Paswan throws spanner in the works for Nitish; Tejashwi rejects possibility of tie-up with JD(U)

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Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav has rejected the possibility of his party allying with the Janata Dal (United) for the 2020 Legislative Assembly election.

According to a report by The Indian Express, Yadav dismissed the idea, saying “Nitish Kumar is known for betrayal”. Yadav made the comment on September 14 while speaking to party workers.

“Nitish Kumar has never mustered the courage to contest Assembly elections on his own in the last 15 years. He either went with the BJP, or with us, but betrayed us both. He is known for betrayal and could continue to do so,” Bihar’s Leader of Opposition said.

For months, several party leaders including seniors, have been suggesting a possibility of the RJD joining hands with the JD(U).

Despite suffering from a major loss in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led party has already announced that it would portray Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate.

There were reports of unease and rift between the two key National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners – JD(U) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Sushil Modi had however tried to matter to rest by calling Nitish the “NDA captain for 2020 polls”.

Now, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has sparked a fresh debate about the alliance’s leadership in Bihar. Speaking to The Hindu, said that "Nitish Kumar is our Captain and he will continue unless if the BJP decides to bring in a different Captain."

RJD and JD(U) had fought the 2015 Assembly polls together, against the BJP. RJD had won 80 seats while JD(U) had won 71. The BJP had won 53 seats. However, in 2017, Nitish had dumped the RJD in favour of the BJP. The Assembly has 243 members.

JD(U) and BJP contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election together along with smaller allies including the LJP.