Voicing “personal” opinion, former Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey said Nitish Kumar’s contribution to the NDA is tremendous and he should be made Deputy Prime Minister of India.
Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey gave a big statement saying it’s his wish that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar should be made Deputy Prime Minister. Voicing his “personal” opinion, Choubey said Nitish Kumar’s contribution to the NDA is tremendous. Such statement by a senior BJP leader ahead of Bihar elections turned a lot of heads.
As per the reports, in the coming state elections, BJP is planning to offer an “honourable exit” to the current CM, who is also planning to run for a fifth consecutive term in the assembly polls.
‘Nitish Kumar is strengthening the hands of the PM’
Speaking to reporters in Patna, former Union Minister said, “Nitish Kumar’s contribution to the NDA is tremendous. He has been strengthening the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by playing the role of an anchor in the coalition. It is my personal wish that he be made the Deputy Prime Minister. “If the wish is granted, Bihar will see the second son of its soil, after Babu Jagjivan Ram, rising to the office”, added Choubey.
Such claims were made earlier as well, BJP leaders like the late Sushil Kumar Modi had claimed that Kumar wanted to become the Vice President. He quit NDA in 2022 in protest against not being considered for the top Constitutional post.
Bihar elections 2025
Assembly polls in Bihar are slated to be held around November 2025 and all the parties are gearing up to make the government. The alliance between Bharataiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (United) will continue in this election as well. The BJP has 21 of 36 cabinet positions, while the JD(U) has 13, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Last week, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Union Home Minister Amit Shah discussed the strategy for assembly polls. The meeting was held at 1, Anne Marg, the official residence of the chief minister. Besides senior leaders of the JD(U) and the BJP, including state ministers, the meeting was attended by Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who heads the Hindustani Awam Morcha, and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha, who is the founding president of Rashtriya Lok Morcha.
(PTI inputs)