PATNA: Union minister and JD(U) MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh, alias Lalan Singh, on Sunday ruled out the possibility of former Union minister R C P Singh’s return to the JD(U), saying that the man responsible for reducing the party’s tally from 72 to 42 has no place in the organisation.
Talking to media persons in Bihar’s Munger, his parliamentary constituency, Lalan Singh dismissed the rumours doing the rounds that RCP Singh, once a close aide of Bihar chief minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar, may return to the JD(U).
“There seems to be no possibility,” he asserted. Without taking R C P Singh’s name, the former JD(U) national president said that the man responsible for the party’s worst-ever performance cannot be inducted again.
He, however, thanked the people of Bihar and dedicated workers who took the tally from 42 to 85 in the recently held state assembly elections.
In response to a media query, the JD(U) MP said that there would be no compromise on the issue. “The question does not arise at all,” he said, adding that such people have no place in the organisation. “What will he do in the party now?” he asked.
RCP Singh has dropped ample hints of returning to the JD(U), claiming that he and Nitish Kumar were always together. In response to a media query, Singh said, “Nitish Kumar and I had never separated our paths. We were always together. Perhaps no one knows Nitish Kumar as much as I do. We have been together for the last 25 years.”
RCP Singh is currently in Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party (JSP). His daughter, Lata Singh, had unsuccessfully contested the last state assembly polls from the Asthawa assembly constituency in Nalanda district. Like Nitish Kumar, RCP Singh also belongs to the Kurmi caste and is a native of Nalanda district.
RCP Singh had earlier served as a Union minister in the Narendra Modi government. He later parted ways and joined the JSP. His likely return to the JD(U) is seen as a significant move to strengthen the party’s support base. Singh is credited with strengthening the JD(U) while serving as president of the party.