Hours after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expanded his Council of Ministers on Sunday, BJP and JDU leaders skipped the 'iftar' party hosted by each other. JDU's iftar party was organised at Haj Bhavan but no BJP leader turned up for it. The Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi also organised an 'iftar' party but all JDU leaders gave it a miss.
RJD leader and former chief minister Rabri Devi also hosted a similar gathering at her residence in Patna. Several leaders of the grand-alliance, including former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi and Shivanand Tiwari, attended the event.
The JDU on May 30 declared that it will not be a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new Cabinet, saying it would not accept the BJP's offer of only one ministerial berth.
In an interview minister Shyam Rajak denied that there was any rift between the ruling coalition over the allotment of only one ministerial berth in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new cabinet.
In an interview chief minister Nitish Kumar said posts from the JDU quota in the cabinet were empty and hence the leaders were inducted, denying any issue with the BJP.
Nitish Kumar quoted saying "I kept listening to him and the sense I had was that it was to be a symbolic presence for the JD(U) in the government. I didn't want that. Still, as he insisted, I told him that I will consult my party and get back to him."
The Nitish Kumar led JD(U) won 16 seats in Bihar in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections while the BJP got 17.
