Patna: After emerging as the single largest party in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the recent Bihar Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to overhaul the leadership with a new team of leaders in the state.
The NDA government came to power in Bihar with a clear majority in the assembly elections as against the Opposition Grand Alliance.
The new NDA government under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar includes two Deputy Chief Ministers, Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi, for the first time in the state.
The BJP's Sushil Kumar Modi was made the Deputy Chief Minister and worked as a close aide to CM Nitish Kumar in the previous NDA government in the state. But this time Modi has been replaced by two Deputy CMs Tarkishore Prasad, a BJP MLA from Katihar, and Renu Devi, a legislator from Bettiah.
The NDA secured 125 seats in the recent Bihar Assembly elections of which the BJP won 75, JD-U 43 and four seats each were won by NDA allies -- Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP).
The party is now planning to revamp the leadership by replacing the old guard with a young team of leaders. Apart from Sushil Modi, Nandkishore Yadav, who was the Road Construction Minister in the previous NDA government, and Dr Prem Kumar, Agriculture Minister, have been sidelined.
There was speculation over Nandkishore Yadav being elected as Speaker of the Bihar Assembly but BJP MLA Vijay Kumar Sinha's name was floated and he was eventually elected Speaker on November 25.
A BJP leader on condition of anonymity said "change is the golden rule in politics", hence the refurbishing at the helm.
It is being claimed that with this reshuffle in the party leadership, the BJP will have a major say in the Nitish Kumar government which was earlier not possible when Sushil Modi was the Deputy CM. The second rung of leadership in the BJP will also emerge stronger in the state.
BJP leaders claim that women voters in Bihar played a major role in the NDA coming to power. This, they say, is the reason that a woman has been given the post of Deputy CM.
BJP Bihar Spokesperson Nikhil Anand said,"BJP is a democratic party. By giving chance to new faces in party leadership, our party has made it clear that any ordinary worker of the party can come up the ranks on their own. The BJP is not owned by any family and is not remote-controlled by a few people unlike several opposition parties. The party does not function as per the wishes of any one family. No one can tell who will be the next President of the BJP. From an ordinary polling booth worker to the top leaders in the party, anyone can become the President and the Prime Minister of the country."
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