LIVE | ‘Will stay together’: Nitish after taking oath as Bihar CM in NDA fold

Taking a swipe at the BJP over the Bihar political developments, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Sunday said while there was talk of Ram Rajya at the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, “Aaya Ram Gaya Ram” was being showcased in Bihar.

Sibal’s dig in the morning came just ahead of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s volte-face from the opposition INDIA bloc to the BJP-led NDA.

In a post on X, Sibal said, “Ayodhya, Bihar. Talk of: Ram Rajya at Ayodhya and showcase ‘Aaya Ram Gaya Ram in Bihar’! What say you Modi ji?”

“Aaya Ram Gaya Ram” was an expression used widely in politics in the 1990s referring to the frequent floor-crossing and switching of parties.

(With agency inputs)

Samrat Choudhary has been elected the leader of the BJP legislative party in Bihar, while Vijay Kumar Sinha its deputy leader.

With these elevations, Choudhary, the state BJP president, and Sinha are likely to be made the deputy CMs in the new NDA government that will be formed in the state.

“In the legislative party meeting held today, BJP MLAs approved the proposal to form an NDA government in the state with JD(U)'s support. State BJP president Samrat Chaudhary was elected leader of the legislative party and Vijay Sinha was elected deputy leader,” the BJP’s in-charge of Bihar Vinod Tawde said after JD(U) president Nitish Kumar resigned as chief minister.

Senior BJP leader Tarkishore Prasad told PTI-Video that “most certainly” Choudhary and Sinha will be the party’s choice for the post of deputy CMs.

Taking a dig at the JD(U) and its leadership for quitting the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar and returning to the BJP-led NDA to form a new government in that state, Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge said this was expected and there are many such people in the country who are “Aaya Ram Gaya Ram”.

He said he had received information from RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav about JD(U)’s plans to walk out of Mahagathbandhan five days ago, and despite all efforts the Nitish Kumar-led party has left.

“Lalu Prasad Yadav (RJD leader) had hinted about this development five days ago. I had spoken to him in detail about the situation, what is the number, what is their number, and what to do. He (Yadav) told me if they (JD(U)) are going, let them go. We have been fighting; earlier also, we (Congress and JD(U) both have fought (elections) together and we will continue to fight...,” Kharge said.

Speaking to reporters, he said despite knowing about it, he did not want to disclose till the end.

Averring that it was “expected” that JD(U) would go, the AICC President further said, “There were indications of it... when I spoke to Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav (Bihar Deputy CM), both had mentioned that JD(U) will leave and both of us (Congress and RJD) will have to fight together.”

RJD leadership had also said that they would still make all efforts to ensure that JD(U) stayed, he said. “If they want to stay with us, fine, but despite our efforts if they want to go, they will. So, we were aware of it, but to keep the INDIA alliance intact, we did not speak out, as we thought if we say something wrong, a wrong message may go. So, when I was questioned about this during the last two days, I said I was not aware of the developments,” he added.

Further, noting that the information provided by Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav was right, Kharge said, “There are many such people in the country, who are Aaya Ram Gaya Ram.”

The Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar consisted of RJD, JD(U), Congress, and three Left parties.

Taking a dig at RJD supremo Prasad, Marandi said "nature and signature of a person doesn't change" and Nitish Kumar could realise this after such a long time. "Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad are poles apart. One is synonymous with corruption and Nitish Ji is one of the few leaders in the country who is known for his honesty. Neither he is engaged in corruption nor in promoting dynastic patronage politics. In contrast, Lalu Prasad is neck-deep in corruption and dynastic politics," Marandi said.