Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) chief Nitish Kumar on Monday asserted that there was no rift between the JD(U) and its ally BJP, adding that all was well in the National Democratic Alliance in the state.
“There are no differences with the BJP. Our relation with the BJP is as strong as it was in past. Everything is good, all is well in the NDA in Bihar,” Nitish Kumar told media after holding his weekly Lok Samvad programme.
Kumar’s statement comes a day after the Janata Dal (United) on Sunday decided that it will not be a part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA anywhere outside Bihar.
The party will fight the upcoming elections alone in J-K, Jharkhand, Haryana and Delhi.
The decision was taken at the party’s National Executive Meet, attended by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and JD(U) leader and poll strategist Prashant Kishor.
The decision came days after Nitish Kumar inducted eight JD(U) MLAs as Cabinet Ministers, leaving out his ally BJP and fuelling speculation of a rift between the two parties.
The Cabinet expansion came two days after the Janata Dal (United) chief decided that his party won’t join Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new government because it was offered just one seat — a “symbolic” representation.
However, Nitish Kumar has clarified that there was no split in the NDA.
To strengthen the claim, Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi were last week seen attending the ‘Iftar’ party hosted by LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan in Patna.
JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar and BJP’s Sushil Modi were seen sitting on either side of Pawan at the party. Governor Lalji Tandon was also present at the event.
The JD(U) as the NDA ally won 16 of the 17 seats it contested in the Lok Sabha elections in Bihar.