New Delhi: The defection of five Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) legislators to the ruling Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] four months ahead of the assembly elections in Bihar has come at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah have already sounded the poll bugle through virtual political rallies in Bihar.
Shah, in his virtual rally, had already announced that the BJP and the JD(U) coalition will win a two-thirds majority in the assembly elections, which are scheduled to be held in November. Although the Nitish Kumar-led government has faced widespread criticism for alleged poor handling of the migrant labour crisis during the coronavirus-induced lockdown, political observers say that the opposition’s response in the state has only been lacklustre.
Many senior RJD leaders, in private, have admitted to a leadership crisis within the party, which is currently being steered by Tejashwi Yadav in the absence of party chief Lalu Prasad – who is currently lodged in a Ranchi jail. The defections of the MLCs will surely work the political optics in favour of the ruling coalition.
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On Tuesday, five RJD members of the legislative council (MLCs) – Sanjay Prasad, Radha Charan Seth, Ranvijay Kumar Singh, S.M. Qamar Alam and Dilip Rai – submitted their resignation letters to the acting chairman of the state council Awadhesh Narain Singh. They requested him to be recognised as a separate group and allow them to be merged with the JD(U). As a result, the RJD’s strength came down to merely three in the 27-member legislative council. The development will force Rabri Devi to lose her status as the leader of opposition (LOP) in the council – the position can only be given to the leader of a party with at least 10% of the total number of seats.
The loss of Qamar Alam and Radha Charan Seth, both businessmen who are supposed to bring in big donations, is also being seen as a great financial loss for the RJD ahead of the elections.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar with the five RJD MLCs [Radha Charan Shah, Sanjay Prasad, Dilip Rai, Md Qamar Alam and Ranvijay Kumar Singh] who defected to the JD(U) in Patna, June 23, 2020. Photo: PTI
To add to the party’s woes, stalwart party leader and former parliamentarian par excellence Raghuvansh Prasad Singh also resigned as the party’s national vice-president in protest on Tuesday. The veteran politician has been miffed over reports of his rival Rama Kishore Singh, who as a National Democratic Alliance candidate had defeated him in the 2014 general elections, joining the RJD. Rama Kishore had defeated Raghuvansh Prasad by over one lakh votes in his bastion Vaishali and has several criminal cases against him.
After his defeat, Raghuvansh Prasad had pointed out to the Election Commission of India that his rival had hidden a kidnapping case that was registered in Chhattisgarh. Rama Kishore was then imprisoned for almost three years in Chhattisgarh. Political observers in the state believe that the RJD is attempting to draw the Rajput caste group’s support ahead of the assembly elections. Reportedly, the community has been aggrieved by the “neglect” it has faced from the Nitish government. By getting Rama Kishore, a Rajput just like Raghuvansh Prasad, and other Rajput leaders to join, RJD hopes to strike a Muslim-Yadav-Rajput social coalition in its favour.
However, veterans like Raghuvansh Prasad, a close aide of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, and many others felt that the move would also sully the image of the party and that it may deal a heavy blow to the RJD’s prospects in an era of politics when perception is a strong electoral factor.
In any case, the defections and rebellion by the senior leader have clearly shown that Tejashwi Yadav may be struggling to keep his own house in order. A senior journalist based in Patna told The Wire that discontent regarding Tejashwi’s leadership has been brewing within the party for too long now. “The defections only prove that the speculation regarding discontent is correct,” he said.
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A senior RJD leader told The Print that many MLAs have been complaining about Tejashwi being inaccessible. “Out of the 80 MLAs, more than 60 have no access to Tejashwi. Whenever he calls a meeting of legislators, many fail to attend it. He has made changes in [the] party structure, leading to more dissent from those who were dropped. There is a sinking feeling within the party,” said an RJD MLA who also projected that around 15 MLAs may leave the party in the run-up to the polls.
Leaders like Upendra Khushwaha and Jitna Ram Manjhi, both from parties in the opposition alliance, have already been making noises against Tejashwi, and are reportedly against any move to declare him as the chief ministerial candidate.
Tejashwi Yadav. Photo: PTI
War of words begins
Meanwhile, the war of words between the ruling coalition and the RJD has already started, giving a fillip to competitive politics ahead of the elections. Tejashwi attacked the JD(U) for engineering defections in rival parties. “Since elections are coming, leaders from one party will switch over to another party…but, this has also exposed that the JD(U) has no vote bank of its own and it throws all kinds of allurement to other party leaders to remain in power,” he said.
“The desertion will not have any effect on assembly polls. Legislators come and go before assembly polls. But these MLCs have been taken away on the strength of money and power. It is for all parties to worry,” the state RJD chief Jagdanand Singh remarked.
Speaking to The Wire, RJD spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha said, “The defections reflect the health of Indian democracy. We have seen multiple instances where legislators switch over to the BJP and its partners ahead of elections.”
Other RJD leaders attacked Nitish for allegedly neglecting the COVID-19 pandemic and prioritising partisan concerns in the state.
Senior JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh, while welcoming the RJD MLCs, said the legislators have now attained “freedom” from Lalu and his family. In a way, he indicated that the ruling coalition would make dynasty politics an important issue to target Tejashwi in the assembly elections. Chief minister Nitish Kumar also welcomed the MLCs.
The defections may not affect the voting pattern, which is largely dependent on which party strikes a better social coalition, but they surely mirror the RJD’s inability to hold its flock together. “Lalu Prasad’s absence is being sorely felt in the party. Had he been in the thick of things, such things may not have happened. The party needs to urgently quell discontent among its leaders to fight the elections seriously. It can’t afford to lose its experienced senior leaders anymore,” the senior journalist quoted above said.
