After BJP, now Nitish Kumar Rules out Alliance With Saffron Party, Says, 'I Will Rather Die...'

PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday ruled out the possibility of a realignment with the BJP, asserting that he will "rather die than join hands" with his former ally. The JD(U) leader also reminded the saffron party that while in alliance it used to get votes of all his supporters, including Muslims who have always been "wary" of the BJP's Hindutva ideology.

He also scoffed at the BJP's claim that it would win 36 out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state next year. Kumar reiterated that his return to the NDA in 2017, following "baseless" corruption cases against his deputy Tejashwi Yadav and the latter's father Lalu Prasad, was a "mistake".

Yesterday, BJP Bihar chief Sanjay Jaiswal said that the party will not align with Nitish Kumar. He made the averment upon the conclusion of the party's two-day state executive meeting in North Bihar district of Darbhanga.

"We have sought to stamp out rumours among our party cadre about such a realignment. Of course, the CM has the proclivity to oscillate like a pendulum. But we are not going to be cheated by him again", said the BJP leader whose party lost power in Bihar when Kumar and JD(U) walked out of an alliance with the saffron party to stitch together a new one with RJD and Congress.

"Nitish Kumar has grown hugely unpopular. It was his unpopularity that had caused his JD(U) to perform badly in assembly polls of 2020, when we did much better", said Jaiswal.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed magnanimity (udaarta) in deciding to stick to the promise made before elections and Kumar ended up enjoying another term in office. But, the habitual betrayer that he is, Kumar abused the trust reposed in him by PM", alleged the Bihar BJP chief.

Kumar had junked the BJP accusing it of trying to split the JD(U) with the help of his former close aide RCP Singh. The party has also accused the BJP of an attempted sabotage in the assembly polls when many saffron party rebels were fielded by Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party against JD(U) candidates.

Jaiswal reiterated that the BJP was now aiming at forming its own government in Bihar after winning the next assembly polls and claimed that the tone will be set in the Lok Sabha elections next year in which "we have set for ourselves a target of more than 35 out 40 seats in the state".