BJP took Nitish in NDA in interest of Bihar, not for power: Giriraj Singh

NEW DELHI: The BJP took Nitish Kumar into the NDA in the interest of Bihar and it was not a compromise for power, senior BJP leader and Union Minister Giriraj Singh said on Monday.

Janata Dal (United) president Kumar took oath as chief minister of Bihar for a record ninth time after a dramatic volte-face last month, ditching the 'Mahagathbandhan' in the state and the Opposition INDIA bloc, and forming a new government with the BJP.

"'Jab din bhar ka bhoola bhatka sham ko wapas aye toh usko apna lene ka zaroorat hua, Bihar ke liye (those who went astray...it was necessary to take them back into the fold in the interest of Bihar)'," Singh said at a Delhi BJP function here to felicitate deputy Bihar chief ministers Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Sinha.

"There should be no confusion, we have not compromised for power. If we have taken back Nitish Kumar into the NDA (National Democratic Alliance), it is in the interest of Bihar and not for power," he said.

"The BJP struggled and made sacrifices in Bihar during 1990 and 2005, and made Kumar chief minister for ending the "jungle raj" in the State," the Union Minister said.

Targeting that grand alliance in Bihar comprising the RJD, the Congress, and three Left parties, Singh said in the last one and a half years of the 'Mahagathbandhan' government in Bihar, the state was headed towards "junge raj 2.0". Kumar was caught in a "chakravyuh (trap)" of RJD supremo Lalu Yadav, he said.

Kumar had joined the 'Mahagathbandhan' in August 2022, when he had snapped ties with the BJP by accusing it of trying to "split" his JD(U). Following this, he had embarked on a drive to bring together all parties across the country to take on the BJP and that culminated in the formation of the opposition INDIA bloc.

The new government in Bihar will improve the state's economy and law and order situation, Deputy Chief Minister Chaudhary said.

Taking a dig at former deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashvi Yadav, he said, "The 'yuvraj' (prince) of 'jungle raj' is saying there will be a "khela" (a game) in Bihar. We will give him a toy to play with."

Sinha said that under the 'Mahagathbandhan' government, Bihar was slipping into 'gundaraj'. The BJP raised its voice against it on the street as well as in the assembly, he said.

"We told him (Nitish Kumar) that you have given a chance to those who were rejected by the people of Bihar and who were taking the state towards 'gunda raj'. The future generations of Bihar will not forgive us," Sinha said.

The BJP national leadership has saved Bihar and created conditions to replace "gunda raj" in the state with "Ram Rajya" and "sushasan (good governance)", Sinha said.