RJD tie-up was mistake, will stay with NDA now: Nitish on Lalu overture


PATNA/MOTIHARI: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar sought to end speculation about an alliance shift by reaffirming his commitment to the BJP-led NDA on Sunday. “We strayed away twice by mistake, but now we have returned to the company of an old friend. I will stay with the NDA,” the JDU chief said during his Pragati Yatra in Muzaffarpur.
The CM’s comments came in the wake of RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s recent statement extending an open offer to Nitish to rejoin the opposition alliance. “Our doors are open and Nitish as chief minister should also keep them open,” Lalu had said.
Adding a layer of intrigue, RJD MP and Lalu’s daughter Misa Bharti described the relationship between her father and Nitish as that of old friends who “communicate through gestures”. However, opposition leader and Lalu’s son Tejashwi ruled out such a possibility. “We did not make any offer to Nitishji,” he said in Motihari on Sunday. “Laluji was asked what would happen if Nitish came and he responded in his characteristic style,” he added, accusing Nitish of being “tired and dependent on retired officials to run his government.”
Union minister and HAM(S) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi supported Nitish. “The CM is firm as a mountain. He has led a ‘sushasan (good governance)’ government for two decades and would not tarnish his legacy by returning to the RJD fold,” he said.
Nitish’s political journey has been marked by frequent changes in alliances. In 2015, he allied with RJD and Congress to secure a landslide victory, but in 2017 he broke ties and returned to the NDA.
In August 2022, he ended the alliance and revived his association with RJD. In 2024, he rejoined the NDA for the third time before the LS polls. RJD MP Misa criticized the BJP for its alleged ambiguity over Nitish’s future role. “The BJP wants to come back to power by showing Nitish’s face, but is reluctant to make him the CM’s face,” he said on Sunday, warning that the JD(U) chief could face a “Maharashtra-like situation” .





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