Dipping popularity making Nitish Kumar confused: Sushil Modi

Patna, Oct 22: Bihar Chief Minister

is confused as to which formation to join ahead of Lok Sabha polls next year with election surveys saying it was unlikely that the ruling JD(U) would find much favour with the voters, former ally

said today.

Hitting back at Kumar, BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said the CM was himself "confused" given that he sometimes extended the hand of friendship for Congress while talking about a Third Front at the same time.

Nitish Kumar had said the saffron party seemed confused

"After breaking the alliance with BJP, Kumar is frightened by pre-poll surveys which indicate he will not get more than 10 (Lok Sabha) seats out of the total 40 in Bihar. He is caught in a dilemma as to which way to go," Sushil, who was Kumar's deputy as part of the NDA government in Bihar, said in a statement here.

"He (Kumar) seems to be totally confused due to this and due to a decline in popularity and weakening of administration," Sushil added.

Kumar had escorted Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram to Congress headquarters here and had been happy upon getting a 'certificate of secularism' from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Sushil said as he noted that he now appeared confused due to Congress's apathy towards him.

Speaking up against BJP's criticism of his demand for special category status for Bihar, Kumar had yesterday said the saffron party seemed confused. Kumar had earlier announced that JD(U) would take a call on its alliance at the party's Rajgir convention but was now saying that the alliance issue was not on the agenda, Sushil said.

He is now talking about the Left parties' rally in New Delhi scheduled for Oct. 30. The special category status would not alone solve problems in Bihar like recurring floods, lack of development, poor roads, etc.

"For this, the state needs a special package," he said.

PTI