Bihar Political Crisis: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may once again switch sides and go with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), sources have said. The ruling Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance comprising JD(U), RJD and Congress) appeared to be on tenterhooks amid strong indications that Nitish may do yet another volte-face and return to NDA.
If Nitish Kumar dumps Lalu Yadav's RJD then it will come as a big jolt for the I.N.D.I.A bloc's unity as well, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Speculations are rife that all is not well in the Mahagathbandhan especially after yesterday's episode when Lalu Yadav's daughter Rohini Acharya put out a series of tweets targeting the chief minister after his remarks on dynasty politics.
The trouble was out in the open when Kumar attended the high tea ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan on the occasion of the Republic Day but his deputy Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD skipped the function.
Kumar was seen exchanging pleasantries with other visitors, including BJP’s Vijay Kumar Sinha, who is also the leader of the opposition in the state assembly.
Emerging from the function, Kumar curtly told reporters that it was for Yadav and other leaders of the RJD, including Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary, to comment on why they skipped the function. The only notable attendee from the party was state Education Minister Alok Mehta.
Neither Mehta nor any other leader of the RJD commented on the absence of Yadav, who is said to have gone into a huddle with close leaders of the party at his residence to chalk out a strategy to thwart the loss of power in the event of Kumar deciding to call off the alliance.
RJD national spokesman and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha, who interacted with journalists, said "there is a lot of confusion which is not in the interest of the people of the state. Only the Chief Minister can put an end to the confusion. We hope he will do so by this evening itself”.
When asked about Jha's remarks, JD (U) chief spokesperson in the state, Neeraj Kumar shot back "our leader is in the Chief Minister’s residence as the leader of the Mahagathbandhan. There should be no scope for confusion. But if some people still choose to remain in confusion, we cannot help it”.
State JD(U) president Umesh Singh Kushwaha also refuted reports.
"All is well in Bihar's ruling Mahagathbandhan and the media speculations are driven by some agenda," Kushwaha told reporters.
He also said, "I met the CM yesterday as well as today. It is a routine affair. There is no truth in the rumours doing the rounds. We also reject the rumours that party MLAs have been asked to rush to Patna".
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