Nitish Kumar resigns: Sonia, Rahul Gandhi snubbed by Bihar CM, say sources

The Congress on Wednesday expressed disappointment over the resignation of Nitish Kumar as Bihar chief minister and said it will continue to strive to resolve the differences in the 'grand alliance'.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the 'grand alliance' was given a mandate for five years and the Congress will strive to respect that.

"We are deeply disappointed by the news of resignation of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. We, in the Congress party, particularly Congress president and party vice president have great respect and affection for Nitish Kumar," he said.

"All of us must remember that the mandate given by people of Bihar is to policies, programmes and leadership of 'Mahagathbandhan' for full five years. It is also a mandate against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who challenged the honour (asmita) of Bihar. Responsibility lies upon each one of us to respect this mandate. The Congress will do everything within its means to continue honouring this mandate," he added.

However, top party sources said that Nitish never informed Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi about his intention to resign during their recent meeting. “The only person who was told was CP Joshi, while Nitish was entering the Governor’s House to tender his resignation. Joshi asked Nitish to not take any hasty decision and added that he would immediately speak to Rahul and Congress President Sonia Gandhi,” the source added.

Even before the BJP announced support for the JD(U), the Congress  added that no doors close in politics.

With ANI Inputs