NEW DELHI: In a veiled attack on his party chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, JD-U leader Pavan Varma on Sunday said it was his decision only to re-align with the BJP.
Responding to a question at the Times LitFest about the reasons that led the JD-U to ally again with the BJP in Bihar, Varma, in a plain one line response, said: "It was Nitish Kumar's decision."
Elaborating in response to another question by an audience member holding that until Nitish Kumar made the decision to rejoin the NDA, he was seen by many as a possible leader to lead the opposition in its entirety, he said: "I don't know why he made that decision."
Suddenly snapping ties with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress with which his JD-U had fought the last assembly elections, Nitish Kumar had led his JD-U to again align with the BJP at a crucial juncture before the presidential elections. Many from the party, including veteran leader Sharad Yadav, had openly protested against the decision.