Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) legislators on January 27 authorised their chief Lalu Prasad Yadav to take a final call amid the buzz that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led JD (U) might ditch his Mahagathbandhan partners to form a government with its earlier ally BJP.
According to RJD sources, Mr. Prasad has asked the MLAs not to lose hope as the “game is not over yet”. He told the MLAs not to reveal the party’s strategy till “Mr. Kumar makes his next move”.
The RJD’s over two-hour-long meeting was held at the official residence of State Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, the son of Mr. Prasad, who was also present on the occasion.
The Mahagathbandhan is a coalition of various parties, including the RJD, Congress and the Left, and had formed the government after the JD (U) snapped its ties with the BJP last year.
At the meeting, the Deputy Chief Minister said Mr. Kumar is not controlling everything and people around him are the one who are calling the shots. He, however, said Mr. Kumar will remain a “respectable person” for him.
Several RJD MLAs slammed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar by calling him an “opportunist”. However, Mr. Yadav asked them not to issue such statements to the media because the “message should not get out to the public that the RJD is responsible for the breaking of ties with JD-(U)”.
Meanwhile, JD (U) MLC Neeraj Kumar accused the RJD of corruption.
“The leadership of RJD is restless because the party has the habit of taking land in return for jobs. However, in the leadership of Nitish Kumar ji, around 2.15 lakh jobs were given and the RJD could not extort money in the appointment and posting of teachers,” he said.
Now, all eyes are set on the January 28 legislative party meeting of the JD (U), which will be held at the official residence of the CM’s residence at 10 a.m..
On other hand, the BJP also convened its legislature party meeting at the its headquarters here, which lasted for three hours.
The BJP also convened its core committee meeting. However, BJP leaders refused to share details of the meeting.
The Bihar Congress postponed its legislative party meeting for tomorrow. It was supposed to be held in Purnea today.
Meanwhile, sources said the RJD is making efforts to bring Hindustani Awam Morcha Secular (HAMS) patron and former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi to their fold.
Mr. Manjhi has four MLAs and presently supports the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Senior BJP leader Nityanand Rai had gone to meet him on Friday, followed by a visit by State BJP president Samrat Choudhary at his official residence on Saturday.
A source said the RJD chief has given Mr. Manjhi and his son Santosh Suman a “big offer” if the HAMS chief helps wade through the political crisis.
His support may prove crucial as the Mahagathbandhan currently has 114 MLAs, excluding 44 MLAs of the JD (U).
At present the RJD has 79 members in the 243-member Bihar Assembly, the Congress 19, CPI (MLS)12, CMP 2 and CPI 2.
If HAMS supports the Mahagathbandhan, then its number will go up to 118, just four short of the majority mark to form the government.
The RJD is also counting on the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which has one MLA in the State Assembly.
