"It Was All Pre-Planned": Mallikarjun Kharge On Nitish Kumar Forming Government With NDA (image: twitter.com/INCIndia)

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar“s move to join the NDA was “pre-planned” and accused Janata Dal (United) chief for keeping the leaders of the INDIA bloc in the dark.

“Such decisions can not be taken in a hurry…This shows that it was all pre-planned. To break the INDIA alliance they (BJP-JD(U)) planned all this… He (Nitish Kumar) kept us in the dark, he kept Lalu Yadav in the dark,” Mallikarjun Kharge told ANI.

After days of speculation, Nitish Kumar left Mahagathbandhan and joined BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Sunday. He was leading Mahagadbandhan or Grand Alliance of Indian Opposition parties in Bihar, including JD(U), Lalu Prasad Yadav’s  Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress and Left parties. This is the fifth time in last 11 years the JD(U) leader shifting his political allegiances.

JD(U) chief”s sudden shifting of allegiance to BJP comes as a huge blow to INDIA alliance as there are only months left for Lok Sabha polls. Nitish Kumar, one of the prominent figures in the INDIA bloc and one of the architect of the alliance, was associated with the NDA two years ago. On Sunday, Bihar chief minister has done another volte-face and went back to the NDA.

This is the ninth time Nitish Kumar taking oath as Bihar chief minister and fifth flip flop in last 11 years he is doing to change alliances in the politically volatile state. His journey in Bihar politics has been marked by significant instances of political flip-flops, including his alliances with various parties to secure power.