'I will be with PM Modi always', affirms Nitish Kumar; hits out at INDIA bloc
Nitish, who pulled out of INDIA bloc in January before 2024 Lok Sabha polls, also hit out at his former allies, stating the group "has not done any work for the country"
On June 4 when the Lok Sabha results showed that the BJP was falling short of majority in Parliament, there was intense speculation that JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, who is often referred to as ‘paltu’ Kumar for constantly switching his political allies, will move camps again.
To add fuel to the fire, the JD(U) chief did nothing to scotch the rumours and remained silent. Moreover, there were reports of Nitish demanding special category status for Bihar.
Now, three days later, Nitish has finally affirmed his support to Narendra Modi on June 7 and declared that he will be 'with PM at all times’.
At a meeting of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's newly-elected MPs, Nitish endorsed Narendra Modi as Prime Minister for a third term.
Nitish, who pulled out of the INDIA alliance in January just before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, also hit out at his former allies, stating the group "has not done any work for the country".
Nitish’s public assertion of support for Modi also put paid to any speculation that the INDIA bloc, which managed to prevent the BJP from reaching the majority in Parliament, had reached out to him. And that he was planning to dump the BJP-led NDA and move back to the INDIA alliance, which, incidentally, would have been his sixth political turnaround in 10 years.
The Modi-Shah led BJP, which managed to muster up 240 seats needs Nitish’s party JD(U) and the other kingmaker Chandrababu Naidu to form a government. JD(U) won 12 seats, while Naidu’s TDP had 16 seats.
The rest of the NDA has only 25 seats, which is not sufficient to carry the BJP through in Parliament.
When the elections results were announced on Tuesday, and it became clear that BJP was not getting a majority, senior INDIA leaders, including ex-Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, started to suggest that Nitish should be brought back into the fold.
There was an air of anticipation and suspense as it was speculated that Naidu too, who is said to be not ideogically aligned to the BJP, would shift camps. But Naidu quickly set the record straight at a press conference the next day. But, it was Nitish who remained silent.
He did not speak up even after photographs showing him sitting beside RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on a flight from Patna to Delhi. Yadav was also travelling to the capital to attend the INDIA alliance meeting held to review the electoral results.
There was a lot of talk about Nitish shifting back to his former alliance partners.
Meanwhile, the INDIA leaders held a meeting and press conference and said they will wait for an 'appropriate time to make the appropriate moves'. The INDIA alliance too was clearly short of the majority mark with just 232 seats.
On Thursday, media reports quoting sources close to Nitish had told reporters that the JD(U) leader was not moving back to the INDIA alliance. However, Nitish sent out a reminder that he had left the INDIA alliance only because they delayed giving him the post of the convenor.
According to reports, there was even an agreement drawn up to make Nitish the INDIA alliance convenor. However, Rahul Gandhi asked for the agreement to be deferred since they needed an approval from TMC leader Mamata Banerjee.
Reports said that this did not go down well with Nitish and immediately after that he and two of his closest aides, Lallan Singh and Sanjay Jha, immediately switched off their video conference lines. Not long after that Nitish joined the NDA.
Now, Bihar's deputy CM, Vijay Kumar Sinha, too clarified that Nitish will remain part of the NDA. He told ANI that "Nitish was, is and will remain part of the NDA".
However, Nitish has made it clear to the BJP that he expects two cabinet and a junior Union Minister berth in the new government, as well as a common minimum programme - in return for his party's support. He is also eyeing the railways minister post, said reports.
