Cong MLA for Nitish in GA, RJD opposes
PATNA: A senior Congress legislator’s statement that efforts should be made to bring back Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar into the Grand Alliance (GA) to defeat the BJP in next year’s general elections hasn’t gone down well with the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Senior Congress leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan on Friday said Nitish Kumar was a big leader and efforts should be made to bring his Janata Dal (United) and all like-minded secular parties under one umbrella.
Khan slammed RJD’S Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, saying he “should not have said that the doors are shut for Nitish”.
“If doors can remain open for NDA allies Hindustani Awam Morcha-secular (HAM-S) leader Jitan Ram Manjhi and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) leader Upendra Kushwaha, why should it remain closed for Nitish?” asked Khan, secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and the party’s West Bengal incharge.
“If Nitish Kumar leaves the BJP and joins the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), it will only add to the opposition strength,” he said, adding that the Congress leadership was in touch with RJD chief Lalu Prasad for forging a national-level alliance with an eye on the 2019 polls.
Ahmad’s statement drew sharp reactions from the RJD, whose leaders cited its seniority — by vote share and seats — in the GA in Bihar to assert its right to decide on alliance matters.
“Our leader, Tejashwi has already cleared party’s stand on Nitish,” said RJD’S national vicepresident Shivanand Tiwary.
“Tejashwi is our leader and he is our chief ministerial candidate for 2020 elections. He is the one authorised to take all decisions of the party. The Congress can take a call on alliance issues at the national level.”
Speculation about Nitish’s return to the GA, which routed the Bjp-led NDA in the 2015 Bihar assembly polls, took off after the CM called on a conva- lescing Lalu Prasad to enquire about his health. Sources in the RJD said Nitish’s flip flop in the last few years — by first snapping ties with the BJP to join the GA, and then breaking ranks to realign with the saffron party in July 2017 — had made him untrustworthy.
Party insiders said RJD brass was toying with the idea of going alone in the LS polls if the Congress insisted on Nitish’s return. However, Tejashwi’s close relationship with Congress president Rahul Gandhi could help break ice, they said.
“The Congress is a small force in the state and it should understand the poll dynamics,” said a senior RJD leader close to Lalu.
He said the RJD having remained intact despite Lalu’s incarceration was another example of how Tejashwi had emerged as the leader of the party.