'Shotgun' says Bihar CM post should not be restricted to BJP candidate alone

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shatrughan Sinha on Monday said leaders from allies, like Ramvilas Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi, should be considered being named as National Democratic Alliance's chief ministerial candidate for Bihar polls even though his party is yet to decide whether it wants to project anyone for the post.

"There should not be any hard and fast rule that only a BJP leader could become CM candidate of the NDA. Considering vast experience of Union minister Ramvilas Paswan and former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, they could also be thought for the job," Sinha, BJP Lok Sabha member from Patna Sahib, told PTI.

“First timer Manohar Lal Khattar was made Chief Minister of Haryana. Then why not somebody like Paswan and Manjhi could be entrusted with the top job in Bihar," he said, adding earlier Nitish Kumar was given this honour by the party.

Sinha also praised expelled RJD MP and Jan Adhikar Party leader Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav.

"Pappu Yadav and his wife Ranjeeta Ranjan's performance in Parliament has been appreciated by many. Pappu Yadav has shown tremendous maturity," the actor-turned-BJP leader said.

He, however, said there was no dearth of leaders in BJP in the state and took names of Sushil Kumar Modi and Nand Kishore Yadav who are capable of becoming chief minister.

Asked about himself, Sinha, second-term Lok Sabha MP from Patna Sahib and who has been star campaigner of BJP for long, said he was not in the race for CM's post.

"They did not consider me worthy of being a member of election campaign committee or any other party post. They did not invite me in the function of party chief Amit Shah in Patna in April. Why shall I expect anything from them?" a visibly unhappy Sinha said.

Asked about his role in the coming Bihar election, the 'Bihari Babu' said, "So far nobody has talked to me about my role and responsibility in the Bihar poll and that is why I am not a worried man."

Sinha said he joined BJP when it was a party of two MPs and he was at peak of his Bollywood career.

The "Shotgun" also sought to caution party leaders not to go overboard over victory in Legislative Council poll by a slender margin.

"Undermining strength of leaders like Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar would be a gross mistake on the basis of this result," Sinha said while stressing that he was saying so in the interest of BJP.

"Sometimes over-enthusiasm and over-confidence causes damage as it happened for the party in Delhi election," he said.