Nitish Kumar’s deputy Vijay Kumar Sinha slips up, calls for BJP rule in Bihar, then retracts remark

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha’s call for a BJP-led state government has sparked a controversy. At a BJP event to mark the birth centenary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Wednesday, Sinha said in Bihar, “only after the BJP forms its own government”, can a tribute be paid to Vajpayee.

He also said that the people of ‘jungle raj’ are still spreading anarchy in Bihar and the only way to curb it is the formation of a BJP government in the state.

However, Sinha, whose party BJP is in an alliance with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JDU in the state and in the Centre, was quick to retract the remarks and clarified that Nitish Kumar will continue to lead Bihar.

BJP state president Dilip Jaiswal and Bihar’s second Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary were also present on stage when Sinha was calling for BJP rule in Bihar.

While none of the JDU members directly attacked Sinha for his call at the Vajpayee centenary event, Bihar JDU spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said that Atal Bihari Vajpayee held Nitish Kumar in high regard.

“Atal ji played an important role in Nitish Kumar’s dream of leadership in Bihar. He also gave important responsibilities to Nitish Kumar in the Union Cabinet,” the JDU spokesperson said.

When asked about Sinha’s remarks, RJD leader Manoj Jha said he does not understand the meaning of the word tribute. “It’s your government in Bihar even now. The public decides everything and the public knows you very well,” Jha told news agency PTI.

The choice of a “blatantly pro-BJP” Arif Mohammad Khan as the new governor of Bihar has also not gone down well with a section of JD(U) leaders, PTI quoted some RJD sources as saying. Arif Mohammed Khan was appointed the new governor of Bihar on Tuesday.

The incident also sparked a row as Vijay Sinha’s remarks came ahead of Bihar Assembly elections in 2025, in which the ruling NDA alliance is pitching Nitish Kumar as the leader again.

“The leadership role of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had been a given for long. There is no question of going back on that,” Dilip Jaiswal, state minister and Bihar BJP chief was quoted as saying by news agency PTI on December 20.

Jaiswal’s statement was backed by Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), another key NDA ally in Bihar.