JD-U opts out of Modi govt

New Delhi: Miffed over the “improper manner” of allocating berths in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Council of Ministers, key ally JD(U) decided to opt out of the new government which took oath on Thursday.

Sources said that the JD(U), which won 16 Lok Sabha seats in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections, was upset over getting just one Cabinet and one minister of state berths in Team Modi, 2019, when it had asked for two Cabinet rank ministers.

Though JD(U) chief and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar attended the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Council of Ministers, the issue could sour ties between the two allies who joined hands again in 2017 after splitting in 2013.

The view within the JD(U) over getting into Team Modi is that how can the Bihar’s ruling party be given the same number of Cabinet berth as that of LJP, Shiv Sena or SAD, when it won 16 of the total 17 Lok Sabha seats it contested in the recently concluded polls which is a junior partner in the state. The JD(U) is leading the NDA government in Bihar. BJP won all the 17 seats it contested, while LJP won six seats it contested.

Mr Kumar had held a meeting with BJP chief Amit Shah on Wednesday over the issue. With the issue remaining unresolved from the JD(U)’s side, BJP national general secretary Bhupendra Yadav later met Mr Kumar. “We are not joining the government. This is our decision,” said JD(U)’s Pawan Varma.

In the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, the seat-sharing formula had created a rift between the two allies and some of their leaders had openly expressed displeasure over it.