PATNA, Sept. 12 -- Janata Dal (United) working president and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Jha's statement that the party should be named after former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has triggered a debate in Bihar's volatile politics about the timing of his remark. Jha's statement to name the party Janata Dal (Nitish) came at a time when there is another demand to change Bakhtiarpur's name to Nitishpur. Bihar minister and HAM-S leader Santosh Kumar Suman had raised the demand. Earlier this year, Pataliputra University (PPU) Senate had approved the proposal for naming of the new campus of the university in Bakhtiarpur as "Nitish Nagar". Bakhtiarpur is the birthplace of Nitish Kumar. Jha said that he first said about naming the party after Nitish Kumar at Begusarai and then at Khagaria as part of the ongoing "Nitish Samvad" programme to create awareness regarding the ill-effects of Farakka (Ganga) Water Treaty, which is set to expire in December, and the protection of Bihar's water rights. "I have been cross- crossing the state with JD(U) state president Umesh Kushwaha and the kind of respect people cutting across caste and creed have for Nitish Kumar even without being the CM is unmatched. They still relate him with Bihar's transformational journey, which has been a force behind the JD(U) emerging as a pivot of Bihar politics and the response made me say what I said," he added. He said that it is the legacy of Nitish Kumar that needs to be protected. "His legacy is what will be the strength and the inspiration for the party to move from here to take it through the transition phase. Nitish Kumar's tireless efforts to pull Bihar out of the quagmire it had landed in prior to 2005 will remain a guiding force for the party for generations to come," he added. On speculations that his remarks might be to quell likely dissension within the party, he said it was all wild speculations. "The party is on a high now after a dip in 2020 and one man who has been behind it is Nitish Kumar. People vote on his work and face. There is neither room nor any reason for dissension," he added. But then, naming or remaining a political party is nothing new in Indian politics. The present JD(U) is also result of transition over the decades since 1994, which took the shape of JD(U) in 2003 with the merger of Sharad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan. Jha said that Nitish Kumar's role in resurrection of the party and Bihar's rise is undeniable. It is Nitish Kumar's image that matters in Bihar due to the kind of work he has done. He is the main capital of the party," he added. RJD spokesman Ejya Yadav what Sanjay Jha has said is a classic case of buttering to get something more in politics, which can come only through Nitish Kumar. However, JD(U) leader and minister Madan Sahni backed Jha. "I appreciate his sentiments. It is a fact that the identity of JD(U) is due to Nitish Kumar and naming the party after him will be apt at this crucial juncture," he added. Some party leaders, however, said that Nitish Kumar's son Nitish Kumar now joining active politics and working as a minister, with prospect of further elevation in future, it was important to give him the political baton with a strong legacy that the people of Bihar could relate to....