BJP attempts damage control as 6 JDU Arunachal MLAs jump ship; Nitish's camp huddles up

Amid hectic parleys in the Nitish Kumar-led JDU camp over the recent political developments in Arunachal Pradesh, BJP on Saturday attempted damage control even as JDU MLAs joined the saffron party. BJP asserted that it had "not poached" MLAs in Arunachal Pradesh and underscored that the disgruntled legislators had switched sides of their own accord. Calling Nitish Kumar the "guardian" of the NDA alliance in Bihar, Renu Devi, one of the Deputy CMs in Bihar, said that the development in Arunachal would not affect the tie-up in Bihar.

Renu Devi said, "We had not poached them (JD(U) MLAs in Arunachal Pradesh). What could our party have done if some legislators voluntarily expressed desire to join us?".

READ | JD(U) Suffers Setback In Arunachal, Six MLAs Join BJP

Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar on Sunday has called for a meeting of his party leaders to analyse the situation and to decide on its further move. 60 executive members of the party are to meet in the first half of the day and members of the National Council to meet in the second half at the Party HQ in Patna.

READ | Nitish Kumar Says 'will Discuss In Council' As 6 Of 7 JDU MLAs Switch To BJP In Arunachal

JDU MLAs switch sides

On Friday, the  Janata Dal-United received a major jolt in Arunachal Pradesh, with six of its seven MLAs shifting allegiance to the ruling BJP, a bulletin issued by the state legislative assembly said. The JD(U) MLAs who switched sides are Talem Taboh from Rumgong Assembly Constituency, Hayeng Mangfi (Chayang Tajo), Jikke Tako (Tali), Dorjee Wangdi Kharma (Kalaktang), Dongru Siongju (Bomdila) and Kanggong Taku from Mariyang-Geku constituency, the bulletin said. The development comes a day ahead of the announcement of the panchayat and municipal poll results.

On November 26, the JD(U) had issued show-cause notices to Siongju, Kharma and Taku for "anti-party" activities, and suspended them. The six JD(U) MLAs had earlier elected Talem Taboh as the new Legislature Party leader allegedly without the knowledge of senior party members. The PPA MLA was also suspended by the regional outfit earlier this month. BJP has now accepted the JDU MLAs' letter of intent to join the party. 

The JD(U), led by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, won seven of the 15 seats it contested in the 2019 assembly elections and emerged as the second-largest party after the BJP, which had bagged 41 seats. Congress and the National People's Party (NPP) have four members each. 

READ | RJD Challenges Nitish Kumar To Snap Ties With BJP Following Arunachal Developments

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