In a major setback to the Janata Dal (United), senior leader KC Tyagi quit the party on Tuesday. He is likely to join another party and said that a decision will be announced after consultation with the required people soon.
Tyagi, who served as the Chief Spokesperson and General Secretary of the JDU, has been with the party since its merger with the Samata Party on October 30, 2003.
“Now the membership campaign of the party has ended. This time I’ve not renewed the membership of the party,” he said in a statement.
Tyagi, however, added that he will continue to work for the interests of the downtrodden and the deprived sections of the society.
“My commitment to the larger and wider ideological points concerning the interests of the downtrodden, peasants and agriculturalists including the deprived sections of the society remains as firm as ever,” he said.
He said that his personal respect for JDU boss Nitish Kumar, with whom he shared his political journey for nearly five decades will remain unchanged.
Tyagi said he will hold a meeting with his political friends on March 22 to discuss the political situation in the country and his future course of action will be decided soon in consultation with all the required people.
“We will continue to be inspired by the ideas & ideology of Bharat Ratna Shri Ch. Charan Singh Ji, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia ji and Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur Ji,” he added.
The development comes a day after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was elected to the Rajya Sabha. Kumar has decided to move back to national politics and will quit as Bihar CM.
His son Nishant Kumar, who largely remained out of the political limelight, has joined the party and will be part of the BJP-led NDA government in Bihar.
Tyagi is not the only JDU leader who has parted ways with the party after Nitish Kumar’s Rajya Sabha move. JDU MLA Anant Singh has also declared that he will quit politics if Nitish Kumar steps down as Chief Minister.