I have made no claim, NDA will decide: Nitish Kumar on who will be Bihar CM
The decision on who will be the chief minister has to be taken by the NDA, he said in response to a question, indicating that the issue might be revisited despite the BJP's earlier assurances that he would retain the post.
FollowPatna: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, whose Janata Dal United has suffered a body blow in the state elections due to the Chirag Paswan factor, Thursday said he has made no claim to form the next government in his first interaction with media persons after the results for the recently concluded Assembly election were announced.
The decision on who will be the chief minister has to be taken by the NDA, he said in response to a question, indicating that the issue might be revisited despite the BJP's earlier assurances that he would retain the post.
The JD(U) chief said voters have given the alliance the mandate and it will form the government, adding the decision on the date of swearing-in will be taken after an informal meeting with NDA partners on Friday.
Kumar said, "I have made no claim, the decision will be taken by NDA when asked, "Who will be the CM?" He further said that they are analysing the results of this election, adding that members of all four parties will meet today.
Chirag Paswan's rebellion against his leadership and the decision to go solo has relegated Kumar to the position of junior partner in the decades-old alliance with the BJP. Though Paswan's LJP had won only one seat, Kumar said his separate presence has cut into JDU votes, leading to the loss of nearly 30 seats.
Nitish Kumar said, "If some action is to be taken (against LJP), the BJP has to take it. It's for the BJP to decide whether or not the LJP should be retained in the NDA."
From 71 seats in 2015, the JDU has shrunk to 43 seats, in what has been a huge loss of face for the three-time chief minister, making him dependent on the BJP for a long-desired fourth term.
It may be noted that Nitish Kumar has to tender his resignation to the governor before his swearing-in as the next chief minister of the state. The newly-elected MLAs of the NDA are yet to meet formally to elect him as their leader.
