Giriraj Singh seeks Bharat Ratna for Nitish Kumar, Naveen Patnaik

Union minister Giriraj Singh on Wednesday said the highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna, should be conferred upon Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and former CM of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik.

The outspoken BJP leader expressed the sentiment in Begusarai, his Lok Sabha constituency, lavishing praise on Kumar, a current ally, and Patnaik, a former alliance partner whom the saffron party ousted from power earlier this year.

"Bihar was known for decrepit roads, schools and buildings until the ascent to power of Nitish Kumar, who took the state to new heights. Likewise, Naveen Patnaik served Odisha for so many years. Leaders like them deserve the highest honour, like Bharat Ratna," he said.

Widely perceived as a detractor of Kumar in Bihar's political circles, Singh also asserted that "mischief" of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad notwithstanding, the NDA was looking forward to contesting the upcoming assembly polls under the JD(U) supremo's leadership.

Notably, the averment comes in the backdrop of attempts by the RJD, which has aligned with the JD(U) twice, to fish in the NDA's troubled waters.

On Tuesday, Prasad's son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav had alleged, "The BJP has assumed control of the chief minister's office. Four close aides of Kumar, of whom two are in Delhi, are in touch with the BJP leadership. Amit Shah is clearly at work."  The young leader had made the remark in the backdrop of Shah's reluctance to affirm, at an event hosted by a private news channel, that Kumar will be the NDA's face for assembly polls in Bihar.

This has led to speculations in a section of the media that the BJP might push for a strategy in Bihar, where assembly polls are due in less than a year, similar to the one adopted in Maharashtra.

In the Maharashtra assembly polls held last month, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was not projected as the NDA's face. After the NDA's landslide victory, the BJP, which emerged as the largest constituent, muscled its way through and Devendra Fadnavis became the new chief minister.