PATNA: Janata Dal-United president Rajiv Ranjan aka Lalan Singh on Wednesday rebutted speculation that chief minister Nitish Kumar skipped a joint press conference addressed by opposition leaders and returned to Patna because he was upset about the discussions in Bengaluru.

Lalan Singh said the rumour about Nitish Kumar was being spread by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “The fact is that Narendra Modi’s days are numbered. He should now seek a vote for INDIA and leave the field. The name of the convenor will also be announced in Mumbai. There was no talk on convenor in Bangalore,” said Singh, the JD-U’s first formal reaction to the buzz around Nitish Kumar.

According to reports, Kumar was not convinced that INDIA was the best name for the grouping and had suggested some alternatives. At the meeting, Kumar eventually went along with the majority view but returned to Patna along with Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Yadav and his son, Tejashwi Yadav without attending the Press conference. When they reached Patna on Tuesday evening, the chief minister and his deputy also declined to speak to the media.