The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) faced another jolt in Bihar on March 1, when its MLA Bharat Bind from the Bhabhua Assembly seat changed sides and sat with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) MLAs on the last day of the Bihar Assembly session.
The development took place on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bihar on March 2, when he is due to address two public meetings in Aurangabad and Begusarai districts.
With this, a total of seven MLAs of the RJD-led Opposition Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) have switched sides so far, including five from the RJD and two from the Congress.
Crucial defections
Three RJD MLAs — Chetan Anand, Neelam Devi and Prahalad Yadav — switched sides on February 12, the day of the trust vote. On February 27, two Congress MLAs, Murari Gautam and Siddhrath Saurabh, along with RJD MLA Sangita Kumari had refused to sit in their allotted seats in the Assembly and sat along with NDA legislators.
Three of the defections are especially significant in the run-up to the Lok Sabha election. Mr. Gautam represents the Chenari Assembly seat, Ms. Kumari represents Mohania, and Mr. Bind was elected from Bhabhua; all three seats held by these renegade MLAs fall under the Sasaram Lok Sabha constituency presently represented by the BJP’s Chhedi Paswan.
Changing loyalties
Mr. Bind, who reached the Assembly on Friday along with BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, hails from the Extremely Backward Class (EBC) and his exit from the grand alliance is a big setback for the RJD ahead of the general election.
A resident of Silau village in Bhabhua district, he first entered politics in 2010 by contesting the district council polls. He contested the 2015 Assembly election on a Bahujan Samaj Party ticket, but faced defeat. Ahead of the 2020 Assembly polls, he joined the RJD and was inducted into the party by former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav.
Asked about changing sides again, Mr. Bind said that he was impressed with the work of the BJP.
‘Will switch for LS ticket’
Soon after this development, another Congress MLA Neetu Singh, who represents the Hisua Assembly seat in Nawada district said she would switch sides too for the price of a Lok Sabha ticket. “If the BJP will give me a Lok Sabha ticket from Nawada, I will surely go with them. I have asked for a Lok Sabha ticket from the Congress party as well, but the party is always giving tickets to the outsiders,” Ms. Singh said.
Asked about the changing loyalties of RJD legislators, Rambriksh Sada, the RJD MLA from Alouli, accused them being seduced by the BJP’s lucrative offers. “These MLAs won the election after people voted for the lalten [the hurricane lamp symbol of the RJD], but now they are leaving the party because the BJP has given them a lucrative offer. The party is not weakened by such a move and people are still standing with Tejashwi Yadav,” Mr. Sada said.
