Nitish after taking oath as Bihar CM: 'PM Modi won in 2014, but will he…'

JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, who took oath as the chief minister of Bihar for the eighth time on Wednesday, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi won the 2014 general elections, but he should now worry about the 2024 polls.

Interacting with the media soon after he was administered the oath of office by Governor Phagu Chauhan, Kumar also rubbished the BJP's claim that the new government will not last its full term, and said his former ally "will be back where they were after the 2015 assembly polls".

“Those who came to power in 2014, will they be victorious in 2024? I would like all (opposition) to be united for 2024. I am not a contender for any such post (prime ministerial post),” Kumar said.

Kumar was sworn in besides RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, who is likely to be designated as his deputy. Reports suggest in the seven-party ruling coalition said that a cabinet expansion would take place later.

Leaders of the BJP, which is the second largest party in the assembly with 77 MLAs, were conspicuous by their absence at the swearing-in ceremony that took place inside the Raj Bhavan.

Earlier, senior BJP leader and former Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi had claimed that the party, with which Kumar broke his alliance the previous day, had received "no invitation".

On Tuesday, he resigned from the post of the chief minister of the NDA alliance government and staked claim to form a new government with the RJD, the Congress and other parties.