Nitish joins NDA, Sharad Yadav says voters betrayed
Rival factions of the party hold parallel meetings, supporters clash as fissures deepen
PATNA: The Janata Dal (United) led by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar embraced the National Democratic Alliance at the Centre on Saturday, widening fissures within the party as leaders opposed to the tie-up called the move a betrayal of voters.
The formal decision paved the way for the party to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet, four years after it walked out of the BJP-led NDA.
A resolution to rejoin the NDA was unanimously adopted at the party’s national executive meeting at Kumar’s home.
“The decision was taken following a request by BJP national president Amit Shah,” said JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi.
But several leaders, including former party president Sharad Yadav, are unhappy with Kumar’s “unilateral” decision to break off from the alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Daland Congress to patch up with the BJP on July 26. The Yadav faction held a parallel meeting named Jan Adalat at SK Memorial hall in the state capital. The party’s founding member, who was removed as JD(U)’s Rajya Sabha leader, said the party was his and that the “grand alliance” with the R JD and Congress in Bihar is intact.
“We promised to continue this alliance for at least five years. The public gave us an opportunity … I am not happy with the alliance breaking,” he said. His group is understood to have plans to approach the Election Commission to stake claim to the party’s “arrow” poll symbol.
“I formed the party and some people are telling me that this is not my home. People are raising questions over my intention. I wanted to attend JD(U)’s national executive but they didn’t allow me to participate and said that I don’t belong to their party,” he said.
Yadav’s remarks and action are seen as mutiny against Kumar’s leadership and he might be suspended from the party’ s primarymembership if he attend san RJD rally on August 27.
Tyagi said the party does not plan to take any action against Yadav, at least for now.
“But by deciding to attend the RJD rally, he will not only lose his stature and lifeline in the party but will also cross the Laxman rekha,” he warned.
Also, he reaffirmed that the party in united and alleged that rumours were being spread about fissures. “Where is the split? 16 state presidents of the party attended the national executive meeting, despite the claim that the rival group had support in 14 out of 22 states where JD(U) has units. All 71 MLAs and 30 MLCs were there, so where is the split?” he asked.