Bihar crisis: On the brink of break-up, says JD-U

No word from Nitish Kumar, BJP maintains a studied silence over its next move, saying it was waiting and watching.

Political suspense in Bihar continued for a third day on Saturday, when the two main constituents of the ruling alliance, chief minister Nitish Kumar’s JD-U and Lalu Prasad’s RJD, traded salvos and a top aide of the CM said the alliance was on the brink of collapse, while the opposition BJP maintained a studied silence over its next move, saying it was waiting and watching.

Outside Tejashwi Yadav’s residence in Patna on Saturday. (Santosh Kumar/HT)

“The INDIA bloc is on the verge of collapse. The alliance is almost over in Punjab, West Bengal and Bihar,” JD-U spokesperson K C Tyagi told reporters in Delhi, adding that he could not see as to how the INDIA bloc parties could fight the “all-powerful” BJP. “Kumar never hankered after a position in the alliance (INDIA), but a section of the Congress leadership repeatedly insulted him,” he said.

There was no word from CM Kumar, who had snapped ties with BJP in August 2022 and joined hands with the RJD-led alliance in the state for form his next government.

Kumar began the day by flagging off a number of new fire brigade engines at Patna’s veterinary college ground, where he had addressed a big party rally earlier this week, and followed it up with a visit to Buxar for inauguration of a beautification project of a renowned temple, a project of the tourism department that is held by his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, who skipped the event.

The attendees included senior BJP leader and Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, who is the local MP and a known critic of Nitish Kumar.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said his party chief Mallikarjun Kharge has been trying to speak to Nitish Kumar and his office has responded. “But the two are unable to connect due to their preoccupations,” he said.

RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal), meanwhile, held a two-hour meeting of its legislators on Saturday at the residence of former chief minister Rabri Devi in Patna and authorised Lalu Prasad to take all decisions regarding the party’s future course of action.

“There were discussions on the current political situation in the state and the country. All MLAs have authorised the RJD chief to take any decision in the context of the evolving political situation in the state,” RJD’s national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Manoj Jha told the waiting reporters after the meeting.

Jha, however, made it clear that his party would not pull the plug on the Nitish Kumar government. “Chief minister Nitish Kumar, RJD chief Lalu Prasad and deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav have nursed this government. We have given so much of employment and worked in health and all other sectors. Why should we bring down our own government? We have immense respect for CM Kumar,” he said.

The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) also held a meeting of its leaders in Bihar, which was chaired by party’s state in-charge Vinod Tawde.

“We have come here to deliberate on the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The current situation in Bihar will also be taken up for discussion,” state BJP president Samrat Choudhary told reporters as he arrived at the party office, the venue of the meeting.

Senior party leaders said another meeting of legislators would take place on Sunday morning.

JD-U has also called a meeting of its legislators on Sunday. MLC and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar, who has so far been defending the RJD over land-for-job case, attacked the party. “RJD leadership is restless, and the reason for the restlessness is clear. Those who took land for giving jobs are restless as they could not have any say in appointment and posting of over 2.5 lakh teachers,” said Neeraj Kumar, a close aide of the chief minister.

For its part, the Congress , a constituent of the alliance government with 19 MLAs, remained busy in Purnea, preparing for the Bharat Jodo Yatra of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who will reach the bordering district of Kishanganj on January 29 from Siliguri in West Bengal. His rally is scheduled in Purnea for January 30.

Bihar Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh, who is camping in Purnea , shot down speculation of some party MLAs switching over to JD-U.

He said a meeting for reviewing the preparations for Gandhi’s programme in Purnea will be attended by party MLAs on Sunday. “Some MLAs have already come and the rest are on the way,” he said.

Smaller players like former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM(S), which has four members in the 243-member Bihar assembly, and Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas), which has none, were also seen busy doing their calculations.

Manjhi, who has been boasting over the likely change in the government, went into a huddle with his party MLAs amid reports that they have been approached by RJD.

After meeting his MLAs, Manjhi made it clear they were with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Paswan, who met union minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda in New Delhi, said, “It was important to know what is happening in Bihar today. On this issue, I met Amit Shah and JP Nadda today and expressed my concerns before them over Bihar. They have given me assurance on various issues. In the coming days, the situation will become more clear, and after that, our party will take a stand. We are a part of NDA today.”

In the Bihar assembly, RJD is the largest party with 79 members, followed by BJP (78) and JD-U (45).

There was no comment by the Left parties, which together have 16 members in the House.

Bihar has 40 Lok Sabha seats. In the 2019 parliamentary polls, BJP and JD-U had fought as allies and won 17 and 16, respectively. The undivided LJP had won six seats as part of the same alliance.

Congress had won one (Kishanganj) while RJD drew a blank.