'Extra baggage': Tejashwi Yadav rules out Nitish Kumar's return to alliance, says 'not a chance'

NEW DELHI: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday rejected any possibility of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar returning to the Opposition alliance , saying he would only be “extra baggage” at this point.

“Never. Not a chance,” Tejashwi said when asked if Kumar could be brought back into the alliance, responding to ANI that Lalu Prasad Yadav would still accept Nitish if he sought a return.

#WATCH | On Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's statement that even today, RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav will accept Kumar back in the alliance, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav says, "Never. Not a chance... It is okay to forgive someone after they make one mistake. But now he has made the same… pic.twitter.com/fSnpXXD7T0

— ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2025

“It is okay to forgive someone after they make one mistake. But now he has made the same mistake twice,” Tejashwi added. “Anyhow, wherever Nitish Kumar goes now, he will just be an extra baggage, a ‘bojh’.”

His comments come amid rising political temperatures in Bihar ahead of the 2025 state elections.

Tejashwi also hit out at the BJP , saying the party systematically weakens its allies. “I feel the BJP will say that Nitish Kumar would be made the chief minister after the election. They should get Amit Shah to sign an affidavit saying that only Nitish Kumar will remain the chief minister for five years,” he said.

#WATCH | On Bihar elections 2025, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav says, "I feel the BJP will say that Nitish Kumar would be made the Chief Minister after the election. They should get Amit Shah to sign an affidavit saying that only Nitish Kumar will remain the Chief Minister for five… pic.twitter.com/cx22mEE0x7

— ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2025

“BJP destroys every party it allies with. Look at any regional party throughout the country… Look at what the BJP did to Chirag Paswan's party,” Tejashwi said.

On reports of internal disagreements within the Opposition ' mahagathbandhan ' over seat-sharing, Tejashwi dismissed speculation. “This is an internal matter of the alliance,” he said, while praising Rahul Gandhi’s active campaigning. “It is good. He is the Leader of Opposition. Even PM Narendra Modi comes here to campaign.”

#WATCH | On being asked if there is a dispute among 'mahagathbandhan' regarding seat sharing in the upcoming Bihar election, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav says, "This is an internal matter of the alliance... It is good (that Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi is actively campaigning in the… pic.twitter.com/RhKjkXaLr9

— ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2025

Contrasting his alliance with the NDA, he said, “See what Jitan Ram Manjhi said about Chirag Paswan. Or vice versa. What did Upendra Kushwaha say? We don't think all is well between them. The same is not the case with us.”