JDU, Apna Dal not part of Narendra Modi ministry

"We had been given symbolic representation. We were not ready to accept it. We are intact with NDA and there is no acrimony," says Nitish Kumar.

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New Delhi: Nitish Kumar on Thursday confirmed even before the oath ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan that his party - Janata Dal United - won't be represented in Narendra Modi's new ministry. Apna Dal too did not see any represenation.

Outlining that there is no love lost within the National Democratic Alliance, Nitish said that his relations with the BJP remain strong. "We had been given symbolic representation. We were not ready to accept it. We are intact with NDA and there is no acrimony," he said.

Nitish further elaborated that the proposal of the BJP was not agreeable to members of his party. "We had met and spoken with Amit Shah. Bhupendra Yadav was also present," he said, adding that the final proposal was not to their liking.

A number of senior leaders of JDU were present at Nitish's residence all of Thursday. The eventual decision was conveyed by the Bihar CM who then left to attend the oath ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The BJP-JDU alliance had swept Bihar in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha 2019 election by winning 39 of the 40 seats here.

As many as 57 ministers joined Narendra Modi in taking oath at a grand ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Some of the alliance partners that found a place in the ministry were Shiv Sena, Shiromani Akali Dal and Lok Janashakti Party.