Not going anywhere, will remain in NDA henceforth: Nitish in presence of PM Modi

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he will remain in the NDA, while regretting short-lived alliances with the RJD-Congress combine, which “always indulged in mischief when we shared power”.

Kumar was speaking at a rally in Purnea in the presence of PM Modi, weeks ahead of the announcement of assembly polls.

“It was the JD(U)-BJP combine which had formed a government in Bihar, for the first time, in November, 2005. For one or two times, I went to the other side, upon prodding of some of my own party colleagues, one of whom is sitting here,” said Kumar, pointing towards Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’, whom he replaced as the party’s national president nearly two years ago.

“But, that is a thing of the past. I could never be comfortable with those people. They always indulged in mischief when we shared power... I am now back. And, I will not go anywhere henceforth,” said the JD(U) supremo, evoking a smile and applause from the Prime Minister.

Kumar lauded Modi for the measures taken by the Union government for the state, and made a special mention of the budget presented earlier this year, which had a number of announcements, including establishment of a National Makhana Board, which was inaugurated by the Prime Minister at Purnea.

The Chief Minister also touched upon recent moves of his government, including making 125 units of power free and a hike in social security pensions.

Before ending his speech, Kumar turned towards the female crowds present at the venue, and urged them to stand and salute the Prime Minister.

The women promptly got up, greeted Modi with folded hands before bursting into a round of applause.

Earlier, the Prime Minister launched multiple development projects worth around Rs 36,000 crore in Purnea district.