Bihar CM Nitish Kumar (ANI photo)

PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Friday ruled out possibility of his party JD(U) joining the Narendra Modi government in near future, saying, "There is no need of it, now."

JD(U), which is major ally of BJP in Bihar, had on Thursday refused to accept the BJP's proposal of "symbolic representation"- one ministerial berth for each ally- and declined to join the NDA government at the Centre.

On his return to the state capital after attending the swearing-in ceremony of the Modi government, Nitish said, "If we decide to join the Modi government in the coming days, people will say we were disgruntled only because we wanted so much number of ministerial berths. And, now we are going to join the Cabinet after getting the desired number or nearer to the desired number of berths in the Cabinet. There is no need of such things now."

He also said, "We are in the NDA without joining the Modi government. There is no need of remaining in the Cabinet. We are very much in the NDA."

Nitish, who is also the JD(U) national president, was talking to reporters outside the Patna airport after his return from New Delhi.

In a bid to give a terse message to ally BJP, Nitish also said whatever victory the NDA registered in the state, it was the "victory of people" of Bihar. "if anyone believes that it is their victory, it will not be proper," he said.

Referring to his recent dialogue with the Union home minister Amit Shah on the issue of joining the Modi Cabinet, Nitish said, "After an NDA meeting, Shah had asked me to come for certain discussions. On his invitation, I went to meet him. During the discussion, Shah informed that an MP from each NDA ally will be inducted into the Modi cabinet as part of "symbolic representation". We also wanted to know as to how many berth was being given to others and how many people from Bihar are being inducted. But he talked about only "symbolic representation" to each NDA ally. "Then I told him I will discuss the matter with the JD(U) core team."

Nitish also said that when he discussed the matter with the JD(U) core team, all members refused to accept the BJP's proposal of symbolic representation and favoured "proportional representation".

Responding to a query, Nitish said, "In Bihar cabinet, all allies have been given proportionate representation. In Bihar, everything - who is getting what, the number of ministers and name of departments - was discussed and decided prior to formation of the coalition government."

Nitish said, "Even during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, the allies were given proportionate representation. But then, the BJP was not in a majority on its own. It was NDA government. Today, situation is different. BJP has enough number to run the government."

