Bihar Chief Minister and Janta Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar on Thursday rejected speculation over merger of his party with ally Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) at JDU legislative party meeting.
“I was serious about the merger in 2015 but now it is not possible,” he asserted.
Earlier, JD-U leader Upendra Kushwaha also rejected the merger speculation by saying the goal of parties opposed to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should be to do well in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and it will be suicidal if there is a merger of with RJD ahead of the next assembly polls in the state.
Kushwaha's remarks come in the wake of comments of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar about fighting the next assembly polls under the leadership of his RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who is the Bihar Deputy Chief Minister.
Talking about the 'Mahagatbandhan' in 2025, Kushwaha said, "our primary focus is the Loksabha election of 2024." He said opposition parties will be brought under one roof under the leadership of Nitish Kumar.
Rejecting any possibility of a merger of JD(U) and RJD, he said "it would be suicidal if the two parties get merged".
"The existence of JD-U would be at stake," he said.He also referred to proceedings in the state assembly in which the BJP leaders attacked the state government over deaths due to spurious liquor in Saran district's Chhapra area.
Recently, Nitish Kumar announced that he was not a contender for any post in the coming election and he will support the elevation of Tejashwi Yadav. Nitish's announcement was seen as a declaration of his political successor which fueled merger speculation.
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