New Delhi:
Nitish Kumar on Friday completed the formality of endorsing Narendra Modi for Prime Minister – for a third term – at a meeting of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s newly-elected MPs.
The Bihar Chief Minister – who underlined his ‘paltu Kumar’ sobriquet in January when he pivoted from the INDIA opposition bloc he helped create to the BJP’s side – also took a jibe at his former allies, stating the group “has not done any work for the country”. The JDU boss also declared “I will be with PM at all times” – a response to critics expecting a sixth political U-turn in a decade.
Nitish Kumar’s claim of support for Mr Modi was also an answer to speculation the INDIA bloc – which defied exit polls to slash the BJP’s advantage and win 232 seats – had reached out to him.
The JDU leader emerged as one of two kingmakers after the 2024 Lok Sabha election – 12 MPs from his JDU and the 16 from Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP – will be essential for the BJP to form and run the government after it failed to cross the majority mark of 272 on its own. The BJP got only 240 seats.