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With Nitish Kumar's JD(U) government in Bihar deflecting back to the BJP after a politically-charged 24 hours, the question that now looms over the party is on their support for the Opposition's pick for Vice President – Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
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Sources close to Kumar said that his newly-stitched patch-up with the BJP would not affect his support for Gandhi as the vice presidential candidate. Speaking to Times of India, a senior JD(U) leader said:
Nitishji has always maintained that the party has different roles in Bihar and in national politics. Alliance with the BJP was in the interest of the state but the party has supported Gandhi on merit and his credentials. Therefore, there is no reason to change the decision
At a meeting held with his MPs after he broke the Mahagathbandhan, Nitish Kumar said that the party's stance on the vice presidential polls will be discussed after the floor test on Friday is out of the way.
Kumar had earlier rallied support for Gandhi when he was initially being projected as the Opposition camp's Presidential pick, but had then switched alliances when the NDA chose former Bihar governor Ram Nath Kovind to fight it out from their camp.
The Opposition played it safe by pushing Gandhi as their Vice-Presidential candidate, especially after Nitish had asserted his support for him in the earlier rounds of deliberation.
The vice-presidential elections are set to be held on 8 August, and will be fought by UPA's Gopalkrishna Gandhi and the NDA's Venkaiah Naidu.
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