Questions raised by some of the BJP leaders in Bihar recently over the party not taking leadership in the State and playing a second fiddle to the JDU were unambiguously set aside by the BJP president Amit Shah, who, on Thursday, affirmed  that the JDU-BJP alliance would contest Assembly polls together under the leadership of incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. 

Shah asserted that their alliance is "atal" (firm) and that it will fight the Bihar Assembly elections next year under Kumar.

A section of BJP leaders from Bihar pitched for Kumar making way for a BJP leader at the helm in the State. Union Minister Giriraj Singh has been repeatedly criticising the Bihar Government for its "inept" handling of water-logging in several parts of Patna following heavy rainfall to which he also received an acid retort from the JDU leaders who sought him to mind his own central Ministry. 

 "The JD(U)-BJP alliance is 'atal'. Both parties will go to the elections together and we will fight under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. This is clear as far as Bihar is concerned," Shah told a news channel.

He was asked if the BJP is considering fighting the State election, slated to be held by the end of next year, on its own.

Shah played down the unease in the alliance, saying it is natural for some differences to crop up at the local level and that this is an indication of a healthy alliance.

'Matbhed' (difference of opinion) has not changed into 'manbhed' (change of heart), he said.JDU has been on an uneasy term with the BJP after it opted out from the Modi Government for it not including two of its leaders in the union cabinet and making space for only one cabinet berth for its alliance partner. JDU has also not been backing  triple talaq bill and objected to the criminalization clause in it.  The discord between the two had at one time set off speculations of Kumar again drifting to the opposition camp.