Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday dismissed the BJP’s allegation that he had quit the NDA because he was denied nomination for Vice-President, and asserted he would strengthen the Opposition.
“Just see what they are saying about me — that I wanted to become Vice-President. This is completely bogus,” Nitish told reporters.
“You all had asked me about my (purported) wish to become President or Vice-President — I had no desire for these positions.”
He added: “Have these people forgotten how our party (Janata Dal United) supported (the official NDA candidates) in the presidential and vice-presidential elections? We waited for the polls to get over.
“Only then we held a meeting of our party (which decided to sever ties with the BJP).”
Nitish asserted: “Let everybody know that all of us who are part of the (national) Opposition here will work in a united manner and march ahead strongly.”
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, who was present, said Nitish was the leader of an alliance of like-minded parties that stood staunchly behind him.
“Those aggrieved at losing power are actually worried about the 2024 general election,” Tejashwi said.
Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Modi had alleged that Nitish wanted to become Vice-President and had sent emissaries with the proposal.
“He (Nitish) broke the alliance in Bihar because the demand was not accepted. Why would the BJP choose him as Vice-President when it has no dearth of leaders?” Sushil had said at a media briefing here on Wednesday.
Nitish used the opportunity to take pot shots at Sushil, who had been his deputy chief minister for almost a decade and currently appears out of favour with the top BJP leadership.
“Let the poor chap speak. You all know he was not given anything by his party. It’s good that he is speaking now. Let him speak so much against me that he gets some position or other from his party. Let him speak and fulfil any dreams he may have,” Nitish said.
Nitish and Sushil are believed to have been close friends for decades. However, the BJP left Sushil out of the state government with the intention of clipping the chief minister’s wings. Many believe that the JDU-BJP ties reached breakpoint because Sushil wasn’t there to iron out differences.
Asked why the alliance with the BJP broke, Nitish said: “I did not want to become chief minister…. And the way they (BJP) kept working, the things that kept happening, and the scenarios that kept emerging, was not good. So we (the Grand Alliance) once again came together.”
Nitish said the cabinet would be expanded after August 15.
Fifty-five legislators from the Grand Alliance have moved a no-confidence motion against Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha, who had won on a BJP ticket.
Sources said Sinha might choose to resign before a two-day Assembly session convenes on August 24 to allow the new government to take a floor test.