I will remain with NDA forever, CM Nitish Kumar assures Prime Minister Modi

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on March 2 assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he would remain with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) forever. Speaking on the occasion of the unveiling function of the projects worth Rs 21,400 crore in Aurangabad district by Modi, Kumar also said that he is confident that the NDA will win more than 400 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

“You (Modi) had come to Bihar earlier as well but I disappeared (from NDA) for some time. Now I am again with you and assure you that I will remain with the NDA forever,” Kumar, also the JD(U) president, said.

Kumar dumped the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan and returned to his old ally BJP last month.

“We welcome you (the PM) in Bihar. Lots of developments are taking place in Bihar. I am confident that now things will move faster and Bihar will reach new heights of development. People of Bihar will now feel economically more empowered,” Kumar said.

Reacting on the chief minister’s comment, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav said, “We wish him (Nitish Kumar) all the best. This time he said that he would remain where he is. At least this time he should stick to his word.”

Tejashwi criticised Nitish Kumar’s frequent flip-flops and asked him to stick to his word.

Nitish Kumar’s flip-flop

Nitish Kumar in January took the oath as Chief Minister of Bihar for the ninth time in Raj Bhawan, Patna, switching sides again, this time with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

It was for the second time in two years that Nitish Kumar had jumped the ship, his fifth crossover in a little over a decade.

Two Deputy Chief Ministers from the BJP, Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, and six other ministers, including Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Santosh Kumar Suman, Shrawan Kumar, and others, also took the oath earlier.

Nitish Kumar, after parting ways with the BJP in 2022, took on the initiative of uniting all opposition forces to jointly take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling party in the national election.

In 2000, Nitish became CM for the first time after campaigning against RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav’s ‘Jungle Raaj’. Till now, he has been Bihar’s CM on eight occasions.

In 2013, Nitish broke ranks with the NDA after a 17-year alliance following the announcement of Narendra Modi as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate.

He expressed his displeasure to the BJP over Modi’s selection as the PM face, and after the BJP decided not to change its decision, Kumar left the alliance.

In 2017, Mr Nitish forged a grand alliance with the RJD and Congress and returned as chief minister in 2015.

He walked out of the grand alliance in 2017, accusing the RJD of corruption and choking governance in the state.

In 2022, Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the BJP once again, alleging the BJP was conspiring against him and trying to influence JD-U MLAs to rebel against him.

(With agencies input)