According to sources, it is anticipated that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will tender his resignation on Saturday, along with several Congress MLAs, amidst the ongoing political unrest in the state.
There is widespread speculation about Nitish Kumar’s potential departure from the Mahagathbandhan government, a coalition led by Lalu Yadav’s RJD, and his subsequent return to the BJP-led NDA. Earlier reports suggested that Nitish Kumar might assume office as the Chief Minister of the JD(U)-BJP alliance on Sunday, with BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi resuming his role as the deputy.
BJP veteran Sushil Modi commented on the political situation in Bihar, stating that closed doors can open and politics is a game of possibilities. However, he declined to provide further details on the matter.
The strained relationship between JD(U) and RJD reached its peak when Lalu Yadav’s daughter, Rohini Acharya, criticized Nitish Kumar for his ‘dynasty politics’ remark on January 25. Acharya has since deleted her cryptic tweets.
In the meantime, the Bihar BJP’s extended working committee and the RJD have scheduled meetings in Patna on Saturday at 4 pm and 1 pm, respectively. The RJD meeting will be held at Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav’s official residence.
All BJP MPs and MLAs have been instructed to attend today’s meeting, where the party’s national general secretary and Bihar in-charge Vinod Tawde will also be present.
Nitish Kumar’s potential return to the BJP-led NDA would be a blow to the opposition-headed INDIA alliance, as he is a key member. In an exclusive interview with India Today TV, Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav stated that if Nitish Kumar had stayed with the INDIA bloc, he could have become the Prime Minister.
Akhilesh Yadav also criticized the Congress for not showing enough enthusiasm and not stepping forward to keep the INDIA bloc members satisfied.
Unsuccessful seat-sharing negotiations have caused a division within the INDIA bloc, with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister recently announcing that her party will contest the Lok Sabha polls in the state independently. She cited the failure of seat-sharing discussions as the reason.
Even the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has ruled out an alliance with the Congress in Punjab, with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann asserting that the party will win all 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Sources suggest that Nitish Kumar is also disappointed with the INDIA bloc due to the failed seat-sharing talks.