Nitish Kumar dismisses speculations over another U-turn

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday dismissed speculations about making another U-turn to join the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan in Bihar.

He clarified at an event that his meeting with RJD Chief Lalu Yadav in the Bihar assembly on Thursday was merely out of courtesy.

“Let people say what they want. I have now returned to my previous place. I will stay here and focus on Bihar’s development. You know how much work I have done in the state”, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said.

He also added that the NDA would soon initiate an investigation to uncover corruption during the RJD’s tenure in the Mahagathbandhan government.

Reports suggest that officials of the Health, Road Construction, Urban Development, and Housing and Rural Works departments have been asked to review the decisions taken during the Mahagathbandhan government in the state. Notably, these departments were headed by Tejashwi Yadav.

Nitish Kumar had ended the Mahagathbandhan government, which comprised JD(U), RJD, Congress and left parties. On January 28 he allied with the BJP and was sworn in as the Chief Minister for the third time in a single tenure and ninth time since 2005.

His U-turn caused a stir and also led to the end of his association with the INDIA bloc which was formed to challenge the BJP-led NDA in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

On Thursday Nitish Kumar was seen exchanging pleasantries with RJD Chief Lalu Yadav inside the Bihar assembly premises. Mr. Yadav had gone to the assembly to extend his support to RJD leaders Manoj Jha and Sanjay Yadav who filed nominations for the Rajya Sabha.

Recently, when Lalu Yadav was asked about the issue, he said “We will see when he decides to return. The door is always open”. The statement raised the political temperature in the state and also created a flutter within the BJP.

When asked about INDIA bloc partners like Rashtriya Lok Dal Chief Jayant Chaudhary and National Conference Chief Farooq Abdullah drifting away from the INDIA bloc, Nitish Kumar responded, “You know that I tried my best to keep everyone on one platform when I was there.”

Mr. Kumar also mentioned that he was never in favor of naming the alliance as INDIA but people who joined the alliance did not listen. He also expressed confidence that the NDA under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi would secure more than 400 seats in the Lok Sabha, as claimed by the BJP.

“This time you will see the NDA will easily secure more seats under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”, Nitish Kumar said in Patna. nitish kumar,