Bihar sees pre-poll churn as leaders switch loyalties

With elections round the corner, the season of “Aya Ram, Gaya Ram” has begun in Bihar. It is not always graceful, as leaders often turn their wrath on their former parties. On Friday, two-time JD(U) MP from Purnea Santosh Kushwaha joined the RJD and is likely to be fielded as its candidate from an Assembly seats in Purnea district.

Kushwaha was one of the two winners from the JD(U) in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. He won again in 2019 but lost to Independent candidate Pappu Yadav in the 2024 polls, a defeat he blames on local BJP and JD(U) leaders. Hailing Lalu Yadav as the Messiah of the poor and Tejashwi Yadav, Kushwaha said the JD(U) had been captured by three leaders. “The state party president’s status is like that of a gatekeeper,” he said. Others to follow the suit include Rahul Sharma, a former JD(U) MLA, who is likely to be fielded from the Ghosi assembly seat in Jehanabad district. His relations with Nitish Kumar have reportedly cooled since 2015.

Defections have been taking place for the last 10 days. Sitting MLAs, uncertain about their future, are crossing over either in search of ticket from rival camps or to promote their sons. Sanjeev Singh, the sitting JD(U) MLA from Parbatta in Khagaria district, switched to the RJD last week, declaring that the present regime was among the most corrupt Bihar has ever witnessed. JD(U) insiders, however, claim that the real reason for his shift was his insecurity about retaining his seat in the NDA, as Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary was reportedly keen on fielding his brother from there.

In 2024, when the Nitish government was seeking a vote of confidence in the Bihar Assembly, several NDA MLAs went missing and had to be brought in by the police. Similarly, a few RJD and Congress MLAs crossed over to the treasury benches despite the anti-defection laws. Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav did issue notices to these MLAs but did not disqualify them. Now, several RJD and Congress MLAs, including Prahlad Yadav, Siddharth Singh, Murari Gautam, Bharat Bind, Sangita Kumar and Chetan Anand, are quitting to join either the BJP or the JD(U).

“I presume that while defecting to us, they must have negotiated their ticket from their respective Assembly seats,” remarked a senior BJP leader. Political circles had been expecting these defections and are hardly surprised. “It is not about politics or ideology anymore. It’s about remaining in the corridors of power,” said former MLA Ramdev Yadav, a four-time legislator from Banka district.

Meanwhile, hectic meetings were held by both alliances to finalise seat-sharing arrangements. Neither side came out with a final formula but maintained that discussions were almost complete. “The final seat-sharing formula will be announced in a day or two. We will abide by the decision of our leader,” said an RJD MLA.

Insiders said a “minor hurdle” remained, with Mukesh Sahani’s VIP and the CPI-ML demanding more seats. NDA talks are being held in Delhi and BJP insiders say they are almost wrapped up, as Chirag Paswan has climbed down from his earlier demand of 40 seats to around 20. Union minister Nityanand Rai has been holding meetings with Chirag for the last two days.