Senior BJP leader from Bihar and Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Saturday claimed that the ruling Janata Dal (United) would soon be merged with coalition partner Rashtriya Janata Dal which was promptly denied by RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his younger son Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav. Mr. Singh recently had a mid-air meeting Mr. Prasad and Mr. Yadav while coming back to Patna from Delhi on a flight.
“I share personal equations with Lalu ji. He whispered many things in my ear during our meeting in a flight to Patna but I cannot disclose them in public. But, let me tell you that JD(U) is going to be merged with RJD soon,” Mr. Singh, who is BJP MP from Begusarai, told media persons after he arrived in Patna on December 21.
When asked about seat-sharing arrangements between Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections by January 2024, Mr. Singh said: “The question of seat sharing doesn’t arise when JD(U) will merge with RJD”.
Mr. Singh, Mr. Prasad and Mr. Yadav had a mid-air meeting on the flight after the RJD leaders were returning to the State capital upon attending the fourth INDIA meeting in New Delhi on December 19. Mr. Singh was heading back home after the Winter Session of Parliament concluded a day ahead of schedule.
“Mr. Singh likes to make outrageous statements in a desperate bid to hog limelight. Who would have paid any attention to him had he not said such outlandish things?” asked the RJD chief.
Deputy CM Yadav too chipped in: “Mr. Singh only asked my father [Lalu Prasad] when he would invite him over mutton [a dish to eat]?” and my father replied, “For this, I would have to invite you for the jhatka meat [slaughtered by a single blow of the blade]”.
“He [Giriraj Singh] also looked perturbed as he was not sure of getting ticket as, he said, only two persons are taking decisions in his party [BJP] these days. Other leaders have no say,” claimed Mr. Yadav while speaking to media persons in Patna on December 22.
Responding to this, Mr. Singh later said: “Yes, I’m looking forward for a feast of mutton along with Laluji and I’ll ensure that he like me too eats jhatka meat”. The BJP leader is known for being fond of eating mutton delicacies.
Meanwhile, Mr. Singh’s “merger” prediction of JD(U) into RJD “soon” has got credence in Bihar’s political circle after the buzz that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar might be replacing his party president Rajeev Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh during JD(U)’s upcoming national executive meeting on December 29 in New Delhi.
“The growing proximity of Lalan Singh with the RJD top brass is not a news for anyone in Bihar’s politics. And it may have alerted Nitish Kumar for any such development in his party. Of late, both RJD leaders and Mr. Kumar have not been even sharing dais for any event or government functions in Patna. There must be something serious is going on inside both the parties,” a senior RJD leader, preferring anonymity, told The Hindu.
However, JD(U) president Lalan Singh strongly dismissed all the political talk. “Let us not discuss Giriraj Singh as he is a TRP monger and he keeps saying all these bunkum things to trigger political speculation,” Mr. Singh said. But the RJD leader admitted, “In case JD(U) merges with RJD and Tejashwi Yadav becomes Chief Minister of the State, then what would senior JD(U) leaders like Lalan Singh do?”
“He [Mr. Singh] is only looking after his political future and the buzz is, he wants to be the Deputy Chief Minister in such a speculative political scenario,” the RJD leader said.
