JD(U)‘s Kushwaha warns Nitish Kumar that party could be ‘destroyed’ as rift widens

JD(U)‘s Upendra Kushwaha accuses Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of not granting him ‘even 5 minutes’ for discussion

JD(U) leader Upendra Kushwaha (centre) addresses the media in Patna, Bihar. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement 

The rift widens in Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal (United) on Friday when the party’s parliamentary board chairman Upendra Kushwaha warned Chief Minister Nitish Kumar that if he did not save the JD(U), it would be “destroyed” soon.  

Mr. Kushwaha also pointed out that he did not return to the JD(U) on his own and both times it was Mr. Kumar who requested him to join the party.

 “The Chief Minister is saying that I left the party and returned two-three times. I must tell him that I am not the only such leader in the party. There are many more, 95% of the current leaders have left and returned to the party and even gone to other parties as well including the national president (Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh) of the party.

“I have returned to the party twice. First in December 2009, then in March 2021. Both times, it was Nitish ji who asked me to return. Whenever Nitish ji has become weak, he has called me. I never approached him to return to the party,” Mr. Kushwaha said from his official residence in Patna.  

His statement comes a day after the Bihar Chief Minister asked him to quit the party, to which Mr. Kushwaha had reacted saying that he will not leave without his share.

For the past few months, there has been strong speculation that Mr. Kushwaha was exploring a possible return to the NDA fold as his role in the JD(U) has been limited largely due to the formation of the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar. 

Mr. Kumar has been projecting Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav as his successor, which has greatly pained Mr. Kushwaha because he had merged his party with the aim to attain the second position after Mr. Kumar. 

Mr. Kushwaha said that Mr. Kumar had not spoken to him for even five minutes in the last two years to discuss the functioning of the party. The discontent leader claims that it was him who always approached Mr. Kumar.    

“Whenever I wanted to speak to Nitish ji, I approached him, ever since I merged my party in 2021. In the last two years, Nitish ji never called me to discuss anything about the party, not even for five minutes. There are many people who remain with him for 30 days in a month but he does not have time to meet me for even five minutes in the last two years. 

“Let Nitish ji decide the date and time. Both of us have children, so let him swear on his child and I will swear on mine whether what I have said is the truth or lies,” said Mr. Kushwaha.  

He also advised the Bihar Chief Minister to take his own decisions and not to act on others’ instructions.  

“If Nitish ji keeps listening and acting on others’ instructions, in days to come, it will be worse and the party will be destroyed. The Chief Minister must identify who is his own and who is not. There are few people who handle Nitish ji and he acts accordingly,” Mr. Kushwaha alleged.

Reacting to Mr. Kushwaha’s allegation Mr. Kumar said, “I always respected him and I am shocked that he is reacting like this. I am not bothered about such things, people are free to go anywhere in politics. Please don’t ask me any questions about him.”