Bihar | Ready for an alliance with Nitish again? What Tejashwi Yadav says
Nitish Kumar has been reduced to 'mask, and BJP leaders are calling the shots, says the Opposition in Bihar Assembly
Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday (September 10) said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been reduced to the state government’s “mask” and a handful of BJP leaders are calling the shots behind the scenes.
“The chief minister has nothing now. He is just a mask now. A handful of people from the BJP are running the government,” Tejashwi told NDTV. He also ruled out any possibility of another tie-up with the Nitish Kumar-led JDU ahead of the Bihar Assembly polls next year.
“There is no point (of a tie-up). We have given him several opportunities. We didn't go to him. He came here. He folded hands before my mother (former CM Rabri Devi). He publicly apologised in Vidhan Sabha. And then he left. Nitish Kumarji likes no one except himself,” he said.
Asked how he is a better alternative than Nitish Kumar, the former deputy chief minister said, “The people will decide that. I have worked, (fulfilled) whatever responsibility I got, even if for a short duration. I want the people of Bihar to give us an opportunity for five years and we will show what we can do. Be it unemployment, poverty, we want Bihar to be counted among progressive states. And a lot can be done even with limited resources.”
The 34-year-old politician has been leading the RJD, founded by his father and political stalwart Lalu Prasad. Over the years, as the veteran has taken a back seat due to health issues, Tejashwi has created his own political identity and led the party to electoral successes.
The past two decades have witnessed a series of flip-flops by Nitish Kumar. Following the 2015 Bihar polls, when JDU and Tejashwi Yadav's RJD scripted a stunning win, Kumar took over as the chief minister with Tejashwi as deputy. Two years later, he switched allies and tied up with the BJP, retaining his chief minister’s post. Another switch came in 2022 when Kumar ditched the BJP to return to an alliance with RJD. Yet another flip-flop this January saw him return to the NDA fold.