Amid heightened political activity ahead of Bihar Assembly elections, a wave of defections has begun with several prominent leaders switching allegiances as discontent brews within party ranks, most importantly due to shifting electoral strategies and political realignments.
On Monday, RJD MLA from Mohania (Reserved) constituency in Kaimur district Sangeeta Kumari, Congress MLA from Bikram in Patna district Siddharth Saurabh Singh, and former JD(U) MP from Sitamarhi Sunil Kumar Pintu joined the BJP.
In addition, former Chief Income Tax Commissioner Sujit Kumar also joined the BJP during this event. All of them were formally inducted into the party by BJP state president Dr. Dilip Jaiswal.
Sangeeta Kumari and Siddharth Singh were among those leaders who, during last year’s no-confidence motion in the Bihar Assembly, went against their parties and supported Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Since then, there had been speculation about their possible entry into the BJP.
The inclusion of these two MLAs is being seen as a major success for the BJP, especially Sangeeta Kumari’s induction, which is considered a big blow to the RJD. She was a prominent face of the RJD in Mohania, a reserved seat she represented.
Welcoming the new members to the party, BJP Bihar president Dr. Dilip Jaiswal said, “The current atmosphere across Bihar clearly indicates that the NDA will return to power. All five parties within the NDA are entering the election with rock-solid unity, while the INDIA Alliance is in complete disarray.”
In a political shake-up, senior BJP leader and former minister Ramchandra Sahni quit the party and joined the Jan Suraaj Party on Monday, delivering a setback to the BJP ahead of the elections.
Welcoming him to the party, Prashant Kishor said, “There are few public figures in Champaran as respected as Ramchandra Sahni.”
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar suffered another setback as two senior leaders from his party JD(U) announced their resignations on Monday. Former minister Jai Kumar Singh declared his resignation from the party, while JD(U) leader Manjeet Singh announced resignation from the post of vice-president, Bihar State Citizens’ Council.
A few days ago, former MP from Purnea and a senior JD(U) figure Santosh Kushwaha, former MP and influential Bhumihar leader from Magadh region Jagdish Sharma, sitting JD(U) MP from Banka Girdhari Yadav’s son Chanakya Prakash, and a former LJP(R) candidate Ajay Kushwaha joined the RJD, potentially altering the political landscape in the Magadh and Seemanchal regions in RJD’s favour.