Arvind Kejriwal questions ‘Nitish Kumar’s conduct’ after flip-flop move to NDA

Delhi chief minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Monday reacted to Nitish Kumar’s switch to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), saying such conduct is not good for democracy. He also predicted that Kumar’s entry will harm NDA’s poll prospects in Bihar.

“I think Nitish Kumar should not have gone there. He didn’t do the right thing. It is not right for democracy. I think this will harm the NDA in Bihar, and the INDIA alliance will benefit from it,” Kejriwal said.

“Such conduct is not good for democracy,” he added.

Nitish Kumar quit the INDIA bloc on Sunday, saying “things were not working well” in the alliance. He later formed a government in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Nitish Kumar’s exit from the Opposition’s INDIA bloc came days after Mamata Banerjee said her Trinamool Congress would contest the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal alone.

With Nitish and Mamata gone, the INDIA bloc is facing an existential crisis as many other members are planning to hold hard seat-sharing negotiations with the Congress. Recently, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav offered 11 of Uttar Pradesh’s 80 Lok Sabha seats.

Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been discussing seat sharing with the Congress for the Lok Sabha elections, despite the Punjab AAP’s reluctance.

Recently, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann declared his party would contest all 13 seats in the state.

Congress attacks Nitish Kumar

The Congress today called Nitish Kumar a chameleon and “aaya Kumar, gaya Kumar” (a political turncoat).

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh mocked Kumar over his frequent flip-flops.

“After taking oath, Nitish Kumar ji forgot his ‘muffler’ (scarf) in Raj Bhawan. When he came back halfway to pick up, the Governor was shocked that this time not even 15 minutes had passed,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post in Hindi on X.

JD(U) has blamed the Congress for Kumar’s switch. The party said Congress attempted to snatch away the leadership of the INDIA bloc and made Mamata Banerjee propose the name of Mallikarjun Kharge as the prime ministerial face of the group.

Nitish Kumar had first switched over from the NDA to the Mahagathbandhan in 2013. He then quit the alliance in 2017 and moved to the NDA. In 2022, he yet again joined hands with Lalu Yadav’s party.