Bihar Elections 2020: Tejashwi Yadav's U-Turn Towards Chirag Paswan Creates Confusion, LJP Clears Stand

RJD chief and most likely to be Chief Ministerial candidate of the Mahagathbandhan Tejashwi's comment can be seen as a U-turn after his thinly-veiled jibe at the LJP earlier.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. (Image: Getty)

Patna: Days after Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Chirag Paswan upped the ante against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar accusing him of insulting late LJP patriarch Ram Vilas Paswan over a Rajya Sabha seat, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday came in support of Chirag. While speaking to media, Tejashwi said that Nitish Kumar has done injustice to Lok Janshakti Party chief Chirag Paswan and his father. RJD leader and most likely to be Chief Ministerial candidate of the Mahagathbandhan Tejashwi's comment can be seen as a U-turn after his thinly-veiled jibe at the LJP earlier while addressing an election rally ahead of the Bihar assembly elections and reiterated his voters to be beware of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) ‘B-team.’ “What Nitish Kumar Ji did with Chirag Paswan is not good. Chirag Paswan needs his father today more than ever before but Ram Vilas Paswan Ji is not among us and we are sad about it. Nitish Kumar did injustice with Chirag Paswan, his behaviour is unfair,” Tejashwi Yadav said, according to news agency ANI. The former deputy CM’s statement created a nationwide confusion as there is a strong possibility that both RJD and LJP might come together to take up their common political rival in Bihar - Nitish Kumar-led NDA. Chirag Paswan recently walked out of the alliance and decided to contest on along on as many as 143 Assembly seats of Bihar in the upcoming polls. He has declared its support to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but openly rebelled against JDU and said that his party will not accept the leadership of Nitish Kumar. Chirag maintains that LJP will win a greater number of seats than JDU and will form the government in the state along with BJP. EXPLAINED | Will Plurals Party's Pushpam Priya Choudhary Make A Difference In Bihar Elections 2020? The BJP, on the other hand, says that Nitish Kumar will be chief minister of irrespective of who wins how many seats in the Assembly Polls. With Nitish Kumar as their common political enemy, Tejashwi and Chirag Paswan are widely believed to have an understanding in the RJD leader's Raghopur constituency. Political pundits are off the opinion that Chirag Paswan has deliberately fielded a Rajput candidate at the seat for the express purpose of cutting into the BJP's upper caste vote base, which will help Tejashwi Yadav. Several political leaders including Tejashwi Yadav and Pappu Yadav met Chirag at his residence last week after paying their last respects to Ram Vilas Paswan. Now political observers are waiting to see whether the death of Ram Vilas Paswan will turn the tables for the LJP in the Bihar assembly elections. The LJP has been criticising Nitish Kumar over the handling of Covid-19 pandemic, the issue of migrant workers, the floods issue and the issue of unemployment. Bihar will go to polls in three phases -- October 28, November 3 and 7. Counting of votes will take place on November 10.