Patna: The ruling Janata Dal United (JD-U) in Bihar, headed by the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, has now became a part of the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The formality was completed after the JD-U at its national executive committee meeting held here on Saturday passed a resolution to join the NDA. The decision to join the NDA comes 20 days after the chief minister pulled himself out of the ruling three-party Grand Alliance and formed a new coalition government with the help of the BJP.

“(BJP chief) Amit Shah had requested us to join the NDA. We passed a resolution in this regard and are now a part of it from today,” JD-U general secretary K.C. Tyagi told the media on Saturday.

The JD-U’s return to the NDA comes four years after Nitish Kumar had broken the 17-year-old alliance with the BJP and then pulled out of it in June 2013 shortly after Narendra Modi was projected as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. Observers say Kumar himself was in the race for the prime minister and his patience ran out shortly after Modi was declares as the prime ministerial candidate.

Before that he had covertly hit out at the “secular credentials” of Modi, then serving as the chief minister of Gujarat, and virtually rejected his candidature to lead the country.

“The NDA should declare its (PM) candidate in advance. This leader should be acceptable to every constituent of the alliance. to me, the leader of the coalition should have secular credentials. It should be someone who has absolute faith in democratic values. In a multi-religious and multi-lingual country like us, the leader should not have rough edges in his personality. An alliance can win the confidence of the people only if the leader is seen as accommodating,” was how Kumar had said in an interview to business daily The Economic Times in June 2012, obliquely referring to Modi.

Such was his ‘distaste’ for Modi earlier that Kumar had also cancelled the dinner he had hosted in honour of the visiting BJP leaders in Patna in May 2010 and then also returned Rs50 million cheque given to the 2008 Bihar flood victims by the Gujarat government just after the BJP carried an advertisement in local newspapers showing Kumar clasping hands with Modi, who then was the chief minister of Gujarat. The BJP leaders — who included LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitely and seven BJP chief ministers — had reached Patna to attend the national executive meeting of the party being held in Patna after a long time.

Today, however, Kumar’s party looked more than pleased to be part of the NDA, although Modi continues as the prime minister and the other issues as raised by Kumar in his interview still remain unaddressed. In sharp contrast to him, his senior colleague and JD-U’s founding president Sharad Yadav, however, has broken association with Kumar and refused to support his stand.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad hit out at the chief minister for joining the BJP-led NDA. “By joining the NDA, Nitish Kumar has virtually accepted the bondage of the BJP. He will ultimately contest elections on ‘lotus’ symbol (the poll symbol of the BJP) since the real JD-U is represented by Sharad Yadav,” quipped Prasad.

“Now, none is going to take notice of this man (Nitish Kumar). He is a great turncoat who keeps on changing parties at frequent intervals,” he alleged.

BJP leader and deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi welcomed the joining of JD-U into the NDA.

“We thank Kumar for deciding to be a part of the NDA. This will strengthen the NDA further,” he said.