Photo Missing From Posters, Minister Says "Not In Nitish Kumar's Party", Retracts Later

After finding out that his photograph was missing from party posters for a meeting, senior Bihar minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav on Monday said he is "not in the JD(U)", only to retract the comment minutes later, asserting that he made it in jest.

Mr Yadav, 77, is one of the most senior leaders of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U).

The former state JD(U) president was visibly unhappy over his absence in posters put up on the occasion of the meeting, and told reporters: "I am not in Janata Dal (United)".

Minutes later, however, Mr Yadav claimed he had made that remark "in jest".

Mr Yadav, who has been an MLA from Supaul seat since 1990, is the minister for Energy and Planning & Development departments.

The meeting of senior JD (U) leaders with the party's MLAs, MLCs and other office bearers, began at the party's office on the Veer Chand Patel Road on Monday.

Several posters, prominently displaying photographs of the chief minister and other party ministers at the Centre and in the state were put up by JD(U) workers outside the venue. However, Yadav's photograph was missing from those posters.

Party insiders, on the condition of anonymity, said Mr Yadav was angry due to this, and because he was invited to the meeting at the last minute.

Mr Yadav told reporters: "Why was I invited to the meeting? I am not in JD the JD (U)." However, before the issue could escalate further commented: "Whatever I said... I didn't mean it. I just made this remark in jest. I am very much in the party. We will fight the 2025 assembly polls in the state under the leadership of Nitish Kumar Ji".

The meeting was convened to discuss the strategy for strengthening the party's organisation ahead of the 2025 assembly polls.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)