"It is still a speculation": NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Nitish Kumar rejoining NDA

Sharad Pawar. File Pic

Amid ongoing developments in Bihar, all political parties in the state held meetings on Saturday with party leaders and legislators in Patna after likelihood that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may jump ship to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar said that "it is just a speculation as nothing has been finalised yet.

The NCP is an ally of the JDU in the INDIA bloc.

"Has it been finalised yet? It is still a speculation," Pawar told ANI in Maharashtra's Mumbai.

Several NDA leaders including former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi have indicated an alliance breakdown between JD(U)-RJD.

Meanwhile, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Chirag Paswan met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda on Saturday amid the political turmoil in Bihar.

Paswan said he kept "his concerns over Bihar" before the BJP leaders in the meeting held at the residence of Amit Shah. Several media reports have claimed that the LJP has a fear of being 'sidelined' after the possible entry of the JDU in the NDA alliance.

"It was important to know what is happening in Bihar today. On this issue, I held a meeting with Amit Shah and JP Nadda ji today. I have kept my concerns before them over Bihar. They have given assurance on various issues. The situation is very positive regarding the alliance. In the coming days, the situation will become more clear, and after that, our party will take a stand. We are a part of NDA today," he told reporters.

Chirag Paswan and Nitish Kumar have slammed each other in the past.

Meanwhile, leaders of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Saturday gathered at party supremo Lalu Prasad's home in Patna for an emergency meeting convened by deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav.

Besides Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi, former chief minister, the meeting was attended by senior leaders, including members of the state legislature.

According to sources, Tejashwi Yadav told the leaders of the party present at the meeting that the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is "respectable" but there were many factors which were not under his "control."

"CM Nitish Kumar was and is respectable. Many things are not under his (Nitish Kumar) control. RJD's allies in the 'Mahagathbandhan' always respected the Chief Minister..." Tejashwi Yadav was quoted as saying by the sources. The sources further said that Tejashwi had also hinted at many unexpected developments in the state.

"The Chief Minister used to sit with me on the stage and ask, "What was there in Bihar before 2005?" I never reacted... Now, more people are with us. Whatever remained undone in two decades, we managed to get it done within a short time- be it jobs, caste census, increasing reservation, etc. 'Bihar mein abhi khel hona baki hain' (The game is yet to begin in Bihar) Yadav reportedly said.

With the recent reports that the Bihar CM is poised to shift his allegience, the unity of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) - the 28-party Opposition bloc, formed to take on the BJP-led Central government- appears to be in jeopardy.

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