Disgruntled with JDU, Shivanand Tiwari may move to RJD
Tiwari has been peeved with Nitish Kumar’s decision not to nominate him to the Rajya Sabha again.
Senior Janata Dal (United) leader and outgoing Rajya Sabha MP Shivanand Tiwari, who was expelled from the party, is considering a return to Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal.
According to sources, he is holding discussions with RJD leaders and may take a final decision soon. Although he had praised the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi recently, he is unlikely to join the BJP, the sources said.
Tiwari refused to comment on his future course of action, but he came down heavily on Nitish Kumar. “If he can re-nominate ‘King Mahendra’ ( Mahendra Prasad), why not me? I have done nothing against the interests of the party. Nitish Kumar has become autocratic. Elections are round the corner. The people of Bihar will say whether they want an autocrat or a democrat,” he said.
Bihar BJP spokesperson V.N. Jha said Tiwari has not approached the BJP and it is unlikely that he would do so. RJD Rajya Sabha MP Ram Kripal Yadav said, “It depends on what Tiwari decides. The party will decide should he approach us. We have nothing to say on the issue right now.”
Tiwari had been a close associate of Lalu and was also a minister in the RJD government. However, in 2006, he quit RJD to join JDU. The JDU nominated him for the Rajya Sabha. But of late, he became critical of Nitish Kumar and therefore Nitish did not re-nominate him last month. Tiwari also accused Nitish Kumar of “engineering” the recent split in RJD.
The JDU this week expelled five MPs, including Tiwari, for “anti-party” activities. Others who were expelled are Lok Sabha MPs Captain Jai Narain Nishad, Purnamasi Ram, Sushil Kumar Singh and Mangani Lal Mandal. Nishad, Ram and Singh are likely to join the BJP, while Mandal is likely to contest the coming Lok Sabha election on an RJD ticket.