Mr Kumar's residence in Patna was abuzz with activities and senior leaders reaching out to congratulate him.
New Delhi:A day after winning a massive mandate in Bihar, the NDA allies have begun government formation talks, with focus now shifting to fixing a date for the swearing-in ceremony and the composition of the next Cabinet. As coalition partners made a beeline at 1, Anne Marg, the official residence of chief minister Nitish Kumar, JD(U)'s working president Sanjay Kumar Jha and Union minister Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh reached the national capital in the evening to hold talks with the BJP leadership.
While Mr Singh, along with BJP president J.P. Nadda, held talks with Union home minister Amit Shah at his residence in the national capital. The JD(U) leader in Patna asserted that “there is no vacancy for the chief minister’s post” and Bihar “gave an overwhelming mandate for development under Nitish Kumar’s leadership.”
Earlier in the day, Union minister and LJP(RV) chief Chirag Paswan met the Bihar chief minister and said his party is looking forward to joining the new government. Mr Paswan said he "personally" feels that Mr Kumar should continue as chief minister.
Mr Kumar's residence in Patna was abuzz with activities and senior leaders reaching out to congratulate him. “There is no vacancy for the chief ministerial post. The people of Bihar have given an overwhelming mandate for development under Mr Kumar’s leadership. The pace at which Bihar is progressing will continue and this government will keep advancing the development agenda,” said Mr Singh after his meeting with the CM in Patna before heading for Delhi.
After his meeting with the CM, Mr Paswan, whose party won 19 seats, said the chief minister "appreciated the role of every alliance partner" and said those trying to mislead people about the rift between the JD(U) and the LJP(RV) are only creating a false narrative.
Addressing a press conference in Patna, Mr Paswan charged the Opposition with creating a "false narrative" that he is not on good terms with Mr Kumar.
The Hajipur MP, who paraded all the newly elected candidates of his party before the media, said, "Representatives of my party today met Mr Kumar to congratulate him upon the victory. Yes, we too are looking forward to joining the government. Earlier, we used to say that we support the government but are not a part of it. But that was because we had no representation in the state legislature."
Meanwhile, the BJP cracked the whip on its leader and former Union minister R.K. Singh for indulging in "anti-party" activities. The BJP suspended Mr Singh, who was critical of the Bihar government over alleged corruption issues and had also criticised some of the BJP leaders over their alleged involvement in criminal cases. Later in the day, Mr Singh resigned from the primary membership of the party.
The BJP also suspended its MLC Ashok Kumar Agrawal and his wife, Usha Agrawal, who is the mayor of Katihar, for campaigning for their son Saurabh, who was contesting on the Vikassheel Insan Party ticket, against sitting BJP MLA and former deputy CM Tarkishor Prasad.
