Rumblings within the ruling JD(U) in Bihar surfaced openly on Saturday with state party chief Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lalan accusing Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of behaving like a “dictator” and offering to resign from his post.
“Nitish Kumar is behaving like a dictator... he is ignoring and overlooking genuine party workers and treating the party as his pocket organisation,” Mr. Singh told PTI.
“I have urged the party’s national President, Sharad Yadav to appoint a ceremonial State president by Sunday to facilitate me to resign from the post on February 1”, the Lok Sabha member from Munger said.
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Elaborating on the reasons for raising the revolt, Mr. Singh charged Mr. Kumar of not consulting him while taking decisions during the past four years. Assembly elections in Bihar are due later this year.
“I always come to know about the decisions through newspapers and if this is my status, I can’t permit it. I have no less contributions than others to float the party and bring it to a State of ruling Bihar fighting the regime of the Lalu-Rabri duo for 15 years,” he said.
Mr. Singh said “It will be better for Mr. Kumar to appoint a puppet party chief. I don’t want to face the ire of grass-root party workers who unnecessarily target me for anything wrong or humiliation done to them.
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“Ever since I have been made party’s State president, I feel that I fit nowhere in decision-making process.”
He questioned the decision of Mr. Kumar in re-inducting Upendra Kuswaha in the JD(U) after he quit the party long ago.
“Where was Mr. Kumar when Kuswaha had launched a tirade against me,” he asked and said Kuswaha had openly asked Mr. Kumar to explain his relation with me after Rabri Devi had made uncharitable remarks against both of us during the last Lok Sabha elections.
“Isn’t it a humiliation that a person who had targeted me was taken back by Kumar without any consultation,” Mr. Singh who has not attending party office for several months asked.
He, however, said he would not leave the JD(U).
Internal bickering has surfaced in the party after JD(U)’s poor performance in the bypoll to 18 assembly seats in September last.
Former LS member, Prabhunath Singh had blamed Nitish Kumar for the poor results and charged him with not bothering for upper caste votes crucial for JD(U).
Another senior party leader and MLC Shambhu Nath Srivastava has also indicated to launch a new party.
Nitish Kumar has so far refused to offer any comment on these series of development within the party.