NDA leadership to decide successor of Nitish in state: BJP

Patna: BJP national president Nitin Nabin on Thursday said everything in Bihar was being decided under the leadership of CM Nitish Kumar. He ruled out any differences in the NDA and said everything is proceeding as scheduled. The BJP has always respected “gathbandhan dharma”, which is why parties trust the party, he said.BJP state president Sanjay Saraogi said the top NDA leadership, along with Nitish, will decide his successor in Bihar.Sources said everything is settled except for giving final touches for the smooth transition of power to the BJP. “The date of the new chief minister’s swearing-in has not been decided yet. But it is likely to be held at a simple ceremony at Lok Bhavan as the party does not want to send a message that it is celebrating Nitish’s exit as Bihar CM,” a BJP leader said.JD(U) national spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad said no formal party meeting is scheduled in Delhi this week.A BJP leader said Nitish alone will take oath as a Rajya Sabha member on Friday. He said the other four NDA leaders elected from Bihar to the Rajya Sabha, including Nitin Nabin, will take oath in the House on April 16 when Parliament sits to debate the Constitution amendment to pass the 33% quota for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.The BJP leader said the Rajya Sabha oath ceremony was earlier scheduled for Maharashtra on April 9 and for Bihar the next day, but the programme changed after the govt’s decision to hold a three-day special sitting of Parliament for the women’s quota.Saraogi said all BJP state presidents, in-charges and organisation secretaries will meet in Delhi on Friday morning to assess the outcome of the party’s training sessions across the country.The Bihar BJP core committee meeting is also scheduled in Delhi on Friday evening. However, a party leader said it has nothing to do with any formal discussion on the next govt formation after Nitish quits as Bihar CM. He said the meeting was earlier scheduled in Patna on April 4 but was rescheduled to April 10 because all top state leaders would be in Delhi that day.