Nitish Kumar not comfortable in NDA, says Congress leader

Tariq Anwar’s comments came days after Rashtriya Janata Dal leader (RJD) Tejashwi Prasad Yadav last week said the government would fall in a couple of months

Congress leader Tariq Anwar has said Bihar’s Nitish Kumar-led government will not survive long citing “intense squabbling” within the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA). He told reporters on Monday that Kumar was under tremendous pressure due to ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s antics.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. (HT archive)

“Given the nature of Nitish Kumar and marginalisation of the Janata Dal (United)... it is for all of us to see how long he could survive...”

Anwar’s comments came days after Rashtriya Janata Dal leader (RJD) Tejashwi Prasad Yadav last week said the government would fall in a couple of months.

The Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) has dismissed the claim of the imminent fall of the government. “No power in the world can bring down Nitish Kumar’s government for five years,” said JD-U leader Upendra Kushwaha on Sunday.

BJP leader Prem Ranjan Patel said on Sunday, “They are dreaming that the government is going to fall in two to three months. But his dream will remain a dream.”

The NDA has a wafer-thin majority of 127 in the 243-member Bihar assembly. The BJP has 74 seats and JD (U) 44. The RJD-led opposition Grand Alliance has 115 members while RJD is the single largest party in the assembly with 75 seats.