PATNA: A day after the JD (U) National President Lalan Singh asserted that the chief ministerial face of the grand alliance for the 2025 Bihar assembly election will be decided at that time, senior party leader KC Tyagi said that Nitish was capable of being a CM face of the alliance even in the 2030 assembly election.
Tyagi said, “Nitish's health is fine and his political graph is also on the rise. JD (U) means Nitish and he is discharging his duty properly as there is no challenge to his leadership.”
On Lalan Singh's statement on the chief ministerial face, Tyagi said that the JD (U) president had played a role in the party joining the grand alliance and his statement should not be misconstrued.
On the impact of the performance of JD (U) in the elections after the resignation of Upendra Kushwaha from the party, Tyagi noted that JD (U) had returned to power by winning 118 seats on its own in the 2010 state assembly election. “I do not think that the party's support base broadens or shrinks due to the induction or exit of any leader. There is no question mark on Nitish's image and his capability,” he added.
Upendra Kushwaha had resigned from JD (U) by accusing Nitish of mortgaging the party in the hands of RJD as he projected deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav as his political successor. Kushwaha has launched his own party, Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal (RLJD).
Ever since Nitish returned to the grand alliance and formed a new government in Bihar, he has shown his special affection for Tejashwi, telling journalists the RJD leader will take care of Bihar in the future. He had also said that Tejashwi would lead the grand alliance in the 2025 state assembly election, provoking Kushwaha to revolt against Nitish openly.
Before quitting JD (U) on Monday, Kushwaha had also asked JD (U) president Lalan Singh to convene a meeting of the party's national executive and clarify if any deal was struck before the party joined the grand alliance and formed a new government in the state.
There is already wide speculation that Tejashwi would be appointed chief minister of the state as Nitish would move to national politics and make an attempt to stitch an alliance of the opposition parties against the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.