Fillip to NDA-JD(U) alliance; Amit Shah invites Nitish to join saffron party

New Delhi: BJP president Amit Shah has invited Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar to join the ruling NDA, following the latter's alliance with the saffron party in the state to form a new government.

"I met JD(U) president Nitish Kumar at my residence yesterday (Friday). I invited JD(U) to join the NDA," Shah said in a tweet on Saturday.

This is the first official development between Nitish and the BJP, post the debacle in July, with Nitish Kumar resigning as the Bihar Chief Minister and breaking ties with the Grand Alliance and then forming the government with the saffron party.

The Bihar-based party is expected to endorse a proposal to join the NDA in its national executive meeting in Patna on August 19, after which it is likely to join the Narendra Modi cabinet.

Asked if the party would join the Modi cabinet, a JD(U) leader said such a decision would be "natural".

"When we are together in government in Bihar, it is only natural that our party joins the Union government," he said.

The Bihar Chief Minister also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.

In July, BJP's mounting pressure on Nitish to oust then Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav from the Cabinet led to the departure of JD-U and RJD led 'mahagathbandhan' government in Bihar with Nitish's resignation.

This came after the CBI registered a corruption case against RJD chief Lalu Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi Yadav on allegations of awarding the tender for development, maintenance and operation of hotels in Ranchi and Puri in 2006.

Nitish, however, swore-in as the Bihar Chief Minister the very next day with Sushil Modi as his Deputy Chief Minister.

Reasoning out the whole drama, Nitish Kumar reiterated that he quit the 'Grand Alliance' in Bihar for the development of the state.