Tej Pratap downplays father-in-law Chandrika Rai's exit from RJD: 'JDU won't gain a thing'

Downplaying the exit of his ex-father-in-law Chandrika Rai from RJD, Tej Pratap Yadav, on Friday, said that JD(U) won't gain anything from Rai's joining. He added that several JD(U) MLAs were in touch with RJD and will be joining them soon. Bihar will go to polls in October-November this year, as the pandemic rages on.

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Tej Pratap Yadav on Chandrika Rai: 'JD(U) won't gain anything'

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6 RJD MLAs join JD(U) 

On Thursday, senior RJD MLA Chandrika Rai along with two MLAs Faraz Fatmi and Jaiwardhan Yadav joined the ruling Nitish Kumar-led JD(U). RJD had expelled Fatmi who is the son of Mohammad Ali Ashraf Fatmi, a former Union minister who had quit the RJD ahead of the Lok Sabha elections of 2019 after being denied a ticket and is now currently in JD(U). Previously on Monday, three RJD MLAs - Maheshwar Prasad Yadav, Prema Choudhary and Ashok Kumar Kushwaha joined JD(U).  

On the other hand, the JD(U) expelled Bihar Industries Minister Shyam Rajak and sacked him from his ministerial post. Rajak who is unhappy with Ashok Choudhary's entry into JDU, promptly joined RJD in the presence of Tejashwi Yadav. All these switching of sides comes just before the state goes to polls in November.

Bihar polls: 3 RJD MLAs including Tej Pratap's father-in-law Chandrika Rai join JD(U)

Bihar assembly elections 

Bihar will go to polls amid COVID-19 pandemic, with the EC releasing guidelines for conducting polls. As BJP lost in Delhi, all eyes are set on former party chief Amit Shah and Nitish Kumar -led JDU. While Kumar faces strong anti-incumbency, RJD - Bihar's main opposition has lost the luster it once had due to the absence of it's chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.  Currently, the JDU-BJP combination rules the state with 131 seats, while RJD-Congress opposition has 111 seats.

Bihar: JD(U) expels minister Shyam Rajak for 'anti-party activities'; likely to join RJD

However, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav has been amplifying his attack against the BJP government and has been portrayed as the CM candidate of the Mahagathbandhan. Meanwhile, former JDU vice president Prashant Kishor has also claimed that he is working at 'ground level' for the development of Bihar.  In a twist of sorts, London-based Pushpam Priya Choudhary, the daughter of JDU leader Binod Choudhary, on March 8 declared herself as the Chief Ministerial candidate.