Shatrughan Sinha and LK Advani may attend Nitish Kumar's oath ceremony

More than the excitement of winning the elections and forming the government, leaders of Grand Secular Alliance seem to be celebrating BJP-led NDA’s massive defeat in the Bihar Assembly elections. Looking forward to attending the oath-taking ceremony of Nitish Kumar, scheduled for November 20, supporters of the JD(U) said, “We will continue to celebrate the defeat of the communal forces even after the formation of the state government in Bihar.”

There are reports that BJP patriarch L.K. Advani and dissident leader and party MP Shatrughan Sinha may attend the ceremony. The two leaders, sidelined by the BJP, are considered close to Mr Kumar. There are also reports that the state government is in confusion over sending an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah.

The BJP, when asked about their stance on the issue, reacted sharply saying “To attend the oath ceremony one needs an invitation.” Sources said, the JD(U) allies are not very keen on inviting the Prime Minister and the BJP chief. While speaking on the issue on Monday, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav’s close aide and senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said, “Amit Shah is still under a state of shock for losing the election in Bihar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as usual is busy with his foreign trips.”

Those who have confirmed that they will be attending the oath ceremony on November 20 are Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

JD(U) leaders, including some very close to Mr Kumar while launching a scathing attack on the BJP for “failing to curb escalating prices of food and essential commodities and failure in bringing back the black money”, even urged Mr Shatrughan Sinha to leave his party and join the JD(U).