Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Wednesday said the INDIA bloc was formed specifically for the Lok Sabha elections and had lost its significance now, widening the faultlines in the Opposition alliance.
He also ruled out any alliance or compromise with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar or his Janata Dal United.
“INDIA was formed just for the Lok Sabha elections and to stop the victory chariot of the BJP. It has no significance now. This is why the bickering between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls is not unexpected,” Tejashwi said.
He was interacting with reporters in Buxar during his ongoing tour of the state to meet party workers and supporters.
Tejashwi said the RJD had not yet decided to contest the February 5 Delhi polls but clarified that the “RJD and the Congress will together contest the Bihar Assembly elections” scheduled towards the end of this year.
Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee had recently raised doubts about the INDIA leadership and expressed willingness to assume charge. RJD veteran Lalu Prasad had said Mamata was a better option than the Congress to helm the INDIA bloc.
The Samajwadi Party, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) and the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) have also declared their support for Mamata and expressed dissatisfaction over the way the alliance was being led.
Tejashwi ruled out any alliance with Nitish and the JDU despite Lalu’s offer to the chief minister to unite against the BJP.
“There is no question of a compromise or alliance with Nitish Kumar or his JDU. Our party chief Lalu Prasad had said it to calm down journalists who were repeatedly asking about it,” Tejashwi said.
Tejashwi, who is the leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, slammed Nitish for “pushing the state back” during his 20-year rule.
“According to the Niti Aayog report, Bihar is at the top among the states in unemployment and migration. This is the situation despite the NDA government being in power in the state for 20 years and at the Centre for 10 years. Bihar is continuously going backwards. There are two deputy chief ministers of the BJP here but they are also unable to get special category status or a special package for the state,” Tejashwi said.
The RJD leader attacked Nitish’s ongoing Pragati Yatra and said over ₹200 crore was being splurged on it despite Bihar being a poor state. He pointed out that the chief minister was interacting with his officers instead of the common people during the tour.
Tejashwi put the state government on the mat over exam paper leaks and police action on students.