It is the start of the week and we are in for a ride. Among the big political stories of the day will be the Bihar trust vote as Nitish Kumar, sworn in for the ninth time as CM on January 28, proves that his NDA government has the majority in the state Assembly.
After days of political intrigue that saw Speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary refuse to step down, Congress MLAs flown to Hyderabad to be sequestered, BJP move its MLAs move to Bodh Gaya ostensibly for a “training camp”, and RJD MLAs and Left legislators stay put at former Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav’s home over the weekend, Assembly proceedings will kick off at 11 am with Governor R V Arlekar’s address. It will be followed by the tabling of a no-confidence motion against Choudhary, who is most likely to step down before the motion can be put to vote, and then the vote on the confidence motion.
As the numbers stand, the NDA has six more MLAs than the halfway mark of 122 while the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan is eight short. Until and unless utter chaos unfolds, the Nitish Kumar government will sail through. But as the developments of the past few days, especially Sunday, showed, political circles in Patna are on the edge.
On Sunday, Santosh Singh reported that there was fierce speculation around five JD(U) MLAs who skipped a legislature party meeting, and a missing person complaint filed by RJD MLA Chetan Anand’s brother Anshuman Anand. Chetan was at Tejashwi’s home and said he was there of his own volition. The arrival of the police at the former Deputy CM’s residence in connection with Anshuman’s complaint did not go down well with RJD workers camping outside.
Late at night, the RJD’s official handle posted on X, “Nitish Kumar, fearing the government, has sent thousands of police and surrounded Tejashwi ji’s residence from all sides. They want to enter the residence on any pretext and do untoward incidents with the MLAs. The people of Bihar are watching the misdeeds of Nitish Kumar and the police.
“Remember, we are not among those who fear and bow down. This is a struggle of ideology and we will fight it and win because the justice-loving people of Bihar will oppose this police repression. Jai Bihar! Jai Hind.”
नीतीश कुमार ने सरकार जाने के डर से हजारों की संख्या में पुलिस भेज तेजस्वी जी के आवास को चारों तरफ़ से घेर लिया है। ये किसी भी तरह से किसी भी बहाने आवास के अंदर घुस कर विधायकों के साथ अप्रिय घटना करना चाहते है। बिहार की जनता नीतीश कुमार और पुलिस के कुकर्म देख रही है।
याद रहे हम…
— Rashtriya Janata Dal (@RJDforIndia) February 11, 2024
When will RLD announce INDIA exit?
Another political story that has simmered right through last week and may reach a critical point on Monday is Jayant Chaudhary and the future of his Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). The RLD will mark the birth anniversary of its founder and Jayant’s late father Chaudhary Ajit Singh on Monday and it is perhaps as good a day as any to announce that it will dump the INDIA bloc and the Samajwadi Party (SP) to join the BJP-led NDA.
Though the BJP has the firepower to win western UP without Jayant’s help, having him on its side is more than just winning a few extra constituencies that will push its tally over the 71 bagged in 2014. The RLD’s exit will likely hurt the SP and the INDIA alliance more than it will benefit the BJP. For the ruling party, the gain perhaps will be evaluated more in terms of the psychological blow it will deliver to the Opposition alliance and the Congress before the Lok Sabha elections.
But, as Asad Rehman reports, SP leaders in the region are defiant and say that the party can replace the RLD and should look to promote its own Jat leaders. It has to be seen if this sense of defiance translates into any concrete pushback against the BJP in west UP or if it is just wishful thinking.
Farmer leaders to meet Union Ministers
Farmers are again on the move. As the Delhi Police prepare for the “Delhi Chalo” march on February 13, the farmers’ unions that have called the protest march said they would take a final decision on whether to go ahead only after meeting Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda and his ministerial colleagues Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai in Chandigarh on Monday.
The unions, mostly from UP, Haryana, and Punjab, have called for the protest to demand a law guaranteeing Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops, one of the conditions they had set when they agreed to withdraw their protest in 2021. The march is being organised by around 200 farmers’ unions and a large number of farmers is expected to reach the national capital on Tuesday.
Also happening: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann will visit the Ayodhya Ram Temple on Monday. The AAP leaders will land at the Ayodhya airport around 11 am on a chartered flight from Delhi. They are likely to be accompanied by their families.
While Kejriwal did not attend the temple consecration ceremony on January 22, the AAP organised a series of events in the national capital to celebrate the occasion, from organising Shobha Yatras to Sundar Kand recitals.
— With PTI inputs