AIMIM MLAs joined RJD as they did not like BJP being Bihar’s single largest party: Tejashwi

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday claimed that the four AIMIM MLAs in Bihar, who merged with his party the day before, took the decision out of the unease they felt over the BJP enjoying the largest presence in the state assembly.Addressing a press conference, Yadav, who is the leader of the opposition, also sought to underscore the fact that the legislators chose a party which was not in power.It is not a small thing.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday claimed that the four AIMIM MLAs in Bihar, who merged with his party the day before, took the decision out of the unease they felt over the BJP enjoying the largest presence in the state assembly.

Addressing a press conference, Yadav, who is the leader of the opposition, also sought to underscore the fact that the legislators chose a party which was not in power.

“It is not a small thing. Normally, smaller parties merge with bigger ones only when these happen to be in power. I do not remember of any instance when a bigger party has been chosen despite being in the opposition,” said the former deputy chief minister.

Yadav, who has been upbeat over the RJD's strength in the 243-strong assembly rising to 80, making it the single largest party, also claimed that if votes polled by the opposition Grand Alliance now exceeded that of the ruling NDA.

“We have been pointing out that in 2020 assembly polls, we had got about a dozen seats less than the NDA though the difference between votes polled by the ruling coalition and our five-party alliance was nearly 12,000. Now, if we take into account the votes polled by the new entrants, our vote count becomes greater,” he said.

The RJD had contested the assembly polls in alliance with the Congress and three Left parties. However, the Congress, which emerged as the second largest ally with a tally of 19, has been estranged for more than a year.

Blamed by all coalition partners for the Grand Alliance stopping short of the finishing line, the Congress, which had contested 70 seats, indirectly received a fresh criticism from Yadav for its poor strike rate.

“I am happy that we have with us these four MLAs, all of whom have been elected from the Seemanchal region. The RJD had given away most seats in that region to the Congress. With the new development, the Grand Alliance has registered a strong presence in the crucial region”, he said.

“The Kosi-Seemanchal region is ravaged by floods every year, an issue which our new party colleagues feel strongly about. The state government had in the past proposed setting up a Seemanchal commission for targeted development of the region. The RJD will take this fight further,” Yadav asserted.

Asked whether emergence as the single largest party entailed a “bigger plan for the future” for the RJD, Yadav quipped: “We are not here to shake a rattle.” Those who have no plans for the future, wither away, he added without elaborating.

Yadav took exception to AIMIM Bihar unit chief Akhtarul Iman's allegation that weaning away all but one of its MLAs was tantamount to a treachery by the RJD.

“These MLAs did not want the BJP, which has 77 MLAs, to continue enjoying the status of the single largest party. Should we conclude that Iman was happy with the situation?” he said.

The BJP, which had won 74 seats in the assembly polls, one short of the RJD's tally, became the single largest party earlier this year when all MLAs of ousted minister Mukesh Sahani's Vikassheel Insaan Party jumped ship.

The RJD leader also said he remembered Iman as “an elder brother and a former party colleague against whom I hold no grudge just because he chose to leave us for greener pasteurs”.

Iman has been heading the AIMIM's Bihar unit since 2015 when he joined Asaduddin Owaisi's party. He started his political career with the RJD in 2005 when he won an assembly seat on its ticket and retained the same five years later.

He quit the RJD in 2014 to join Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) which fielded him from Kishanganj in the Lok Sabha elections though he finished a distant third, behind the winning Congress candidate and the BJP runner-up.

Yadav rejected apprehensions of a backlash from Muslims, upset over the RJD “breaking” the AIMIM.

“The RJD is a party of A to Z, which cares for all sections of the society. A to Z, of course, includes MY (Muslims and Yadavs)…. It must be noted that we had won the largest number of seats in 2020 assembly polls. And just a few months ago, we snatched Bochahan assembly seat from the NDA, defeating the BJP by a huge margin”, he added.