New Delhi: Janata Dal (United)’s political adviser and spokesperson K C Tyagi on Saturday said that the grand alliance government in Bihar is close to falling apart and blamed a section of the Congress leadership of repeatedly “insulting” Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. “The INDIA bloc is close to collapsing. The alliance of INDIA bloc parties is almost over in Punjab, West Bengal and Bihar,” he told reporters.
Tyagi said that the aim and purpose with which Kumar, the JD(U) president, managed to bring non-Congress parties with the Congress have failed, and claimed that their leader was “misunderstood”. He said that Kumar never sought a position in the alliance but a section of the Congress leadership constantly insulted him. Tyagi said he could not see how the INDIA bloc parties could challenge the “all-powerful” BJP.
The Bihar chief minister succeeded in bringing together several parties in Patna but the whole process became so weak that the INDIA bloc has had no joint meetings on leadership and agenda even though the Lok Sabha elections are near.
BJP Hints At Supporting Nitish Kumar, Slams Congress
Amid signs of a turmoil in Bihar that may bring the BJP back to power, its state in-charge Vinod Tawde on Saturday held the Congress responsible for the impending “break up” of Nitish Kumar, the JD(U) president, with the opposition India bloc. Tawde, who is here to attend a party meeting scheduled later in the day, however, did not reveal his cards when asked if the BJP will help Kumar form a new government.
“A meeting of our MPs and state legislators is scheduled to discuss about the Lok Sabha polls”, said the BJP leader. He, however, said, “We wonder if Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ has become an INDIA alliance todo (break up) Yatra. It has caused Mamata Banerjee to break up. Now the same is being done to Nitish”. He, however, refused to take further questions on the political situation in Bihar.
Currently, Nitish Kumar-led JD-U has 45 MLAs, BJP has 78 MLAs and HAMS have four MLAs totaling 127 for NDA. On the other hand, RJD has 79 MLAs, Congress has 19 and Left parties have 16 MLAs totaling 114 in the Mahagathbandhan. The magic number to form the government in Bihar is 122 and Mahagathbandhan needed just eight more MLA to form the government.