Bihar Lok Sabha Elections 2024: In a setback for Nitish Kumar, former Janata Dal (United) MLA from Rupauli, Bima Bharti on Saturday joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in the presence of party leader Tejashwi Yadav. She resigned from JDU earlier today.
After joining the RJD, Bima Bharti said, "People of Purnia are ready to vote for us. I will contest Lok Sabha polls from Purnia if my party asks me to..."
On switching sides, Bharti said, "My husband and son are in jail, which is proof that 'ati-pichhda' (extremely backward) classes enjoy no respect in Bihar's ruling coalition.
Lalu-ji has assured me of his blessings. I am ready to contest Lok Sabha polls if he asks me to do so."
Who is Bima Bharti?
Bima Bharti, a former state minister, represents the Rupauli assembly segment in the Purnea district.
She had remained conspicuous by her absence at the state assembly last month when the Nitish Kumar government sought a trust vote.
Once known to be in the good books of the CM, she got on his wrong side a few years ago when she threw a fit over the induction of Leshi Singh in the state cabinet.
Singh is the JD(U) MLA from Dhamdaha in Purnea and her late husband Butan Singh, a local strongman, had been a fierce rival of Bharti's spouse Awadhesh Mandal.
Meanwhile, in a related development, former MLA Faraz Fatmi also gave up his membership of the JD(U), less than a week after the resignation of his father Mohammed Ali Ashraf Fatmi, who was a national general secretary in the party.
The father-son duo has been formerly associated with the RJD. Fatmi senior is a four-term former MP and has expressed his desire to contest the Lok Sabha poll from Madhubani, a seat which has gone into the kitty of JD(U)'s ally BJP.
A couple of days ago, RJD MP and national spokesperson Manoj Jha said that seat sharing in Bihar will be finalised soon, adding that talks are going well and in a positive direction.
Talking to the media after meeting Congress General Secretary Mukul Wasnik, Jha said they have agreed on seat sharing to a great extent.
"Agreement has been built to a great extent, things are on track, in a couple of days, everything will be cleared," Jha told reporters.
Asked about the details of the number of seats to be fought by the INDIA bloc partners, Jha said, "You are talking about numbers, we are concerned about winnability. A good formula will emerge, and everything will be decided."
He said there were no hiccups, and the talks were cordial.
"A comprehensive alliance is shaping up in public interest, against personality-centric politics, and to provide an alternative to that," he said.
RJD on Pashupati Kumar Paras resigning from Modi Cabinet
Asked about Pashupati Kumar Paras, who resigned from the Union Cabinet on Tuesday after his party was not given a single seat in the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) seat-sharing deal in Bihar for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Jha said it was a practice for the BJP to "use and throw" alliance partners.
"What happened with Paras is not new, that is what the BJP does. They left Chirag (Paswan), and took in Paras, now they have left Paras and taken in Chirag. Use and throw has never been witnessed at this scale in Indian politics," he said.
"In the days to come, many more people are going to be used and thrown... an important face from Bihar may be one of them," he said without naming anyone.
Asked who he was indicating at, he said, "My indication is clear".
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