Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav said on Monday Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has done injustice to Lok Janshakti Party chief Chirag Paswan. Tejashwi Yadav’s remarks came a day after he aimed a thinly-veiled jibe at the LJP while addressing electoral rallies ahead of the Bihar assembly elections and reiterating to his voters to be beware of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) ‘B-team.’
“What Nitish Kumar Ji did with Chirag Paswan is not good. Chirag Paswan needs his father today more than ever before but Ram Vilas Paswan Ji is not among us and we are sad about it. Nitish Kumar did injustice with Chirag Paswan, his behaviour is unfair,” Tejashwi Yadav said, according to news agency ANI.
On Sunday, Tejashwi Yadav had a warning for the supporters of his party. “You all should be cautious of the B team of the BJP. They are vote katwas (vote splitters),” he had said indirectly referring to the LJP.
In August, the LJP broke away from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the state when Lok Sabha MP Chirag Paswan criticised Kumar’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the migrant crisis and floods in Bihar. The rift between JD(U) and LJP had also occurred due to differences in opinion regarding seat-sharing as well.
Earlier this month, the BJP had asked LJP to not use Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s picture in their election posters or during the campaign. On Saturday, Union minister Prakash Javadekar also said that Chirag Paswan should not create confusion ahead of the state assembly elections. He said, “We want to make it clear that we have no relations (with LJP), and we do not like this politics of spreading confusion.”
Javadekar was speaking in reference to Chirag Paswan’s comments on using PM Modi’s posters in their election campaign material. “I don’t need to use PM Modi’s photos for campaigning. He lives in my heart; I am his Hanuman. If needed, I’ll tear open my chest and show it,” Paswan said.
Both Tejashwi Yadav and Chirag Paswan are facing the state elections without their fathers for the first time. RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav cannot take part in the poll preparations he is serving jail terms related to the fodder scam. The death of socialist icon Ram Vilas Paswan also poses new challenges for Chirag Paswan.
Bihar will hold its first phase of voting on October 28. The third and fourth phase of polling will be held on November 3 and November 7. The votes will be counted on November 10.
