Patna, March 5 (ABN) Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) national general secretary Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said on Thursday that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been hijacked by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Reacting to Mr. Kumar's decision to call a Rajya Sabha session, Mr. Yadav said that Mr. Kumar has got a mandate for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections. He further said that forming a new government with any other leader would be a blatant violation of the people's sentiments and mandate. He said that his party has been saying during and before the Assembly elections that the BJP is using Mr. Kumar for its electoral benefits. He said that it was already anticipated that the BJP, like it removed Eknath Shinde from the Chief Minister's post in Maharashtra, would not let Mr. Kumar remain the Chief Minister of Bihar for long.
The RJD leader said that he got the opportunity to serve as Deputy Chief Minister in the Grand Alliance government led by him twice in 2015 and 2022. He further said that his tenure as Deputy Chief Minister was only one and a half years each time. He said that Chief Minister Kumar gave him a full opportunity to serve as Deputy Chief Minister on both occasions. He said that the people of Bihar are aware of the ill-treatment meted out to Chief Minister Kumar by the BJP. He alleged that the BJP is constantly harassing Mr. Kumar.
Mr. Yadav said that the BJP has a habit of politically finishing off its allies. He said that the BJP has finished off the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in Tamil Nadu, although both parties were its allies in these states. He said that he prays for the good health and long life of Chief Minister Mr. Kumar. He said that his full sympathy is with Mr. Kumar at this time.
Meanwhile, the RJD has nominated its current Rajya Sabha member Amrendra Dhari Singh as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections. Mr. Singh filed his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha elections today in the presence of Mr. Yadav and other senior RJD leaders. The RJD, which has 25 out of 35 members of the Grand Alliance in the Bihar Assembly, will need to get the support of six more members to reach the required 41 to win the Rajya Sabha seat.
