the NDA and disregarding the people’s mandate,” Bhattacharya added.

Kumar resigned as the CM, putting an end to the 18-month-old Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar. With this, he also snapped ties with the opposition bloc INDIA that he helped form a few months back to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.

Kumar then staked a claim to form a new government in the state with the BJP’s support.

He had joined the Mahagathbandhan in August 2022, when he had ditched the BJP, accusing it of trying to ”split” his JD(U).