‘Haath jod kar maafi maang rahe the’: Tejashwi Yadav on Nitish Kumar

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday claimed that Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar “apologised with folded hands” when he visited the former’s residence.

The former Bihar deputy chief minister claimed that the event unfolded in the presence of his MLAs.

“Hamare ghar jab aaye to haath jodkar maafi maang rahe the. He had asked for forgiveness in front of all the MLAs, they were all witnesses. How many times in the House has he apologised with folded hands, saying that he had made a mistake and that he will not join the BJP now?” ANI quoted Yadav as saying.

Ruling out any future alliance with Kumar’s party Janata Dal (United), Yadav said,”His oath has no value. No one trusts him, as he may change his mind anytime. Twice we took pity on him and gave him life and both times he showed his real form. This time there is no meaning.”

Nitish Kumar’s flip flops

Nitish Kumar’s political career has been marked by frequent switching sides while serving as chief minister.

In 2013, Nitish Kumar quit NDA after the BJP decided to elevate Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate for the Lok Sabha elections a year later. In 2015, he formed an alliance with RJD and secured win in the assembly elections.

Kumar took over as chief minister while Tejashwi Yadav became his deputy. But two years later, the Bihar CM dumped the RJD and returned to the NDA while retaining his chair.

In 2022, Nitish Kumar once again broke ties with the BJP and rejoined hands with the RJD, only to flip flop again earlier this year and returned to the NDA.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the JD(U) won 12 seats and became the second-largest member of the BJP-led NDA.

On September 6, Nitish Kumar termed past alliances with RJD as a “mistake” that he committed twice.

“Those who were in power before me did nothing. It was a mistake on my part to have gone with them on two occasions. But I do not wish to repeat that mistake. I shall stay here (with the NDA),” the chief minister was quoted by PTI as saying.