I personally feel Nitish Kumar should continue as Bihar CM: Chirag Paswan

Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Saturday said he “personally” feels that Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar should continue as the chief minister of Bihar, adding that his Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is looking forward to joining the new government in the state.

 

Addressing a press conference a day after the National Democratic Alliance secured victory in the assembly elections — with his party winning 19 of the 28 seats it contested — Paswan said the opposition is creating a “false narrative” that he is not on good terms with Nitish Kumar.

 

“Representatives of my party today met Nitish Kumar to congratulate him upon the victory. Yes, we too are looking forward to joining the government. Earlier, we used to say that we support the government but are not a part of it. But that was because we had no representation in the state legislature,” Paswan said.

 

Responding to a question on who should be the next chief minister, he added, “It is for the legislators to decide who should be the next CM or the deputy CM. I personally feel that Nitish Kumar should continue to head the government.”

 

Paswan also said that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) had benefited in the last assembly elections because he did not contest the 2020 polls as an NDA partner.

 

“It was because I did not contest the 2020 assembly polls as an NDA partner that the RJD benefited and became the single largest party,” he said.

 

“But the RJD grew arrogant, thinking that the people had reposed their faith in the party. The party got done in by that arrogance. The people of Bihar had rejected the RJD and its jungle raj way back. In 2010, the party was decimated. It did better in 2015 only because of circumstances — because Nitish Kumar had joined them. And in 2020, they gained because we were not part of the NDA,” Paswan said.