BJP's doors permanently shut on Bihar CM Nitish, says Sushil Modi

Modi, often credited with having wooed back Kumar into the NDA 5 years ago, was peeved at the CM having told his party workers on Sunday that aligning with the BJP again in 2017 was a mistake

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Monday asserted that the doors of his party were "permanently shut" for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who dumped it last month, causing the saffron party to lose power in the state.

Modi, widely perceived to have been sidelined in his party on account of his proximity to Kumar, came out with a statement claiming that it will not be long before the JD(U) leader did yet another volte face.

The former Bihar deputy CM, who has transitioned into a virulent critic of his ex-boss, alleged, "Nitish Kumar has put chameleons to shame in changing colours."

Modi, often credited with having wooed back Kumar into the NDA five years ago, was peeved at the chief minister having told his party workers on Sunday that aligning with the BJP again in 2017 "was a mistake".

The Rajya Sabha MP raked up the short-lived chief ministership of Jitan Ram Manjhi, who replaced Kumar when the latter stepped down in 2014, only to be elbowed out to facilitate the return of the benefactor less than a year later.

Modi claimed that Kumar had felt "suffocated in the 20 months he ran his government in alliance with the RJD earlier. He may feel the same again. But this time the BJP will not accept him as an ally even if he were to rub his nose on the ground. The doors have been permanently shut".

Interestingly, Kumar has been dismissing Modi's vituperations with indulgent humour.

"I was pained when Sushil ji was sidelined by his party. May he get some reward for attacking me," has been the refrain of the JD(U) leader who now seeks to forge opposition unity and oust BJP from power at the Centre in the next Lok Sabha elections.