Leaders of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) gathered at party supremo Lalu Prasad’s home in Patna on Saturday for an emergency meeting convened by deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, amid speculation that the grand alliance in Bihar might collapse following Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s withdrawal of his Janata Dal (United).
Senior leaders, including members of the state legislature, attended the meeting, in addition to former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi.
Tejashwi Yadav informed the party’s leaders in attendance that while Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is ‘respectable’, there are other variables outside of his ‘control’, reported news agency ANI.
“CM Nitish Kumar was and is respectable. Many things are not under his (Nitish Kumar) control. RJD’s allies in the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ always respected the Chief Minister…,” Tejashwi Yadav was quoted as saying by the sources of the agency.
According to the sources, Tejashwi had also alluded to several surprising happenings in the state.
“The Chief Minister used to sit with me on the stage and ask, “What was there in Bihar before 2005?” I never reacted… Now, more people are with us. Whatever remained undone in two decades, we managed to get it done within a short time- be it jobs, caste census, increasing reservation, etc. ‘Bihar mein abhi khel hona baki hain’ (The game is yet to begin in Bihar) Yadav reportedly said.
Notably, the RJD is the major alliance partner in the ‘Mahagathbandhan,’ which also comprises three Left parties and Congress. Should Kumar’s JD(U) withdraw, the assembly would be eight members away from a majority.
There are 243 MLAs in the Bihar Assembly, with the RJD having 79, the BJP placing 78, the JD(U) having 45, the Congress 19, the CPI (M-L) holding 12, two of the CPI(M) and CPI, the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) having four seats, the AIMIM having one, and one Independent representative.
The stability of the 28-party opposition coalition known as the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), which was created to challenge the BJP-led Central government, looks to be in risk in light of recent rumors that the Bihar chief minister is planning to change his allegiance.
Following his split from the BJP in 2022, Nitish Kumar spearheaded the effort to get the opposition groups together to jointly challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling party in the national election.
(with inputs from ANI)
Comments
0 comment