Summary:
The JD(U), which is headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, was not a part of the first Modi government as well.
It had allied with the saffron party in 2017 but had not joined the government.
.
BJP ally JD(U) will not join the new Narendra Modi government, its spokesperson Pavan Varma said on Thursday, in what appears to be a sign of differences with the saffron party over the number of ministerial berths offered to it.
"We are not joining the government.
This is our decision," Varma, who is also the general secretary of the Janata Dal (United), told PTI.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar: They wanted only 1 person from JDU in the cabinet, so it would have been just a symbolic participation.We informed them that it is ok we don`t need it.
It is not a big issue, we are fully in NDA and not upset at all.We are working together,no confusion.
— ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2019
The BJP was offering one cabinet berth to the JD(U) and sources said the regional party was also unhappy with the portfolio offered to it.
The JD(U), which is headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, was not a part of the first Modi government as well.
It had allied with the saffron party in 2017 but had not joined the government.
.