Nitish Kumar has been under tremendous pressure for the last couple of months, ever since RJD leaders have sought a transfer of power in the state and demanded to make Tejashwi Yadav the chief minister of Bihar.
Patna ,UPDATED: Mar 17, 2023 14:48 IST
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar (L) and Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav (PTI/File)
By Rohit Kumar Singh: Will Chief Minister Nitish Kumar once again apparently listen to the voice of his ‘Antaratma’ and snap ties with the Rashtriya Janata Dal as probe agencies CBI-ED tighten their noose around Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav in the land-for-jobs case?
This is the question doing the rounds in the political circles of Bihar.
After ignoring CBI summons thrice, Tejashwi Yadav will finally appear before the CBI on March 25 in New Delhi. The investigating agency assured the Delhi High Court that he would not be arrested in the case this month.
Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the RJD in 2017 when corruption charges were levelled against Tejashwi Yadav in the IRCTC scam.
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Nitish Kumar has been under tremendous pressure for the last couple of months, ever since RJD leaders have sought a transfer of power in the state and demanded to make Tejashwi Yadav the Chief Minister of Bihar. Several RJD leaders also cited a secret deal between Nitish and the RJD when the Mahagathbandhan government was formed in the state in August last year. As per the deal, a handover of power to Tejashwi was assured by Nitish Kumar by the beginning of 2023.
It may be mentioned that Nitish Kumar has declared that Tejashwi Yadav will lead the Mahagathbandhan in the 2025 Assembly elections in the state, giving clear indications that he was not in a mood to hand over power to the RJD leader anytime soon as his national ambitions had fallen flat with no opposition parties backing him for the PM post.
With the recent corruption charges against the Lalu clan, Nitish Kumar heaved a sigh of relief as the clamour around the transfer of power and making Tejashwi Yadav the chief minister also mellowed down.
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Interestingly, Nitish Kumar has also distanced himself from the ongoing investigations against Tejashwi, triggering speculation that he was once again listening to his ‘Antaratma’ as he had done in 2017.
The BJP also believes that the investigation into the land-for-jobs scam against the Lalu family is an opportunity to create a fertile ground for Nitish to break the alliance with the RJD, as the Bihar chief minister claimed that he would never compromise on corruption matters.
Reports on a possible Bihar Cabinet expansion have been put in abeyance at present.
