Nitish Kumar says 'will discuss in council' as 6 of 7 JDU MLAs switch to BJP in Arunachal

With his Bihar ally - BJP gaining 6 JDU MLAs in Arunachal Pradesh, JDU chief Nitish Kumar on Friday, said he will discuss the issue in the national council in Patna on December 26-27. Stating that JDU had won 7 seats in the 2019 Arunachal Pradesh assembly elections, he said that the 6 MLAs have parted ways from his party. Apart from the 6 JDU MLAs, the lone MLA from the People's Party of Arunachal (PPA), Kardo Nyigyor from the Likabali constituency, has also joined the saffron party.

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Nitish: 'They have parted ways'

"JDU had won 7 seats in last year's Arunachal Pradesh assembly elections. We have JDU's national council meeting in Patna on 26th and 27th December. They have parted ways. We will discuss this in the meeting," said Nitish Kumar.

JD(U) suffers setback in Arunachal, six MLAs join BJP

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. 

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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. Following the switchover, the BJP now has 48 MLAs in the 60-member House, while the JD(U) is left with only one. Congress and the National People's Party (NPP) have four members each. 

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(With PTI Inputs)