Bihar Politics: BJP MP Hints At Growing Unrest In JD-U, Says 'MLAs & MPs Losing Faith In Nitish Kumar'

On Friday, the Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar made the announcement that Tejashwi Yadav, his deputy, would lead the ruling coalition in the Bihar election in 2025.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with the state Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav.

Source : File Photo/PTI

New Delhi: Amid the row over Bihar education minister Chandrashekhar’s remarks on ‘Ramcharitmanas’, BJP MP from Araria Pradeep Kumar Singh on Monday said that many MPs and MLAs of JDU are in touch with BJP, reported news agency ANI. "Nitish Kumar declared that Tejashwi Yadav will be next Bihar CM. None of his MLAs & MPs will accept Tejashwi as CM on Nitish's saying. He has gone to the wrong party & is with the wrong people. The consequence of it will be that all his MPs & MLAs will leave him," said BJP MP.

Nitish Kumar declared that Tejashwi Yadav will be next Bihar CM. None of his MLAs & MPs will accept Tejashwi as CM on Nitish's saying. He has gone to the wrong party & is with the wrong people. The consequence of it will be that all his MPs & MLAs will leave him: BJP MP PK Singh pic.twitter.com/QDPPhNJkax

— ANI (@ANI) January 16, 2023

On Friday, the Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar made the announcement that Tejashwi Yadav, his deputy, would lead the ruling coalition in the Bihar election in 2025, naming him as Nitish Kumar's successor and beginning the countdown to his own term as Chief Minister.

"I am not the Prime Ministerial candidate or Chief Ministerial candidate. My goal is to defeat the BJP," Nitish Kumar stated at a meeting of the ruling coalition in Bihar.

The 71-year-old emphasised, "Tejashwi has to be encouraged."

It appears that the RJD and JD(U), former rivals who became allies less than six months ago, are headed in the same direction.

The state's Education minister, RJD leader Chandra Shekhar, made remarks about "Ramcharitmanas."  Some JD(U) leaders have been wary of the BJP using the situation to its own advantage and favoring damage control measures against the minister by his party. The RJD's members have reacted negatively to the coalition partner's suggestion.

Yadav reiterated that because his father, Lalu Prasad, the president of the RJD, and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the supremo of the JD(U), were both "sheersh neta" (top leaders) of the "Mahagathbandhan," it did not matter what other members of either party had to say.

Yadav, on the other hand, hesitated when asked categorically if he agreed or disagreed with the minister's statements.

"The Constitution calls for equal respect to all religions. For us, the Constitution is like a holy book. But debating on such issues will be of no help in solving problems like poverty, unemployment, which is the job of the government," the Deputy CM stated.

Yadav, on the other hand, claimed that the BJP had a "well planned conspiracy" (sochi samjhi sazish) to cause trouble in Mahagathbandhan, despite stating that there was no disagreement between the RJD and JD(U).

"The BJP did try to do another Maharashtra here a few months back. It learnt the hard way that this is Bihar," Yadav joked, referring to the upheaval that occurred in August of last year when the chief minister expelled the saffron party and removed it from power due to allegations that the JD(U) had been tried to split.

(With PTI Inputs)