Bihar political churn: JDU, RJD to hold meetings on Aug 9; Nitish Kumar dials Sonia Gandhi

In a new twist in Bihar politics, sources told Republic TV that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar spoke to Congress president Sonia Gandhi amid the BJP-JDU rift. Meanwhile, JDU has called a meeting of all its MLAs, MLCs and MPs in Patna at 11 am on August 9 ostensibly to discuss the caste census issue. As RJD MLAs are also meeting on Tuesday at 9 am, speculation is rife about the possibility of JDU's return to the Mahagatbandhan. The friction between Nitish Kumar's party and BJP increased over the corruption allegations against former Union Minister RCP Singh.

After announcing his resignation from JDU on Sunday, Singh dubbed the party a sinking ship. Hitting back at him, JDU national president Lalan Singh alleged that another 'Chirag (Paswan) model' was being prepared to orchestrate the downfall of the party, and affirmed that all such attempts would be destroyed by the Bihar CM. RCP Singh quit the Union Cabinet on July 6 after being denied a Rajya Sabha berth by JDU owing to his perceived closeness to BJP. Escalating tensions in the ruling alliance, Lalan Singh also made it clear that JDU won't join the Union Council of Ministers. 

JDU-BJP rift

The 2020 Bihar Assembly election turned out to be a nail-biting contest with NDA emerging victorious in 125 seats as against the 110 seats won by the Mahagatbandhan. BJP, RJD, JDU, and Congress won 74, 75, 43, and 19 seats respectively. LJP is believed to have damaged JDU's prospects in 32 seats despite bagging a solitary seat. As BJP won more seats than JDU for the first time in a Bihar Assembly election, it was perceived that JDU's clout in the alliance diminished. The first sign of the BJP's assertion came to the fore when two of its 4-time MLAs Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi were sworn in as Deputy Chief Ministers.

In the past few months, BJP and JDU have been at loggerheads on a plethora of issues including the liquor ban, the Agnipath scheme and the law and order situation. In April, the rumours mills went abuzz after Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal indicated that his party could rethink its strategy of projecting Kumar as the CM face of NDA in the 2025 Assembly election. Moreover, the Bihar CM's presence at the Iftar party at Rabri Devi's residence was seen as a big signal. This speculation about a rift gained traction as JDU leaders refrained from slamming Lalu Prasad Yadav even as the RJD top brass was raided on May 20.