Nitish Kumar Set to Remove RJD Ministers and Replace Them with BJP Representatives: Sources
Patna: Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, is reportedly planning to sack ministers from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and replace them with members from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), according to sources. This move comes as the BJP and Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) have finalized a seat-sharing agreement for the upcoming Lok Sabha election in three months.
Sources have revealed that all BJP MLAs in Bihar have already provided letters of support to Nitish Kumar. These recent developments indicate that the JD(U) chief, who joined the Mahagathbandhan or Grand Alliance in August 2022 after leaving the BJP, has reached a point of no return in his partnership with the RJD and the Congress in the alliance government.
Sources further state that Nitish Kumar, aged 72, is in direct talks with Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to iron out the finer details of this political maneuver. To solidify his position, the Bihar Chief Minister will host a lunch for JD(U) and BJP MLAs at his residence, after which the MLAs from both parties will present their letters of support to the Governor.
It is expected that Nitish Kumar will replace the dismissed RJD ministers with BJP representatives. Additionally, he is likely to have a significant say in the selection of a new Deputy Chief Minister, hinting at the possible departure of Nitish Kumar’s current deputy and Lalu Yadav’s son, Tejashwi Yadav.
Sources also suggest that Nitish Kumar may assume a prominent role at the national level in the future, possibly after 2025. Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who is a Rajya Sabha MP from the BJP, is reportedly Nitish Kumar’s preferred choice for the deputy position.
This Bihar crisis comes at a crucial time for the newly formed opposition bloc INDIA, as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab and Haryana, and the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal have declined to share seats with the Congress in the Lok Sabha election.
Nitish Kumar has been known for his political shifts, having switched between the BJP, Congress, and the RJD since 2013, earning him the nickname “Paltu Ram.” After parting ways with the BJP in 2022, he took the initiative to unite all opposition forces to collectively challenge Prime Minister Modi in this year’s general election.
According to sources close to the 72-year-old politician, the January 13 meeting of the INDIA alliance played a pivotal role. During the meeting, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury proposed Nitish Kumar as the convenor, a suggestion endorsed by almost all leaders present, including Lalu Yadav and Sharad Pawar. However, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi intervened, stating that a decision on this matter would have to wait as Trinamool Congress leader and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had reservations about Nitish Kumar’s suitability for the role.
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