Rising Bharat Summit 2025: JDU's Sanjay Says Nitish To Become Bihar CM For Next 5 Years After NDA's Victory

Last Updated:April 09, 2025, 19:23 IST

The JDU leader said that his party’s concerns about the Waqf Amendment bill were accommodated by the government

The JDU leader said that the opposition got success in different states by creating a “fake” narrative about the constitution during the Lok Sabha polls but they failed in Bihar.  (Photo: News18)

Janata Dal (U) national working president Sanjay Jha on Wednesday said that Nitish Kumar will remain the chief minister of Bihar for next five years if the NDA returns to power in the state. 

Speaking at the Rising Bharat Summit 2025, Jha dismissed rumours around Kumar’s health and said he is doing fine. He also highlighted the CM’s “Pragati Yatra", where Kumar visited different districts in the state, which will go to polls later this year. 

The JD(U) leader asserted that there is no issue of ticket distribution among NDA allies.  

“Nitish ji visited every part of Bihar two months ago. If we are fighting elections in his leadership, it is obvious that he will be the chief minister. There is no doubt," he said.

When he was reminded that BJP made Devendra Fadnavis the chief minister in Maharashtra despite going to assembly polls with Eknath Shinde’s face, Jha said, “I can’t say what happened there. In 2020, we got fewer seats than BJP. So, Nitish told PM and BJP leaders that they should name their leader for chief minister. But the PM said that since elections were fought in Nitish’s leadership, he should become CM." 

Commenting on BJP-JDU ties, Jha said that the both parties are natural allies and the people have accepted the alliance in the Lok Sabha polls, where they got the majority of seats in Bihar. 

On Kumar’s jumping ships multiple times, “BJP and JDU are natural allies. When there was a change in government in 2005, BJP and JDU formed the government. There were some instances in between. Nitish ji has said that he will stay with the BJP. The people have accepted the alliance in the lok sabha polls." 

“We are natural allies. We had personal ties as well. Nitish ji was initiating an alliance but after some time he realised this alliance did not have any future as there was no one who was with a vision. There was also confusion. After this, we took a call (to go with the BJP). This alliance was also good for the state and the BJP people at the centre also wanted the JDU to go with them," he added. 

The Rajya Sabha MP said that the opposition got success in different states by creating a “fake" narrative about the constitution during the Lok Sabha polls but they failed in Bihar. 

“We did well in Bihar. But the opposition ran a narrative on the constitution but this did not succeed in Bihar. No one can create a confusion in Bihar. People trust the work Nitish has done for 19 years. There were attempts but they did not succeed," he said.

The JDU leader said that his party’s concerns about the Waqf Amendment bill were accommodated by the government.

“When this bill came, JDU wanted it to go to the JPC for wider consultation. There were lengthy discussions on the bill.  People from Muslim community met Nitish Kumar and told him about their concerns. A lot of concerns were accommodated.. I don’t think this bill will impact us. Bihar is the only state with a caste census. They couldn’t do this. Rahul Gandhi does not even know his caste. They were part of the government if they had concerns, they could have said it. 73% of Muslims in Bihar are pasmanda Muslims who are poor. What did they get from Waqf? We now think the poor will benefit. No hospital was built with Waqf money in Bihar," he said.

Several JDU leaders from Muslim community quit the party after Nitish Kumar backed the bill in the Parliament.  

Jha accused the opposition of inciting Muslims against the BJP to get votes but they did not do any development for them. “Every community is benefiting from Modi ji’s policies. I think they will know this after the result in Bihar," he said.

The JDU leader said that the presence of Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party will not make any impact on the assembly elections. “I don’t see anything on the ground. They know there is a double engine government. They know Bihar’s needs were taken care of in budgets of 2024 and 2025. Bihar is doing well in manufacturing," he said.

News india Rising Bharat Summit 2025: JDU's Sanjay Says Nitish To Become Bihar CM For Next 5 Years After NDA's Victory