The resignation of Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’ from his position as national president of the Janata Dal (United) and his replacement with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is being referred to as the “just the start of a game” by the BJP, with a second act to follow soon in this political drama.
“I had been predicting for a week that Lalan Singh will be removed. He had to be removed due to his growing proximity to [Rashtriya Janata Dal leader] Lalu Prasad. This is, however, not the end of the game, in fact it is just the start of the game. Much has to happen after this. Wait for the next act of this game,” posted Bihar’s former deputy CM and BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi.
‘Fluid’ situation
Sources in the BJP’s national team said that the political situation in Bihar was “quite fluid” at the moment and that a lot could happen. Bihar BJP leaders however, are dismissive of any suggestion that there could be a realignment between their party and their erstwhile ally, the JD(U). “The era of cheating is now over. The public will not accept the group of thugs now,” Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly Vijay Kumar Sinha said in New Delhi. He added that “somewhere or the other, people’s faith in them has gone down further with the atmosphere of confusion and mistrust [in the party].”
Sources in the BJP said that Mr Singh had a set of JD(U) MLAs in his camp and could have made a bid for splitting the party. “What Nitish Kumar has actually done is to pre-empt that move by Lalan Singh. It is likely he will remain with the UPA-INDIA grouping, but let us wait and watch,” said the source.
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally and Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal president Upendra Kushwaha, who had left the JD(U) due to differences with Mr. Kumar after the latter tied up with the RJD and left the NDA, said that what had happened was “inevitable”. He predicted the demise of the JD(U) itself.
“I had already said that the path taken by the JD(U) after parting ways with the NDA will lead to its end. For quite some time, it was evident that Lalan Singh was more of an RJD leader than JD(U). Nitish Kumar has tried to do damage control, but things will never be the same,” he said.
As of now, the BJP says that it is waiting and watching, and remains convinced of what Mr. Sushil Modi has said, that Mr. Kumar, a politician with multiple lives in Bihar politics, may yet have another gambit to play.
