"I'd Rather Die Than Tie Up With BJP Again," Says Nitish Kumar

Nitish Kumar today said he would "rather die" than return to an alliance with the BJP and accused the ruling party of launching cases against his deputy Tejashwi Yadav "deliberately, without basis".

The Bihar Chief Minister was responding to BJP leaders accusing him of "abusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trust" while rejecting speculation of a reunion, once again.

"The question does not arise. I'd rather die than tie up with them," he told reporters, Tejashwi Yadav standing next to him.

The Chief Minister and Janata Dal United leader said his decision to revive his alliance with the BJP, following corruption cases against Tejashwi Yadav and his father Lalu Yadav, was a "mistake".

"Listen carefully. They (BJP) went through so much effort. They slapped cases against Tejashwi and his father to get me on board. Now again, they are trying to get after them. These people keep doing such things," Nitish Kumar said.

The Chief Minister scoffed at the BJP's claim that it would win 36 out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar in the national election next year. He sought to "remind" the BJP that when they were allies it used to get the votes of all his supporters, including Muslims, who have always been "wary" of the BJP's Hindutva ideology.

Mr Kumar's comments come after BJP leaders said there is "no question" of partnering again with an "unpopular" Chief Minister.

"We have sought to stamp out rumours among our party cadre about such a realignment. Of course, the CM has the proclivity to oscillate like a pendulum. But we are not going to be cheated by him again," said BJP's Bihar chief Sanjay Jaiswal.

"Nitish Kumar has grown hugely unpopular. It was his unpopularity that had caused his JDU to do badly in the assembly polls of 2020 when we did much better. Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed magnanimity in deciding to stick to the promise made before elections and Nitish Kumar, the habitual betrayer that he is, abused the PM's trust," he said.

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