New Delhi, March 1: Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his best wishes to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on his birthday.
"Best wishes to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on his birthday. Praying for his long and healthy life in service of the people," Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X.

Birthday greetings to Bihar CM Shri @NitishKumar Ji. I pray for his long and healthy life.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 1, 2023

Earlier on February 7, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

This was the first visit of the Janata Dal (United) supremo after he dumped the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) and the INDIA bloc to form a new government with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar.

The meeting took place five days ahead of Nitish Kumar's government's scheduled floor test on February 12. He also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah after meeting PM Modi.

Nitish Kumar took the oath as Chief Minister of Bihar for the ninth time in Raj Bhawan, Patna, switching sides again, this time with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

It was for the second time in two years that Nitish Kumar had jumped the ship, his fifth crossover in a little over a decade.

Two Deputy Chief Ministers from the BJP, Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, and six other ministers, including Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Santosh Kumar Suman, Shrawan Kumar, and others, also took the oath earlier.

Nitish Kumar, after parting ways with the BJP in 2022, took on the initiative of uniting all opposition forces to jointly take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling party in the national election.

In 2000, Nitish became CM for the first time after campaigning against RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav's 'Jungle Raaj'. Till now, he has been Bihar's CM on eight occasions.

In 2017, Nitish forged a grand alliance with the RJD and Congress and returned as chief minister in 2015.

He walked out of the grand alliance in 2017, accusing the RJD of corruption and choking governance in the state.

In 2022, Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the BJP once again, alleging the BJP was conspiring against him and trying to influence JD-U MLAs to rebel against him.

(ANI)