What Has Happened So Far

Speaking to the media after Nitish Kumar’s resignation, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, as per ANI, that he “knew this would happen.”

“There are many people in the country like ‘Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram’ [they come and they go]. When I talked to Lalu ji [RJD president] and Tejashwi [RJD leader]they also said that Nitish was going to leave. If he wanted to stay, he would have stayed, but he wants to go, and nobody can stop him. That’s why we already knew this, but to keep the INDIA alliance intact … if we say something wrong, the wrong message will be sent.”

Congress general secretary in-charge Jairam Ramesh said that with Kumar’s exit, “the future of the country is at stake, but the future of the INDIA bloc is not.”

He added that his resignation “will further upset the people of Bihar and I think they will teach the right lesson to Nitish Kumar and the BJP in the election… I agree that this will be in the headlines for a day or two, it doesn’t look good that Nitish Kumar had called the first meeting (of INDIA bloc) in Patna… He attended all meetings. But like I said, Nitish Kumar gives a tough competition to chameleons.”

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said: “There is Ram in Ayodhya and Paltu Ram in Bihar. The BJP and Amit Shah himself had called Nitish Paltu Ram when he had joined hands with Lalu. Shah had said that BJP’s doors are closed for Nitish Kumar. Now what happened to that? The BJP people are the bigger Paltu Ram.”