Patna, August 17: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “worried” over the formation of the opposition bloc INDIA, the performance of which will be “excellent” in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The JD(U) leader made the remark while interacting with journalists here upon return from Delhi, where he had on Wednesday paid tributes to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his death anniversary.

“I had gone to Delhi for a medical checkup. It was a coincidence that it also happened to be death anniversary of the late leader who used to be so fond of me,” said Kumar, who snapped ties with the BJP last year, but retains fond memories of his days as a minister in the Union cabinet headed by Vajpayee.

“I had forecast that he (Vajpayee) will become the prime minister one day and it turned out to be true. The coalition was given the name National Democratic Alliance in 1999, under his leadership,” recalled Kumar.

Referring to Modi, without mentioning him by name, Kumar said “these people never even bothered to hold meetings of the NDA, while I was a part of that coalition. After we formed INDIA and held a couple of meetings, they were forced to sit up and take note. They are now worried, and have started holding meetings of the NDA”.

The Bihar CM has also been alleging that under Modi, the BJP has stopped treating allies with respect. The JD(U) leader, who takes pride in having hosted the first meeting of the combined opposition here two months ago, scoffed at Modi's claim that INDIA did not deserve to be taken seriously, and asserted that the new coalition's performance in the Lok Sabha polls will be “excellent and augur well for the country”.