JD(U) leader & Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar when asked to comment on whether he would ask the BJP to drop the LJP from the NDA after Chirag Paswan’s rebellion hurt his party in terms of winning seats in the state Assembly elections, said it is for the BJP to decide whether or not to keep the LJP in the NDA.
"It is for the BJP to decide. I have nothing to say in the matter," said Nitish Kumar on the LJP damaging the prospects of the JDU).
Nitish Kumar who is all set for yet another term in the chief minister’s office, said the date for his swearing-in ceremony will be discussed at an "informal" meeting of all the four NDA constituents on Friday.
The JD(U) has won 43 seats, compared to 71 seats it won in 2015. In 2015, JD(U) contested assembly polls in alliance with the RJD and the Congress. In contrast, the BJP is its alliance partner in 2020 elections won 74 seats.
When asked whether he was apprehensive about being able to function as freely as earlier, Nitish Kumar said, “I have always been uncompromising on the three Cs crime, corruption and communalism.”
Nitish Kumar further said, “There is going to be no change. Not a single riot has taken place since I took over.”.
"Janata maalik hai (the people are our lord). I have no personal feelings in these matters," he said about the reversal in fortunes.
He declined to comment on allegations by opposition leaders, including RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, that the process of counting of votes was rigged to help the NDA which got a slender majority and won by wafer-thin margins in several seats.
He dismissed the talk saying, "What do I have to say in such matters."
(To receive our E-paper on whatsapp daily, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
