Nitish Kumar is likely to take oath as the Chief Minister of Janata Dal (United) and the BJP government in Bihar on January 28, sources told India Today. BJP veteran Sushil Modi is likely to be the new deputy minister.

Commenting on the development, Sushil Modi said that the "doors which are closed can open", calling politics a "game of possibilities". He, however, declined to speak further on the issue.

The development came amid political turmoil in Bihar with tension in the current alliance of JD(U) and Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). The tension that has been simmering for a while now, reached its crescendo this week when socialist icon Karpoori Thakur was conferred with the Bharat Ratna by the BJP-led Centre.

Furthermore, Nitish Kumar's 'parivarvaad' (familialism) remark was met with a scathing response from Lalu Yadav's daughter Rohini Acharya in a now-deleted tweet.

Meanwhile, Congress sources informed India Today that they are monitoring the situation. They, however, added that Nitish Kumar shifting gears back to the BJP won't be easy, showing scepticism regarding Chirag Paswan and Upender Kushwaha. "Moreover, this time, Assemly speaker is from our side (RJD)," the Congress sources said.

Source: India Today