Author: Sumit Pande
Publication: IBNLive.com
Date: June 14, 2013
URL: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/nitish-extends-olive-branch-invites-bihar-bjp-leaders-to-janta-darbar/398738-37-64.html

With the Janata Dal United trying hard to play down rumours of its 'impending split' with the Bharatiya Janata Party, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar invited BJP leaders on Friday to attend his weekly Janta Darbar.

JD(U) President Sharad Yadav has also been refuting reports of the party giving an ultimatum to the BJP saying that discussions were on to salvage the alliance.

Meanwhile, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi has called a meeting of all BJP ministers at his residence at 3 pm on Friday. All BJP Bihar ministers reportedly skipped office on Friday.

Earlier, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury met Sharad Yadav on Friday to discuss the current political situation. Since the JD(U) has hinted at splitting from the NDA, clamour for a Third Front has been growing.

"If we can understand and address each other's problems, regional parties can form a new front to take on the central government. This will send out a good message," Nitish Kumar had said earlier.

"There are many issues on which the Congress and the BJP have been unsuccessful. The time has come for the nation to have a Third Front government," Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had also said.

But the BJP is not giving up and is making all efforts to keep the NDA united. According to sources, some BJP MLAs are in touch with the JD(U) leadership. The BJP has expressed concerns over how this breakup would affect its vote share in Bihar.

"We understand need for coalitions in the country. We know our duties towards it. The NDA is united and will move forward. I don't see the possibility of the Third Front," said BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

BJP President Rajnath Singh also said that he doesn't want the alliance to break. "We don't want this 17-year-old alliance to break," he said.

Sources, however, have told CNN-IBN that Nitish Kumar might again hint at a JD(U)-BJP divide at his public rally in Katihar on Friday. Nitish Kumar has also called a meeting with his confidants in Patna on Friday, where a decision on the JD(U)-BJP alliance is likely to be taken.

The ties between the JD(U) and the BJP hit an all-time low ever since Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was made the party's poll campaign chief for 2014. The JD(U) has openly voiced its opposition to the growing stature of Modi within the party. Following the resignation from all posts by BJP patriarch LK Advani, the JD(U) had said that the alliance was on "ventilator support".