Nitish Kumar to lead NDA in upcoming Bihar polls: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday rejected rumours of a rift within the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar, and said the state’s Assembly polls later this year would be fought under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s leadership, PTI reported. Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) is a part of the NDA.

Addressing an outreach rally in Vaishali district, the Bharatiya Janata Party president said: “I want to dispel all rumours about our coalition. The elections will be contested under Nitish Kumar’s leadership. Lalu Prasad [Rashtriya Janata Dal chief], who is in jail in corruption cases, may go on dreaming that our coalition will come apart. The country and the state shall progress under the leadership of [Prime Minister] Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar respectively.”

Shah also urged the people of the state to support the Citizenship Amendment Act. He accused the Opposition of spreading misinformation about the legislation and engineering violent protests. He said the Act provided for granting citizenship, and would not take it away from anybody.