Nitish Kumar meets PM Modi, Amit Shah days after return to NDA fold
This was Kumar’s first meeting with the prime minister since he switched sides on January 28.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi, days after he switched over to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and formed a government in the state in alliance with the BJP.
This was Kumar’s first meeting with the prime minister since he switched sides on January 28. It also comes five days ahead of his government's trust vote in the Bihar Assembly on February 12.
The Janata Dal (United) chief also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda during his visit to the national capital.
“I met the PM Modi, home minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda and we had a good talk," Kumar told media persons. "We have been together since 1995 when the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee was there. Twice I moved out, but now I am here forever. I will not go anywhere.”
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Earlier, Bihar Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha met the prime minister on Monday. They had gone to New Delhi after the portfolio allocation in the nine-member Bihar cabinet, which is awaiting expansion.
Sources within the JD(U) told PTI that issues pertaining to the Rajya Sabha polls in the state might be discussed during Nitish Kumar's meeting with the top BJP leaders.
Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar
Six Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar are falling vacant, for which elections are scheduled to be held on February 27.
As per the numbers in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, BJP and RJD will win two seats each and JD(U) one. No other party has the numbers to win the sixth seat on its own, although the RJD-led Grand Alliance has the numbers for it should there be a joint candidate.
Of the six seats falling vacant, two are with JD(U), held by former president Bashishth Narayan Singh and Aneel Hegde. Two are with RJD, held by Manoj Kumar Jha and Misa Bharti. One is with BJP (Sushil Kumar Modi) and one with Congress, held by its state unit president Akhilesh Prasad Singh.
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However, the new arithmetic in the electoral college comprising legislators now gives two to BJP and one to JD(U).
In Bihar, the first preference votes of 35 legislators are required for a candidate to get elected to the Rajya Sabha.
