Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is also serving as the Bihar coordinator for the assembly elections in Bihar, responded to questions about the absence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mega rallies in the state.
Refuting the opposition's claims of "all is not well" within the NDA, Pradhan said that it was a part of the plan that every individual would carry out election campaigns individually.
Talking to news agency ANI, he said, "Before the elections, PM Modi attended 7-8 government programs at the invitation of CM Nitish Kumar and the Bihar government...On October 24, the election campaign began in Jannayak Karpoori Thakur's village in Samastipur, where all NDA leaders were present, including PM Modi, CM Nitish Kumar, Upendra Kushwaha, and Chirag Paswan."
Adding, "It is a part of our plan. We have decided that all of us will carry out the election campaign individually."
Earlier, Congress had questioned Nitish's absence from PM Modi's roadshow in Patna and his political rallies at other places in Bihar, further claiming that the BJP won't make Nitish CM again.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Nitish Kumar was not seen along with the PM in his rallies on Sunday. He was also missing from the PM's roadshow in Patna. It is clear that Nitish would not become the CM again."
The remarks come as the campaigning for the second phase of the assembly polls came to an end on Sunday, with bigwigs from the NDA and the INDIA bloc tried their final hand to win voters ahead of the polling scheduled on November 11. The results will follow soon on November 14.
The second phase is extremely crucial as well as challenging for the NDA. It will also test Nitish Kumar's cabinet, deciding the fate of 12 ministers. As many as 1,032 candidates are going to contest in the second phase, 136 of whom are women. As the NDA aims to retain power, the Mahagathbandhan vouches to dethrone the current rule.