Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar was offered the prime ministerial post by the Opposition INDIA bloc in a bid to bring him into the alliance, but he declined the offer, party leader KC Tyagi said in an exclusive interview with Aaj Tak/India Today TV on Saturday.
"Nitish Kumar got an offer from the INDIA bloc to become the Prime Minister. He got the offer from those people who did not allow him to become the convenor of the INDIA bloc. He has refused it and we are firmly with the NDA," Tyagi said.
However, Congress leader KC Venugopal, said the party did not have such information of the INDIA bloc approaching Nitish Kumar to become the Prime Minister. "We have no such information. Only he knows about this (claim)," he said at a press conference.
This came amid speculation that the INDIA bloc had been cosying up to the JD(U) and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which are allies of the BJP-led NDA, in a bid to cobble up numbers and have a shot at forming the government at the Centre.
The INDIA bloc, defying exit poll predictions, put up a strong show in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and won 234 of the 543 seats. The NDA, on the other hand, secured 293 seats, with the BJP managing 240, 32 short of the majority mark.
When asked to name which leader or leaders offered the prime ministerial post to Nitish Kumar, Tyagi refused to name anyone.
"Some leaders wanted to approach Nitish Kumar directly for the offer. But we left the INDIA bloc after the treatment that was meted out to him and our party leaders. We have joined NDA and there's no question of looking back now," he said.
Nitish Kumar, known for switching sides, was the architect of the INDIA bloc and chaired the first meeting in Patna last year. He left the Opposition alliance and returned to the NDA fold in January 2024.
Nitish Kumar, whose party won 12 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, was a part of the NDA parliamentary meeting on Friday that was held to elect Narendra Modi as the NDA Parliamentary Party Leader.
The JD(U) chief has taken multiple U-turns in the past. In 2013, he severed ties with the BJP and joined hands with the RJD and Congress. After the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he once again joined hands with the BJP in 2020, becoming the Chief Minister.
Two years later, he broke ties with the BJP and formed a government with the RJD and Congress. In January this year, he again flipped over to the NDA and became the Chief Minister.
Source: India Today