Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
Patna, Oct 10 (IANS) Amid the ongoing confusion over seat sharing within the NDA, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s party, the Janata Dal-United (JD-U), suffered a major blow on Friday when several prominent leaders, including a former MP, a former MLA and the son of a sitting MP, joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Patna.
Former MP Santosh Kushwaha, who had contested from Purnia and lost to Pappu Yadav, formally joined the RJD in the presence of Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav.
Along with him, former JDU MLA from Jehanabad Rahul Sharma and sitting JDU MP from Banka Girdhari Yadav’s son Chanakya Prakash also switched to RJD.
Rahul Sharma, son of former MP Jagdish Sharma, comes from the Bhumihar community.
Political observers believe that his joining could strengthen the RJD’s hold in several Bhumihar-dominated constituencies, which have long been considered JD-U strongholds.
The induction ceremony took place at the RJD office in Patna, which was attended by senior party leaders including Abdul Bari Siddiqui, Jehanabad MP Surendra Singh and Bima Bharti.
On this occasion, Tejashwi Yadav made a scathing attack on Nitish Kumar and alleged that his government is controlled by three and a half people who are weakening him politically.
“This is Nitish Kumar’s last election. He will not become the Chief Minister again. BJP will destroy his party. During Operation Lotus in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, he tried to break JDU in Bihar in 2022. Out of fear, Nitish Kumar came to me and asked for help to save his party. We supported him and made him the Chief Minister, but he betrayed us again,” Tejashwi Yadav claimed.
Welcoming the new entrants, Yadav said: “Santosh Kushwaha is a prominent leader of the Kushwaha community. With his joining, the RJD will become stronger in the Seemanchal region, where earlier our influence was limited.”
The development is being seen as a significant political blow to the JD-U ahead of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, highlighting the internal unrest within the NDA alliance.
–IANS
AJK/PGH