Not Going Anywhere, Will Remain In NDA: Nitish Kumar Ahead Of Assembly Polls

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he will remain in the NDA, while regretting short-lived alliances with the RJD-Congress combine, which "always indulged in mischief when we shared power".

Nitish Kumar was speaking at a rally in Purnea in the presence of PM Modi, weeks ahead of the announcement of assembly polls.

"It was the JD(U)-BJP combine which had formed a government in Bihar, for the first time, in November, 2005. For one or two times, I went to the other side, upon prodding of some of my own party colleagues, one of whom is sitting here," said Nitish Kumar, pointing towards Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan', whom he replaced as the party's national president nearly two years ago.

"But, that is a thing of the past. I could never be comfortable with those people. They always indulged in mischief when we shared power... I am now back. And, I will not go anywhere henceforth," said the JD(U) supremo, evoking a smile and applause from the PM.

Nitish Kumar lauded PM Modi for the measures taken by the Union government for the state, and made a special mention of the budget presented earlier this year, which had a number of announcements, including establishment of a National Makhana Board, which was inaugurated by the PM at Purnea.

The chief minister also touched upon recent moves of his government, including making 125 units of power free and a hike in social security pensions.

Before ending his speech, Nitish Kumar turned towards the female crowds present at the venue, and urged them to stand and salute the PM.

The women promptly got up, greeted PM Modi with folded hands before bursting into a round of applause.

Earlier, the prime minister launched multiple development projects worth around Rs 36,000 crore in Purnea district.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)