Father of Lalu�s estranged daughter-in-law ready to quit RJD

Disgruntled RJD MLA Chandrika Roy, whose daughter is locked in a nasty marital dispute with

founding president Lalu Prasads son, on Thursday declared that he has decided to quit the party and that he thought of

the JD(U) headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as a possible destination.

Lavishing praise on Kumar, Roy said he had "full faith" in the leadership of the JD(U) chief whom he credited with

having worked for the betterment of Bihar during his 15-year- long stint as chief minister.

Bihar would have become uninhabitable had improvements in law and order situation and condition of roads and

electricity not taken place under Kumars watch. You can recall how things were 15 years back, he said.

Roy have been multiple term MLA from Parsa, which he has represented as an Independent as well as on tickets of

Congress and RJD in his three decades long political career. He admitted to having met Kumar recently and "discussed

the political situation". "I will inform all about my next political move at an

appropriate time. At the moment, it shall suffice to admit my my mohbhang (disillusionment) with RJD which I will quit",

said the party MLA, who had contested as its candidate in the Lok Sabha polls last year from Saran a pocket borough of

Prasad but lost. Roy also alleged that "a small coterie" was now

controlling the RJD leaving many senior leaders sore and claimed "many more MLAs may desert the party in the run-up to

the assembly elections". Notably, Roys daughter Aishwarya had tied the knot with

Prasads elder son Tej Pratap Yadav in May, 2018 though the latter filed a divorce petition barely six months later citing

incompatibility. Son of late Daroga Prasad Rai, a Congress veteran who

had served as the Chief Minister of Bihar in the 1970s, Roy had initially sought to downplay the marital dispute as an

internal matter between the two families. However, things reached a flashpoint in the last few

months after Aishwarya alleged that she has been driven out of the house by her mother in law Rabri Devi a former Chief

Minister herself at whose place she had been living despite the divorce petition in a bid to salvage her marriage.

Reacting to Roys statement, state RJD president Jagadanand Singh said "he has some personal problems with the

party. If he feels better by going elsewhere, I can only offer my good wishes".

He also asserted "any number of similarly disgruntled people may leave if it pleases them. This is going to have no

adverse effect on the party". However, the partys founding member and national vice

president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh known for speaking his mind sought to differ.

"How can one say there will be no effect? A party is strengthened when new people join and gets weakened when old

hands leave. I will speak to Chandrika Roy and try to convince him so that he changes his mind", the former Union minister

said. Meanwhile, the JD(U) said Roy was "welcome" to join the

party. "Chandrika Roy is a respectable leader and hails from a

renowned family. We shall welcome him with open arms", JD(U) spokesman Sanjay Singh said.