Amit Shah suggested me twice to induct Prashant Kishor into JD(U), says Bihar CM Nitish Kumar

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar claimed that he had twice received suggestions from BJP president Amit Shah to induct poll strategist Prashant Kishor into JD(U). Speaking at an event organised by a private news channel on Tuesday, Nitish said "Kishor has been assigned the task of attracting young talent, from all social segments, to politics which was becoming inaccessible to those not born in political families."

Kishor was inducted into the JD(U) in September last year and elevated to the post of national vice-president weeks later triggering speculation that he was being thought of by Kumar as his political heir.

"He was not a newcomer for us. He had worked with us in the 2015 assembly polls. For a brief period, he was busy elsewhere. Please let it be known that none other than Amit Shah had asked me twice to induct Kishor in the JD(U)," he said.

"I have a lot of affection for Prashant Kishor. But please, let us not talk in terms of successors. This is not a monarchy," Kumar said. He also said he had "a lot of love" for RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, his former deputy, "irrespective of the acerbic language he uses against me".

"Even with Lalu, I only had political differences. It never affected our personal relationships," he said. He also stated that leaders like Tejashwi and former UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav "ought to remember that whenever they emerge victorious in an election, they are blessed by the people for whatever promise they themselves hold and not by virtue of their family background".

"Mahatma Gandhi considered politics without principles a social sin. Dynasty politics, which I have always been opposed to, is an example of politics without principles," he quipped. 

(With Agency Inputs)