'Atalji made me CM...won't go there again': Nitish Kumar shuts door on Mahagathbandhan

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has made it clear that he will not return to the Mahagathbandhan, declaring his past alliances with the RJD-Congress combine a mistake he won’t repeat.

“We made a mistake by going there (Mahagathbandhan) twice. Now we have decided that this will never happen again. This is wrong,” Kumar said, speaking during a public event. “Who made me the Chief Minister? Atal Bihari Vajpayee made me the Chief Minister. How can we forget?”

Kumar, who heads the Janata Dal (United), has in recent months repeatedly affirmed his commitment to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), especially as the state gears up for elections in less than a year. The longest-serving CM of Bihar has often cited his long-standing ties with the BJP and the late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to explain his position.

In January 2025, Kumar had said, “It was respected Atal ji who made me a Union minister. He used to shower so much of affection on me. I never faced any difficulty in getting my proposals cleared.”

He also recalled that it was Vajpayee’s express wish for him to become the Chief Minister when the NDA first secured victory in the 2005 Bihar Assembly polls. “So, why would I not stay (with the BJP)? A couple of times the people in my party committed a mistake (by pressing for an alliance with the Congress-RJD combine). I rectified it both times,” Kumar had stated.

His remarks come amid renewed speculation after RJD chief Lalu Prasad said he was keeping his “doors open” for Kumar, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah gave an equivocal response on projecting Kumar as the NDA’s CM face for the upcoming election.