PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) suffered a major setback on Wednesday when the party's former MLC and executive committee member Ranveer Nandan resigned from the primary membership and also from all posts that he held in the organisation.
Nandan's resignation came barely a couple of hours after the Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal (RLJD) chief and former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha claimed that JD (U)leaders were in touch with his party and other parties, including BJP, as they were feeling neglected and were being humiliated by some top leaders of JD(U).
JD (U) MLC Ranveer Nandan resigned from the primary membership of the party on Wednesday and sent his resignation letter directly to JD (U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh and Nitish Kumar.
Nandan is expected to join the BJP, sources added.
Nandan, who is considered a close associate of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was spokesperson of JD(U).
On the other hand, JD (U) state chief Umesh Kushwaha said that the party expelled Nandan for six years. He said that Nandan had been expelled from the party for his anti-party activities and giving statements in the media against the party's top leadership.
Earlier Upendra Kushwaha contended that JD (U) was heading toward a huge split and there were no ‘ifs and buts’ over it. He said that barring one or two JD (U) leaders, remaining all party leaders were in touch with other parties to join them. He said that some JD (U) leaders were in touch with his party too.
RLJD chief said that JD (U) leaders had realised they could not achieve electoral success by remaining in JD (U) and almost all leaders were in touch with one party or another.
He also added that JD (U) might not suffer a huge division at one time but it would be facing splits in parts.
Refusing to comment on Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's return to NDA, he stated that it was an internal matter of the BJP, former Union Minister Kushwaha claimed that going by Nitish’s statements, it appeared that he was in delusion.
He claimed that his party had been done ever since he joined hands with RJD. “Nitish has lost his support base and so there is no meaning to his claims,” he remarked. Kushwaha claimed that JD (U)`s senior leaders were unhappy over Nitish`s political moves as it was becoming clearly evident now.