Talk of Nawada MP and Union minister Giriraj Singh being inducted into chief minister Nitish Kumar’s cabinet as the second deputy chief minister has caught almost everyone by surprise, and not just because the BJP already has Sushil Kumar Modi as deputy chief minister.

“Any citizen can achieve any post in politics and that’s the beauty of our democracy, but Giriraj in Nitish’s cabinet? They are poles apart! Giriraj

is a complete antithesis of Nitish who stands for inclusive development, harmony and secularism,” said a senior state minister.

Another JDU leader asserted that appointing Giriraj as deputy CM would mean letting go of Dalit and minority community voters, whom Nitish is trying hard to woo hard for the Lok Sabha election due in 2019, followed by Assembly elections in 2020.

Giriraj, the Union minister of state for micro, small and medium enterprises, has a penchant for tone-deaf, controversial statements.

Opposition parties have repeatedly alleged that Giriraj had incited communal tension through his speeches around the time of Ram Navami

this year.

Even on Friday, he asserted in Begusarai that constructing a Ram temple in Ayodhya was a matter of prestige and honour for the BJP.

Two days ago, he had said that the country would face another Partition in 2047 on religious lines due to population explosion among certain communities.

Giriraj is a Bhumihar, an upper caste that accounts for around 3 per cent of voters in Bihar and which was at the forefront of countering Lalu Prasad’s RJD at its peak.

At present, the Bhumihars are leading the agitation for reservation for the poor among the upper castes — over which senior BJP leaders have faced protests in various parts of the state.

The buzz about Giriraj has also caught senior Bihar BJP leaders unawares.

“If he is to be inducted to appease Bhumihars, we can understand; but how will Nitish tackle the anti-incumbency among Dalits, and to some extent among the extremely backward castes?” said a senior BJP leader, adding that Bihar is not as big a state as Uttar Pradesh that it would need two deputy CMs.

JDU leaders shot down speculation about the Centre coercing Nitish to accommodate Giriraj.

“Nitish has always followed his own development programmes and vision for the state since 2005 and his partners have always toed his line,” said JDU spokesperson Neeraj Kumar.

A JDU minister said Nitish “would prefer to quit NDA than to dent his secular and progressive image by inducting Giriraj”.

Giriraj could not be contacted despite several attempts as he was busy.