JD-U for proportionate representation in Modi 2.0

Patna: The Bharatiya Janata Party ally Janata Dal-United, which had refused to join the Modi government in June, on Wednesday pushed for a "proportionate representation" for the party in the Union Cabinet, saying if Prime Minister Narendra Modi or BJP president Amit Shah takes an initiative to this effect, it will welcome the move.

Shortly after Nitish Kumar addressed his party's national council following his reelection as party president for a fresh three-year term, the JD-U reminded the BJP that the Bihar chief minister has given the saffron party a proportionate representation in the state government.

Briefing reporters on Kumar's speech and other issues, JD-U general secretary K C Tyagi noted that the mandate of the 2015 Bihar assembly poll was "against" the BJP but Kumar conceded to it the post of deputy chief minister besides sharing ministerial berths.

The assertive stand of the JD-U, which had not joined the Modi government as it was offered only one berth, comes at a time when another BJP ally Shiv Sena is demanding equal division of power in Maharashtra after its bigger partner's below-par performance in the recent assembly poll.