Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday said the BJP was left with no allies in the Hindi heartland after JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar severed ties with the saffron party in Bihar.
“BJP crushes its allies. But now BJP is left with no allies in Hindi heartland. Together with Nitish Kumar ji, we will work in the interest of Bihar, nation, poor people and suppressed people,” Mr. Yadav told reporters outside the Raj Bhavan here.
Mr. Yadav, along with Mr. Kumar and leaders of other allied parties, had gone to the Raj Bhavan with a letter of support of 164 MLAs to meet Governor Phagu Chouhan to stake claim to form the next government in the State.
Of the 243 legislators in the Bihar Assembly, the RJD has 79, the JD(U) 45, the Congress 19, the Left parties 16, the Hindustani Awam Morcha four, and the AIMIM one. There is one Independent MLA. The BJP has 77 MLAs, while one post is vacant. Mr. Yadav is set to become the Deputy Chief Minister in the new government, while Mr. Kumar will take oath as the Chief Minister for the eighth time in the State.
Mr. Yadav was the Deputy Chief Minister in the 2015 Mahagathbandhan government too, before Mr. Kumar severed ties with the RJD and joined hands with the BJP in 2017.
“Today the real issues in the country are unemployment, inflation and poverty, and together we will try to tackle all these problems,” Mr. Yadav said.
The RJD leader also thanked Mr. Kumar for taking the decision to come out of the National Democratic Alliance in the State.
“I would like to thank Nitish Kumar ji for being a leader who takes such bold decisions. Our party leaders and workers did not want BJP to be allowed to put its agenda in Bihar,” he said.
He added that the BJP wanted to “end democracy from the place where it originated”.
On whether Mr. Kumar would be the PM candidate in 2024, Mr. Yadav said, “I will let Nitish ji answer this question”. However, both leaders threw smiles at the cameras before slipping away from the place.
