After all three MLCs of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) in Bihar defected to the ruling JD(U) five days ago, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan’s party confronted another debilitating crisis on Saturday as one of its three MLAs revealed that he and another MLA were set to join the JD(U).
Even as LJP leaders tried to play down swirling speculations about a division in the three-member legislature party, Bhabua MLA Pramod Kumar Singh openly admitted that both he and Thakurganj MLA Naushad Alam had decided to join the JD(U).
“We have formally expressed our desire to join the JD(U) by jointly writing a letter to Assembly Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary,” said Mr Singh.
“Our decision to join the JD(U) was prompted by the great development work being sincerely done under chief minister Nitish Kumar’s leadership. This decision also reflects the current wishes of the electorate in our respective constituencies,” said Mr Singh. His statements embarrassed Bihar’s LJP leaders as they came on a day when LJP chief and Rajya Sabha member Ram Vilas Paswan staged protests in New Delhi against Bihar’s JD(U)-BJP government and burnt an effigy of chief minister Nitish Kumar.
Naushad Alam, who was reportedly upset with the LJP’s state of affairs, had refuted reports about his plans to join the JD(U) on Tuesday after he had a meeting with Mr Paswan in New Delhi. But Mr Singh claimed that both he and Mr Alam signed in a “single and joint” letter sent to the Speaker. Mr Alam could not be contacted for comments. Party sources said the third LJP legislator, Zakir Hussain Khan of Araria, is currently undecided about a future move. LJP’s Bihar unit chief Pashupati Kumar Paras said the recent revelation of scams had prompted the ruling JD(U) to lure away leaders of the Opposition parties.
LJP principal general secretary Awadhesh Narayan Kushwaha said Pramod Singh could be the only MLA planning to quit the party and that action was being taken against him for his comments.