Nitish wanted to become Vice-President, got angry when BJP refused: Sushil Kumar Modi

Patna Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on August 10 alleged that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kuma

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on August 10 alleged that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar wanted to become the Vice-President and he dumped the BJP after the party failed to accommodate his ambitions.

The former Deputy CM’s charge was rebutted by Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan, national president of Mr. Kumar’s JD(U), who also mocked Mr. Sushil Kumar Modi as a leader “abandoned by the roadside” by his own party as a “punishment” for “close relations he had with Mr. Nitish Kumar”.

JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar on August 10 took oath as Bihar Chief Minister for a record eighth time in a no-frills ceremony at Raj Bhavan, a day after snapping ties with the BJP-led NDA and joining hands with the RJD to form a ‘Mahagathbandhan’ Government.

Mr. Nitish Kumar was sworn in besides RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, who is likely to be designated as his Deputy. A notification is likely to be issued on August 10 night, naming him as the Deputy Chief Minister.

Other Cabinet Ministers will be sworn in later once the three main alliance partners — the JD(U), RJD and Congress — decide on the number of berths and the legislators who will be made Ministers.

Mr. Nitish Kumar is likely to retain the all-important Home portfolio, while the RJD may get most of the departments that were previously with the BJP, a highly-placed source said.