JD(U) chief spokesperson Tyagi quits amid fissures in NDA over key issues

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 1

Veteran Janata Dal (United) leader KC Tyagi on Sunday resigned as the party’s chief spokesperson citing “personal reasons”. The party has appointed Rajiv Ranjan Prasad as its new national spokesperson.

Though Tyagi downplayed the development and said he was still with the JD(U) and is its political adviser and that he was not upset or disappointed, the development points towards growing differences between the party leadership and the senior leader. He has been towing a line on sensitive issues like the controversial Waqf Bill, Uniform Civil Code and the Gaza war that has been contrary to the BJP-led NDA government’s stand on these matters.

The development has come just couple of days after another NDA ally, the LJP (Ramvilas), had expressed reservations on the Waqf Bill, with its MP Arun Bharti, who is part of the joint parliamentary panel on the contentious Bill, calling for views of those who are opposed to the proposed legislation.

With the JD(U) being a key ally of the NDA government, Tyagi’s views created discomfort within the party with senior leaders alleging that he was presenting his personal views as that of the party’s.

Meanwhile, the senior leader, while speaking on his decision, said, “I am still with the party. I am the party’s political adviser. I am neither upset, nor dejected or disappointed. I am cheerful. I have resigned from the post of party spokesperson, not the party...I wrote to Nitish Kumar yesterday. He called me up and urged me to continue as the party’s adviser.”

In 2020, Tyagi had expressed reluctance at continuing as the party’s spokesperson after former Union Minister RCP Singh was made JD(U) national president.

Similarly in March 2023, the JD(U) led by then president Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lalan had dropped Tyagi as the party’s national general secretary and chief spokesperson, bringing the leader’s nearly two-decade-long stint as the face of the party in the national capital to an end.

However, two months later, in May 2023, Tyagi returned as ‘special adviser and chief spokesperson’ of the party.

The 73-year-old leader was a Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar from 2013 to 2016 and was a Lok Sabha member from 1989 to 1991 from the Hapur constituency.

This development has come close on the heels of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) alleging in Bihar that at least three MPs of LJP (Ramvilas) are in close contact with the BJP, indicating growing fissures between the regional outfit and the BJP.

The allegations were dismissed both by the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and BJP.

This comes amid differences in views of Chirag Paswan’s party over issues such as the Waqf Act, the Supreme Court’s observation on reservations and the concept of lateral entry in government services.

RJD MLA Mukesh Roshan, last week, had fuelled controversy by alleging that the BJP is intent on poaching members from Chirag Paswan’s party. Roshan suggested that Paswan should consider joining forces with the RJD for the betterment of Bihar.

However, Bihar LJP chief Raju Tiwari dismissed the speculation. Tiwari said that Chirag and Tejashwi Yadav, leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, stand on opposite ends of the political spectrum.