At joint event with BJP President JP Nadda, JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar vows to stay with NDA

BJP national president and Union health minister JP Nadda on Friday met Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar at the latter's residence in Patna. Nadda is on a two-day trip to Bihar for the inauguration of several health ministry-related projects in Patna,Muzaffarpur, Gaya, Darbhanga and Bhagalpur.

In a joint programme in Patna, Nitish Kumar reaffirmed that he would remain within the NDA as together both the parties have worked for Bihar. "I committed a mistake twice when I joined them (INDIA bloc). Now it won't be repeated, and we will work together with the BJP for the development of Bihar. We have always worked for the state and share a long relationship," Nitish said during his address.

Kumar's message was reassuring for the BJP over the speculations going on for the past few days. Two days ago, Kumar met RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and speculation was rife whether the JDU chief is planning to switch sides once again. However, it was clarified by Yadav that the meeting was regarding the appointment of information commissioners, and he was present as the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly. "Nitish Kumar has always maintained that we are with NDA and what happened in the past is not going to happen again. A section was floating rumours after a meeting between the CM and Yadav. With Kumar further strengthening the ties with the BJP, the rumour mongers have got an answer," Rajeev Ranjan, JDU national spokesperson told ET.