'Congress not to join Nitish Kumar government'

The Congress party will not join the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar, state unit chief Ashok Choudhary said Friday. 

"Congress has supported Nitish Kumar government but will not join it," Choudhary told media persons here, saying his party decided to support Nitish Kumar as his government was secular.

The four Congress legislators supported Nitish Kumar in the trust vote in the assembly June 19.

Choudhary said it was early to say anything on future political realignment in the state.

After the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) ended its 17-year-old alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) BJP in Bihar, speculation was rife that the Congress will join hands with Nitish Kumar, deserting its old political ally, the Rashtriya Janata Dal of Lalu Prasad.