Nitish Kumar Gets An Invite To Join Mahagathbandhan
BJP's decision to allot only one ministerial berth to each ally after its massive victory in the Lok Sabha elections has seeningly upset Nitish Kumar. Sensing the situation, Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal has sent a tentative invitation to Mr Kumar to return to the Mahagathbandhan - the Grand Alliance he ended in 2017. Rashtriya Janata Dal failed to open account in the state in the recent Lok Sabha elections. The formal offer came from the party Vice President Raghuvansh Prasad Singh in Patna on Monday. Mr Singh told media being with BJP will only "humiliate and insult" Nitish Kumar in the days to come. The party later said the appeal was not just for Nitish Kumar but all non-BJP parties to come together. The BJP's move to allot only one ministerial berth to each ally after its massive victory in the Lok Sabha elections, is seen to have upset Nitish Kumar. The Chief Minister had refused to accept it and said his party will not be part of the government. Mr Kumar's party had not been invited to be part of the government in the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's last government either when he broke away from the alliance with Lalu Yadav and the Congress and teamed up with the BJP in July 2017. There were expectations that he would be rewarded this time, especially in view of the party's good showing in the Lok Sabha elections. Of the 17 seats it contested, the JDU won 16. However, Nitish Kumar pushed for a "proportional representation" for allies in the ministry, it was turned down by the BJP, which achieved majority on its own, with a higher tally than in 2014. After returning to Patna after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's oath ceremony, Nitish Kumar had said, "No one should have any confusion that the victory which was registered by NDA in Bihar - it's the victory of the people of Bihar. If somebody is claiming that this is his personal victory, then they are delusional."
