Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, aiming for a fifth consecutive term, reaffirmed his commitment to the NDA alliance on Sunday, saying that he would "remain" with the coalition and credited the BJP for his rise in politics.
The JD(U) chief made the remarks during the inauguration of the Khelo India Youth Games, an event witnessing participation from thousands of young athletes nationwide.
This is not going to happen again: Nitish Kumar
The longest-serving CM, who has changed partners several times in the last decade, said, "I am going to remain here always. My party made me go here and there a couple of times earlier. But this is not going to happen again. Who made me (the CM)? It was late Atal Bihari Vajpayee."
Notably, Kumar had aligned with the BJP since the mid-1990s, but he severed ties in 2013, following dissatisfaction with Narendra Modi, his then Gujarat counterpart, emerging as a major national figure.
Despite his party's poor performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, which saw Narendra Modi become Prime Minister, Nitish Kumar managed to retain his political relevance by forming a short-lived alliance with arch rival, RJD chief Lalu Prasad. However, he ended that partnership in 2017 and rejoined the NDA.
The alliance lasted until 2022, after which Nitish Kumar aligned with the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, pledging to defeat the BJP and accusing his former ally of attempting to break the JD(U).
However, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls last year, the septuagenarian returned to the NDA, abandoning the INDIA bloc he had helped form by bringing together parties that were opposed to the BJP.
Bihar Assembly Elections 2025
It is pertinent to mention that the Legislative Assembly election for all 243 constituencies in Bihar is scheduled to be held in October or November this year. The previous assembly elections were held in October–November 2020. After the election, the National Democratic Alliance formed the state government, with Nitish Kumar becoming Chief Minister. Later, in August 2022, Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) snapped ties with the NDA and formed the government with RJD-led Mahagathbandhan. Later, in January 2024, Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) snapped ties with RJD-led Mahagathbandhan and again formed the government with the BJP-led NDA.
(With PTI inputs)
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