NDA shifts focus to Bihar govt formation after landslide win

Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan met Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday and said his party was eager to "actively participate" in the state government as National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners began internal discussions on government formation following the coalition's landslide poll victory.

- Vijay Swaroop and Ruchir Kumar

Paswan met Kumar at his official residence, with photos from the meeting providing the first public images of the 74-year-old Janata Dal (United), or JD(U), president since the election verdict on Friday.

"We are looking forward to joining the government. Earlier, we used to say that we supported the government but were not part of it, as we had no representation in the state legislature," said Paswan, whose party won 19 of the 28 seats it contested.

Before the elections, the 43-year-old had criticised the Kumar-led government over what he described as the "deteriorating law and order situation" in Bihar. On Saturday, however, he accused the opposition of spreading a "false narrative" about his relationship with Kumar while expressing support for the incumbent CM to continue in office. He declined to comment on whether the LJP(RV) will claim the deputy chief minister post, saying such decisions would be made collectively by NDA partners.