JD(U) will contest Bihar elections with NDA: Nitish

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday asserted that the ruling NDA is and will remain united in the state, dispelling "confusions" that had arisen in the wake of his recent meeting with RJD's Tejashwi Yadav followed by some opposition Grand Alliance leaders beckoning him to cross over.

Addressing a 'karyakarta sammelan' of the Janata Dal (United), of which he is the national president, Kumar exhorted party workers to strive towards ensuring the NDA's win in "more than 200 seats" when elections to the 243-member Bihar assembly are held this year. Disapproving of political "controversies" around the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), which his party had supported in Parliament, Kumar called for "patience" as the matter was sub judice.

Anxieties in some sections of society, particularly among the minorities, have been addressed with a resolution passed by the Bihar assembly against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and insertion of contentious clauses in the National Population Register (NPR) forms, he said. The JD(U) chief also reiterated his commitment towards ensuring justice and welfare of all, including minorities and slammed the opposition Congress-RJD combine, which keeps attacking him over his alliance with the BJP, by recalling the Bhagalpur riots of 1989 that had claimed over 1,000 lives.

"It is well known who was in power when the riots took place and how justice eluded the victims for 15 years thereafter. We brought the guilty to book and justice was ensured to the victims. I am more concerned about working for the minorities than getting their votes," said Kumar as he highlighted the various schemes being run by his government for minority communities.