Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday said that he wanted a different name for the Opposition alliance for the Lok Sabha election 2024. He also said that the alliance couldn't decide on the seat-sharing and there were just a few months left for the election. This is why he rejoined the BJP-led NDA.
The "united" Opposition, comprising 26 parties, came together and named itself the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or I.N.D.I.A. While there is still some confusion over who came up with the name, with the Congress and the TMC claiming credit for the same, Nitish Kumar did not have a say in the nomenclature, it seems. Nitish Kumar was the one who brought together the Opposition parties on a 'united' platform to fight the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
Kumar said on Wednesday, "I was urging them to choose another name for the alliance. But they had already finalised it. I was trying so hard. They did not do even one thing. Till today they haven't decided which party will contest how many seats. This is why I left them and came back to who I was with initially. I will keep working for the people of Bihar."
Nitish Kumar left the I.N.D.I.A bloc and broke its alliance with Lalu Yadav's RJD and moved back to the BJP-led NDA's fold on January 28. Right after taking oath, Nitish Kumar's JD-U, supported by BJP MLAs in Bihar, voted for the removal of RJD's Awadh Bihari Choudhary as the Speaker.
Reacting to Kumar's move, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that Nitish Kumar succumbed under a little bit of pressure and made a U-turn.
After Nitish Kumar's separation, Congress will hold fresh discussions with the RJD and Left parties on sharing Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. At present, Congress and RJD are planning a strategy to defeat Nitish Kumar during the trust vote sought by the JD-U on February 10.