Nitish targets BJP, says 'had resigned to reach out to people'

Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar, who was elected by his party today to return as the Bihar Chief Minister, on Saturday said that he had tendered his resignation last year to reach out to the people and win their trust again.

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"After the Lok Sabha polls, I expressed my wish to tender my resignation but the party members were not in favour of this. But I thought as we didn't get the expected mandate, I needed to reach out to people and restore their faith in us. I was given the authority, I recommended Jitan Ram Manjhi ji's name and he became the Chief Minister," Nitish said at the state legislature party meeting here.

He added that the people in his state had been expressing their views on the need for work in Bihar.

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"We need to properly face the challenges of the upcoming elections, the people had been voicing their concerns about the government's performance in Bihar to Sharadji, me and Vashist. I was trying to make people understand but they were getting restless," Nitish said.

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Launching a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party with whom the JD (U) broke its alliance before the Lok Sabha polls last year, Nitish said the ugly politics played by the former had never before been witnessed in Bihar.

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Nitish's comments came after Jitan Ram Manjhi was sacked as the chief minister of Bihar.

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This move by the Janata Dal (United) took place following the internal friction within the party, as a defiant Manjhi had refused to give up the chief minister's post.

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Senior JD (U) leaders wanted his predecessor Nitish to lead the party yet again in the run-up to the elections due in the state later this year.

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Manjhi, who headed a minority government supported by Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), had earlier declared a meeting called today by JD (U) chief Sharad Yadav as 'illegal'.

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Manjhi, who had embarrassed his party on several occasions during his short tenure, had contended that only the chief minister can call a meeting of MLAs

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Nitish, who had resigned as chief minister owning responsibility for his party getting only two of Bihar's 40 Lok Sabha seats, had handpicked Manjhi to take his place last year.