'Had Nitish stayed with NDA, he wouldn't have faced defeat'

Terming Nitish Kumar's resignation as the chief minister of Bihar after the party's poll debacle, as mere 'nautanki'(drama), Shiv Sena on Tuesday said that had he been with the NDA, his party would not have faced such a humiliation.

The party also said that Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan should also should step down owning the moral responsibility of Congress' defeat in the state.

"In the recent Lok Sabha polls, the Janata Dal (United) was decimated in Bihar. Owning the moral responsibility of the party's defeat, Nitish Kumar gave his resignation as the Chief Minister. The 'Modi tornado' swept across Bihar so strongly that not only JD(U), but Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD and Congress were reduced to ashes," the Sena said in its mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

"After Narendra Modi was declared BJP's prime ministerial candidate, Nitish Kumar severed ties with the NDA, fearing that the Muslims and Dalits in Bihar would stop supporting the party.

"Quite contrary to it BJP gained in the Muslim-dominated constituencies in Bihar and won with a thumping majority. So what did Nitish Kumar gain by opposing Modi? Had he remained with the NDA, he would not have faced such a humiliation," it said.

The party, which won 18 seats in the recent Lok Sabha polls, also said that since all his political decisions went wrong, Nitish Kumar has now become frustrated.

"Though Nitish Kumar did the 'nautanki' of giving resignation, he did not recommend the dissolution of the state assembly saying that he does not want to push Bihar into political instability. But Nitish Kumar is now holding meetings with Lalu Prasad Yadav and there is a talk that they may come together to counter Modi. Though Nitish has stepped down on moral grounds, what can be more immoral than joining hands with Lalu Yadav?" the party said.