Day after swapping smiles, Lalu Yadav says door open for ex-ally Nitish | News

Lalu-Nitish greet each other 

Lalu’s remark came a day after the two political stalwarts were spotted greeting each other with smiles on their faces at the Bihar Assembly. Lalu was accompanied by his son Tejashwi Yadav, who served Nitish’s deputy till the government collapsed last month.

— ANI (@ANI) February 15, 2024

Nitish Kumar ditched the RJD’s partnership on January 28 and formed a new government in Bihar with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.

Nitish’s exit blow to INDIA bloc

The development was a major jolt not just to RJD but also to the Opposition’s INDIA or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance of now 26 non-BJP parties, which aims to defeat the Narendra Modi government in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Notably, the INDIA bloc was conceived in Patna last year during a key Opposition meeting held in June under the convenership of Nitish.

Nitish on why he quit Mahagathbandhan

On his exit, Nitish had said, “Theek nahi chal raha tha (things were not going well). I was trying to make things move but was bothered by the RJD’s attitude. The situation in the grand alliance government was not good.”

The Mahagathbandhan or the grand alliance government of the Nitish-led Janata Dal (United) and the RJD was formed in August 2022 after the Bihar CM broke away from the NDA. His frequent switches have invited the tag of him being a “seasonal” politician in the political circles.

First Published: Feb 16 2024 | 1:34 PM IST