PATNA: Amid the political upheaval in Bihar over speculation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar likely breaking the mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) and reuniting with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), all the parties in the state are corralling their lawmakers for meetings over the weekend. The BJP has called its state executive meeting on Saturday and Sunday. Bihar Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan has also called a meeting of party MLAs and former legislators in Purnea at 2 pm on Saturday. RJD leader and Kumar’s deputy Tejashwi Yadav is also reportedly meeting close leaders of the party at his residence to chalk out a strategy to thwart the loss of power in the event of the JD(U) leader deciding to call off the alliance.
The ruling Mahagathbandhan in Bihar appeared to be on tenterhooks after JD(U) president Nitish Kumar on Friday gave a strong indication that may do yet another volte-face and return to the BJP-led NDA. The trouble was out in the open when Kumar attended the high tea ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan in Patna 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.
What’s Happening In Bihar?
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.
History Of Nitish Kumar Switching Sides
Kumar had joined hands with RJD, founded by his former arch-rival Lalu Prasad, in August 2022 after he severed ties with the BJP which he accused of having tried to engineer a split in the JD(U).
The longest-serving CM of Bihar, thereafter, embarked upon a drive to bring together all parties, across the country, to take on the BJP that culminated in the formation of the opposition bloc INDIA. Over the past two decades, Kumar has frequently switched alliances between the BJP and the RJD-Congress-Left coalition while retaining his position in office.
