The opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Bihar on Thursday said it is ready for another reshuffle with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar if the JD(U) president shows willingness to break ties with the BJP, which represents “communal forces”. RJD president Lalu Prasad’s close aide and MLA Bhai Birendra made the comments while replying to questions from reporters in Khagaria district.
“Bihar has witnessed many political games and such games can be played in future”, remarked the MLA, when asked if he saw the possibility of “games” due to the tension between JD(U). BJP.
Probing further, brother Virendra said, “Politics is all about possibilities. If Nitish Kumar gets fed up with communal forces and decides he has had enough of the BJP, we will decide (on an alliance with JD(U)).”
In the state capital, RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari echoed similar sentiments.
“What’s the big deal? BJP struck a deal with Nitish Kumar a year ago, not long after Amit Shah declared the door closed on him. At least our leaders have not resorted to such empty rhetoric. Let the situation unfold and decisions will be taken accordingly,” he said.
Shah’s stance creates ripples
The opposition party’s attempt to fish in troubled waters comes against the backdrop of an cryptic stance taken by Shah, who did not categorically rule out that the NDA in Bihar would not repeat the strategy adopted in Maharashtra recently, where the BJP-led alliance had gone. To elect without a face.
Leaders of the JD(U), which shares power with the BJP at the Centre, have also refrained from directly addressing the issue with their ally, but there have been subtle displays of displeasure. A recently released poster on the party’s X handle was captioned: “Jab Bihar Ki Baat Ho Ko Naam Sirp Nitish Kumar Ka Ho”.
BJP leaders in Bihar, on their part, are at pains to play down the confusion, claiming that Kumar will “lead” the NDA in the 2025 assembly elections.
On Wednesday, Union Minister Giriraj Singh, earlier seen as a critic of Kumar, praised the JD(U) supremo and said the latter deserved the “Bharat Ratna”.
However, at the same time, a slip up by Vijay Kumar Sinha, one of the two Deputy Chief Ministers, added new grist to the mill.
Addressing a program organized on the birth anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sinha said the former prime minister’s dream would come true “only after the BJP forms its own government” in Bihar.
JD(U) leaders have so far refrained from expressing displeasure over the statement.
BJP sources, requesting anonymity, said too much should not be read into Sinha’s statement, “who has never said that the party wants to form its own government in Bihar in 2025”.
Meanwhile, RJD sources also claimed that the choice of “obviously pro-BJP” Arif Mohammad Khan as the new governor of Bihar has also not gone down well with a section of JD(U) leaders.
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