Ajay Alok says 'will quit, if JD(U) wants' after snubbing Bihar CM

The internal tussle within the JD(U) is coming out in open ahead of assembly polls in Bihar as disgruntled JD(U) leader Ajay Alok on Thursday has said that he was prepared to resign from the primary membership of the party if it so desired. His reaction comes a day after a party communication informed media outlets that Alok had ceased to be a party spokesman. The party communication also informed that his utterances must be taken as his "personal opinion". the party clarified that his utterances are not the "official line" of the party.  he in his tweet made the clarification that he had only resigned from the spokesperson of the party, but not the primary membership of the party. 

READ: Bihar Mahagathbandhan: Alliance to end rumors of rift, announces event 

Fissures between the party and Alok has been going on for a while, with the latter reported to be taking BJP hardliner's stance. Rajiv Ranjan Prasad, JD(U) spokesman issued the party communication on Wednesday shortly after Alok had come out with a tweet in which he ended up berating the JD(U) while stressing the need for the NDA remaining intact. "For the BJP it is not of great consequence to remain in power in Bihar. But, this alliance must remain intact in the interests of Bihar and in view of the JD(U) proclaiming to be the big brother in the coalition, the onus is on us," Alok had tweeted. He was reacting to the recent acrimony witnessed between the coalition partners which was followed by leaders of the saffron party skipping the Dussehra festivities organized at the Gandhi Maidan where the chief minister shared the dais with opposition leaders like state Congress president. He had also questioned Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the recent flooding in the state's capital after sudden incessant rain.

READ: As BJP skips Bihar CM’s Dussehra event, Tejashwi Yadav has this to say

Once considered to be a favourite of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar because of the combativeness he brought on the table at on-screen debates, Alok seems to have fallen out of favour with Kumar, who also heads the JD(U). A doctor by training, Alok has been one of the most visible faces of the JD(U) in the national media by virtue of his proficiency in English as well as Hindi. His accusation of the West Bengal chief minister having converted her state into "mini Pakistan"  an allusion to the illegal immigration problem had caused huge embarrassment to the JD(U), which does not share the BJP's hard line on the issue. After resigning as the JD(U) spokesman, Alok had attacked his own party for having opposed the triple talaq bill and the legislation brought in Parliament for reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir after the northern state was stripped of its special status.

READ: Tejashwi Yadav says BJP-JD(U) infighting turning Bihar into a circus

Bihar assembly elections

With a total of 243 seats in Bihar assembly, the state goes to polls in the upcoming year. While the ruling alliance of JD(U) and BJP are reportedly having internal tussles, the Opposition alliance - the Mahagathbandhan appears to be directionless after the massive poll drubbing in the general elections 2019. Lalu Yadav's party failed to open its account in the general elections and Nitish Kumar is facing anti-incumbency. With JD(U) VP's strategy team working with Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, Nitish Kumar speaking against the BJP on various issues and the repeated invitations by the RJD to Kumar for rejoining the Mahagathbandhan, the poll-season in Bihar piques interest.

READ: Bihar's Deputy CM says 'no alternative to Nitish, just like PM Modi'