"No Information": Congress Rejects Nitish Kumar Party Leader's "Offer" Assertion

KC Tyagi's comments arose amid rumors that the INDIA bloc is attempting to bring Nitish Kumar back into the alliance to prevent the NDA from securing a third consecutive term in government.

New Delhi: The Congress has rejected assertions by JD(U) leader KC Tyagi that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was proposed as the prime ministerial candidate by the INDIA bloc after the Lok Sabha election results.

Congress spokesperson KC Venugopal clarified that the party has no such knowledge. "We have no such information," Mr. Venugopal stated during a press briefing.

Mr. Tyagi's comments came amid rumors that the INDIA bloc is seeking to re-align with Nitish Kumar to block the NDA from securing a third consecutive term in power.

However, Mr. Tyagi emphasized that the JD(U) has declined all offers from the opposition and intends to continue its alliance with the NDA for the next five years.

"We felt mistreated by Congress and its allies, prompting us to take a different direction. The same people who once deemed Nitish Kumar unfit to lead the alliance are now offering him the Prime Minister's position. However, the JD(U) has already rejected these offers," he stated.

Another JD(U) leader, Sanjay Jha, a close associate of Nitish Kumar, also dismissed KC Tyagi's claim that the INDIA bloc had offered the Prime Minister's role to the Bihar Chief Minister.

In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP secured 240 seats, falling 32 seats short of the majority. The crucial support needed for the BJP to achieve a majority comes from four allies: N Chandrababu Naidu's TDP (16 seats), Nitish Kumar's JD(U) (12), Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena (7), and Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas (5).

It is understood that TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar, who have become key figures in this scenario, have also provided written support to PM Modi, despite speculations that opposition leaders might approach them to stake a claim.