INDIA ally Nitish Kumar may return to BJP-led NDA, but conditions apply: Report
SPECULATIONS are rife that Bihar Chief Minister and INDIA bloc ally Nitish Kumar might return to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
India Today cited BJP sources as saying on Thursday that the saffron party has set a condition for the JD(U) chief if he wants to return to the alliance. And that condition is that Nitish Kumar must quit as the chief minister, sources said.
Meanwhile, Jan Ki Baat, which predicts elections through opinion and exit polls, also cited sources as saying that Nitish Kumar is set to return to the NDA and is currently mulling legal options to dissolve the state assembly. Earlier in the day, sources told NDTV that Nitish Kumar might not join the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, when it enters his state on January 29.
Besides this, Zee News reported that Nitish Kumar may get a place at the Centre.
A series of meetings are reportedly being held in Patna. Times Now reported that JDU leaders will be holding a meeting at Nitish Kumar's house, while RJD leaders are holding a separate meeting at Lalu Yadav's house. Sources told the media house that “senior leaders of the BJP have also been called to Delhi, and Sushil Modi is going to meet Home Minister Amit Shah tonight."
Amid reports, Union Minister Giriraj Singh said, "As a BJP worker, I can say that the door to enter into our party is closed for Nitish Kumar. He is an unreliable politician."
Nitish Kumar, a key figure in the INDIA coalition, switched from the BJP two years ago. JD(U) leader KC Tyagi said on Thursday that Nitish Kumar had appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for awarding 'Bharat Ratna' to Karpoori Thakur.
He told ANI, “Nitish Kumar ji appreciated the way Karpoori Thakur did not give MLA ticket to his own son. He also appreciated the PM for awarding 'Bharat Ratna' to Karpoori Thakur." Nitish Kumar had earlier rejected the post of convenor of the INDIA bloc, as per ANI sources.
The INDIA bloc suffered a setback on Wednesday as Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee declared that her party would fight alone in Bengal. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also said that the ruling Aam Aadmi Party will not have any alliance with the Congress in Punjab for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Amid these speculations, former Karnataka chief minister and BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai claimed that the opposition alliance INDIA bloc would disintegrate due to dissatisfaction among its allies. He asserted that several key allies, including Mamata Banerjee's TMC, Sharad Pawar's NCP, and Nitish Kumar's JD(U), were drifting away, signalling the end of the alliance.
"Mamata Banerjee has already exited the alliance, and Sharad Pawar is likely to follow suit. Nitish Kumar has taken a step outside the alliance. The INDI alliance will not endure much longer as parties withdraw due to the attitude of Congress leaders. It won't exist when Narendra Modi becomes prime minister for the third time," Bommai was quoted by ANI as saying on Thursday.
The India National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was formed seven months ago to take on the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha elections.
