After asking the National Democratic Alliance partner Lok Janshakti Party not to use the photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in its election posters the Bharatiya Janata Party has got embroiled in another controversy–this time with the trusted NDA constituent, the Janata Dal United.
The latest front-page newspaper advertisement and posters of the saffron party has only the photo of Narendra Modi and not of the chief minister Nitish Kumar. However, they carry the election symbols of all the four NDA constituents–the BJP, JDU, VIP and HAM. But the Janata Dal United leaders have the problem not only with the photo but also with the content.
It mentions: “Bhajpa hai to Bharosa hai” (Trust BJP) The posters seek vote in the name of NDA though Nitish Kumar of Janata Dal United is the chief ministerial candidate. But the BJP leaders are quick to counter this criticism. They say that the Oct 23 Janata Dal United advertisement does not include the photo of the Prime Minister or any JDU or BJP leaders but only of chief minister Nitish Kumar, though on that date the latter was to share the first election meeting with Modi in Sasaram and Bhagalpur.
Ironically, only some days back it was the same BJP which criticised the Rashtriya Janata Dal poster for just carrying the photo of its chief ministerial face, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and not of the party supremo Lalu Prasad or the former chief minister Rabri Devi. The latest poster row within the NDA has come two days before the first phase of polling on Oct 28 and further exposes the trust deficit within the ruling combination of Bihar.
