A day before Narendra Modi is sworn in as prime minister for the third time, the JD(U) claimed that Indian Union leaders had offered Nitish Kumar the prime minister’s position if he joined the opposition alliance and helped form the government.
On the party’s decision to leave the India Bloc and join the NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, JD(U) general secretary KC Tyagi said, “We are committed to joining the NDA. PTI Indian leaders had not wanted Nitish to be the head of the coalition but offered him the prime minister’s post only after the NDA won a majority in the elections.
He also accused Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee of hatching a “conspiracy” by recommending Mallikarjun Kharge’s name for the chief ministerial post even though they had decided not to field him.
“All regional partners were in favour of Nitish Kumar as speaker but Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee conspired to recommend Mallikarjun Kharge as chief minister even though it was decided that he would not save face. Senior Congress leaders questioned Nitish Kumar becoming speaker… Facing such humiliation is unacceptable for our rank and file party workers. We understood their intentions and the JD(U) severed ties with them and joined the NDA. After the elections, INDI alliance leaders, who did not want Nitish Kumar to be speaker, offered him the chief minister’s post. We have phone records to prove this,” Tyagi said. PTI.
Meanwhile, amid hectic negotiations between the BJP leadership and allies over seat allocation for the various components of the National Democratic Alliance in the new government, Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi is set to take oath on Sunday for a third consecutive term, matching the feat of first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Senior BJP leaders including Union Minister Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and party chief JP Nadda are in talks with allies including Telugu Desam Party’s N Chandrababu Naidu, Janata Dal (United)’s Nitish Kumar and Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde to finalise their representation in the government.
It is believed that the BJP will retain key posts such as the ministries of education and culture, which have strong ideological overtones, as well as the ministries of home, finance, defence and external affairs, while alliance parties could win five to eight ministerial posts.
(with PTI input)
Lok Sabha Election Results 2024 | Check Results for All Constituencies Here
Odisha Assembly Elections 2024 Results|Check your constituency results here
Andhra Pradesh Assembly Election Results 2024 | Check your constituency results here
Indian Lok Sabha Elections 2024 | Narendra Modi’s hopes of winning ‘400 seats’ face tough competition from Rahul Gandhi’s India in what turns out to be a surprise election result. Track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions and analysis only on Deccan Herald.
State Assembly Elections 2024 | SKM wins a landslide victory in Sikkim elections, BJP makes a comeback in Arunachal Pradesh, TDP receives overwhelming support in Andhra Pradesh and BJP breaks BJD stronghold in Odisha. Subscribe and follow DH on Whatsapp, X, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram so you don’t miss out.
Published June 8, 2024 16:20 IST
