Patna, April 6 Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Monday that the party was looking forward to "good news" in Bihar, where it is likely to head the new government that will be formed upon the resignation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
The Patna Sahib MP made the remark at the BJP state headquarters, on the sidelines of a function organised on the occasion of the 47th foundation day of the party.
Prasad, who had started off as a leader of the BJP's youth wing in the 1980s, said, "We have come a long way since the Lok Sabha polls of 1984, when we could win only two seats. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, we have been going from strength to strength. We look forward to some good news (achchi khabar) in Bihar, too".
His remarks came in the backdrop of Nitish Kumar, the longest serving CM, who heads the JD(U), getting elected to the Rajya Sabha. Kumar gave up his membership of the state legislative council last week and is expected to be sworn in as an MP in a few days from now.
Speculations are rife that the 75-year-old leader could relinquish the seat of power by next week, and the BJP, which emerged as the single largest party in assembly polls held in November last year, would finally have its "own chief minister" in Bihar, the only Hindi heartland province where the party was yet to head the government.
Prasad, who is also a former Union minister, was upbeat about the BJP's prospects in states where assembly polls are scheduled later this month.
He said, "In Assam, we shall retain power comfortably. In West Bengal, we will wrest power. Tamil Nadu will see an NDA government while in Kerala the BJP will emerge stronger than before".
Among those who were present at the BJP function was Samrat Choudhary, the Deputy CM who holds the crucial Home portfolio and is being seen as a frontrunner for the top job following a change of guard.
Upon being approached by journalists, Choudhary, who had joined the party less than a decade ago, said, "It is a matter of great joy for us that the BJP is now 47 years old. May it rule Bihar for the next 4,700 years (agle saintalis sau saal tak)".