JD (U) scoffs at NDA for not having CM candidate

The Janata Dal (United) (JD-U) on Wednesday scoffed at the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for not announcing a chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Bihar elections.

"The Bihar election is dubbed as a face-off between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. This itself shows that the BJP feels that it doesn't have a leader in the state who can match the status of Nitish Kumar," JD (U) state president Vashishtha Narayan Singh told reporters here.

"Prime Minister Modi couldn't find a single person who could face Nitish Kumar and this is the first signal that he will be defeated in the elections," he added.

Singh also criticised the BJP for portraying the Bihar elections as a national battle saying, they lack the ability to take decisions.

"Whenever, they come up with a name, an internal fight starts between them (NDA), see the example of seat sharing," he added.

The BJP yesterday announced a list of 43 candidates after the first meeting of the Central Election Committee (CEC).

Elections for the 243-member Bihar Assembly will be held in five phases between October 12 and November 5. Counting of votes will take place on November 8.

The term of the current Bihar Assembly comes to an end on November 29.