Senior BJP leader and Bihar health minister Mangal Pandey says many members of the Congress and RJD feel stifled and were mulling to switch over
The political temperature in Bihar is rising with murmurs of dissent in leaders from both NDA and UPA camps.
Talks of split in both factions gained momentum, especially after conviction of RJD President Lalu Prasad Yadav, one of the key players in Bihar politics.
A section of the Congress leaders in Bihar have openly digressed from the party lines on several issues, indicating a widening rift between its factions. Congress MLC Ram Chandra Bharti not only participated in the January 21 anti-dowry human chain on CM Nitish Kumar's call, he also questioned his party's decision to side with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on this issue. Both the Congress and the RJD had distanced itself from the human chain.
Earlier, on Makar Sankranti, ex-president of Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee Ashok Choudhary participated in a feast hosted by the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) state chief Bashishtha Narayan Singh. Though Choudhary maintained that his participation was purely due his personal relationship with Singh, it sent ripples in the political circles in the state. "We know that Rajya Sabha polls are at hand and all legislators need to be kept together if the RJD-Congress combine hope to win three of the six seats coming up for election," said a Bihar Congress leader.
Senior BJP leader and Bihar health minister Mangal Pandey said many members of the Congress and RJD feel stifled and were mulling to switch over. However, the defections may not be one sided, as claimed by the Congress leader in his counter-attack.
Of late, ex-Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S) has shown a soft corner towards RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav. HAM-S leader Brishen Patel called on incarcerated Lalu in Ranchi fuelling talks of a split in the NDA. Patel said Lalu was also one of his old leaders and he had come to know about his well-being. It is also known that Manjhi too shares good terms with the RJD president. Besides the RJD, Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha (RLSP) too had expressed sympathy towards Lalu and family over the ongoing cases against them.
POLITICAL SCENE IN BIHAR
- Earlier, on Makar Sankranti, ex-president of Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee Ashok Choudhary participated in a feast hosted by the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) state chief Bashishtha Narayan Singh.
- Senior BJP leader and Bihar health minister Mangal Pandey said many members of the Congress and RJD feel stifled and were mulling to switch over. However, the defections may not be one sided, as claimed by the Congress leader in his counter-attack, as both camps in Bihar were dissatisfied.
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