Nitish Kumar may take oath as JD(U)-BJP govt's CM on Jan 28, claims report

Nitish Kumar is likely to take oath as the Chief Minister of a new alliance between the Janata Dal (United) and BJP in Bihar on January 28, sources told India Today. 

BJP leader Sushil Modi is likely to be his deputy. 

The development came amid political turmoil in Bihar with tension in the current alliance of JD(U) and Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

Nitish Kumar is reportedly unhappy with both his current coalition partner, Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD, and the Congress, a member of the INDIA bloc. He is also offended by a now-deleted tweet from Lalu Yadav's daughter Rohini Acharya, responding sharply to Bihar Chief Minister's 'parivarvaad' remark.

Nitish Kumar is reportedly upset with the Congress for its indecision on seat sharing in Bihar and in other states where regional parties have joined the INDIA bloc.

The Bihar Chief Minister believes that with the Lok Sabha elections approaching, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' is undertaken solely for the benefit of the grand old party and not the INDIA alliance.

Nitish Kumar is not the first INDIA bloc leader who has shown resentment over failed seat sharing talks. Recently, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee announced that her party would be going solo for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls from the state, disgruntled over seat sharing.

The last meeting of the INDIA alliance happened virtually on January 13, following which Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge was named as the group's chairperson. However, an official announcement on the same is yet to be made.