Nitish Kumar rules out return to NDA

Says there is a strong possibility of non-BJP, non-Congress front coming to power

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Saturday ruled out his party Janata Dal-United's (JD-U) return to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA.

"There is no question of us (JD-U) returning to the NDA," Nitish Kumar said at a function here.

The chief minister's statement came after JD-U president Sharad Yadav Friday reportedly said that his party may return to the NDA after the Lok Sabha polls.

However, Sharad Yadav Saturday denied making such a statement.

Nitish Kumar said there is a strong possibility of a non-BJP and non-Congress formation by like minded parties including the JD-U, Left parties and other regional parties.

"We are keen on trying for a new front on the basis of understanding and cooperation to take on the Congress and the BJP in elections," he said.

Earlier, Nitish Kumar said talks were on "among like-minded parties" on forming a new front ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

The chief minister said his party along with the Left parties, including the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), had been working on forming a new political formation.

Nitish Kumar dumped the BJP in June last year and ended a 17-year-old alliance with the saffron party over its naming Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate for this year's Lok Sabha polls.