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Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday rejected claims by Bharatiya Janata Party MP and his former deputy chief minister Sushil Modi that the JD(U) had split with the NDA as the chief minister was not made the Vice President.
Dismissing it as a totally bogus claim Nitish Kumar told reporters: "You heard a man (Sushil Modi) say that I wanted to be Vice President. What a joke! I have no such desire. Did they forget how much our party supported their President and Vice-President candidate? We were waiting for the election to be over and then convened our meeting." "Let them talk so much about me that they may get a position," Kumar said On Wednesday, Sushil Modi, claimed that Nitish Kumar wanted to be the Vice President of India, an election which was held on August 6, in which NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar emerged victorious defeating Opposition candidate Margaret Alva. "Nitish wanted to become Vice President of India. Many JDU senior leaders had sent feelers to BJP Ministers to see if it was possible," Sushil Kumar Modi said in a tweet. Kumar was sworn in as Bihar Chief Minister again yesterday after parting ways with the BJP and joining the RJD-led Grand Alliance to form government in the state. Kumar parted ways with the BJP alleging that the party was trying to break the JD(U), and joined hands with the political opponents RJD in the Mahagathbandhan on Tuesday. Speculation was rife regarding his future with suggestions of his "national ambitions" doing rounds in the political sphere. The BJP alleged that by joining with the RJD, Nitish Kumar had disrespected the mandate given by the people. Meanwhile, soon after the swearing-in ceremony, Kumar said that the party made the decision together to leave the BJP. "The party made the decision together (to leave BJP). I did not want to be the Chief Minister after the previous election. But a lot of pressure was put on me to handle the post. When there were talks with them (points towards Tejashwi Yadav), the decision was made. whether I will stay or not (till 2024)...they can say what they want, but I will not live in the year 2014," the Chief Minister said. Kumar also called for a united Opposition ahead of the General elections scheduled to be held in 2024. (ANI)
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