Tejashwi Yadav fumes over question of Nitish’s return to Mahagathbandhan

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav dismissed any possibility of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar rejoining the opposition Mahagathbandhan. He said there was no offer for him and the alliance is now focused only on the upcoming assembly elections. Yadav, who has been leading protests against the non-implementation of 65% reservation for OBCs, EBCs, Dalits and Adivasis in Bihar, lost his temper when asked if Nitish Kumar would be welcomed back. “Who gives you these ideas? Why would we welcome him? There is no offer, don’t talk nonsense. No one except Lalu (Yadav) ji and me is authorised to give any offer, and no offer will be given,” Tejashwi Yadav fumed. Rumours of a behind-the-scenes nexus between the JD(U) and RJD have been doing the rounds against the backdrop of Kumar’s ups and downs in the political corridors. Kumar, once a staunch political rival of RJD founder Lalu Yadav, forged an alliance with the RJD in the 2015 state elections and the alliance won a landslide victory. Two years after the election, Kumar walked out of the alliance and joined hands with the BJP to return as chief minister. The JDU and BJP fought the 2020 elections in alliance, but Kumar again switched sides two years later and returned to the opposition camp. In 2024, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the JDU chief made his latest change and returned to the NDA. The BJP supported him when he was sworn in for the ninth time. The last few days have seen a sharp exchange of words between Kumar and Yadav. JDU national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha has responded to RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s statement. He said Nitish Kumar rejected the agreement in view of the conduct of that party (RJD) in the state government. You saw the results of the Lok Sabha elections, by-elections and it is very clear what is going to happen in 2025 (Bihar assembly elections). There is no alternative other than that alliance. Chirag Paswan said that a double engine government is running under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi at the national level and Nitish Kumar at the state level. Today the public believes that this is the alliance that can make Bihar a developed state.