Senior Janata Dal-United leader KC Tyagi has resigned from the post of party's spokesperson. Party Chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has appointed party leader Rajiv Ranjan Prasad as the new spokesperson of JD(U).
The JD(U) said in a statement attributed Tyagi's resignation to "personal reasons". "The National President of Janata Dal (United), Shri Nitish Kumar (Chief Minister, Bihar) has appointed Shri Rajiv Ranjan Prasad as the National Spokesperson. Shri K.C. Tyagi, who is in the party on the post of spokesperson, has resigned from the post of party spokesperson due to personal reason," the party said.
The development came against the backdrop of Tyagi's recent remarks on several key issues such as the Waqf amendment Bill, the Uniform Civil Code and the war in Gaza, which left JDU red-faced in front of its ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
A socialist leader, Tyagi is based in Delhi and enjoys an unlikely high profile in the national media for a regional party leader due to his experience and articulation. With a long-standing association with the party, he held various positions and is known to be very close to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
However, his stance on the central government's policies was seen as unhelpful to the BJP-JD(U) ties. "Be it on the Uniform Civil Code, the Waqf (Amendment) Bill or even the government's position on the Palestine issue among other issues, the socialist leader's outspoken stand did not go down well with many within the party and embarrassed the BJP," news agency PTI reported quoting sources.
With two senior JD(U) leaders, including Union minister Lalan Singh and its parliamentary party leader Sanjay Jha, based in Delhi, party sources said there is a view that the two leaders should be left to shape the ties with the BJP without frequent public interjections of Tyagi.
Sources said the BJP has been reaching out to allies to maintain coordination and harmony in the ruling National Democratic Alliance in its bid to quell reports of differences in the bloc.