There are rumblings in the Grand Alliance in Bihar after RJD and Congress went separate ways to fight the October 30 bypolls. As the RJD decided to fight both the seats, Congress in-charge Bhakta Charan Das fired a salvo at the party saying it is helping the BJP and that Congress is not in the Grand Alliance anymore. Prof Manoj K Jha, a senior Rajya Sabha MP and one of the intellectual faces of the RJD, spoke to DH’s Shemin Joy on the political situation.
Congress’ Bihar in-charge Bhaktacharan Das has levelled allegations against the RJD following the latter deciding to contest both the seats going to bypolls. Has the Grand Alliance in Bihar collapsed?
Das has not only said that there is no Grand Alliance in Bihar. He went on to attribute unimaginable motives like we are in cohorts with the BJP-RSS. Not even an ordinary voter of Bihar is able to digest what he said. The RJD has suffered fighting the BJP on the streets as well as in the Assembly and Parliament. He has also said that Congress is willing to contest all the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. I wish him good luck. Why only 40 seats in Bihar? Das should contemplate contesting 543 seats all over the country and defeat the BJP. We shall be more than happy. But the reality is different. I don't know whether his statements have the support of the Congress central leadership. I doubt he has the support of the central leadership.
Congress had demanded Kusheshwar Asthan, one of the two seats going to bypolls in Bihar On October 30. It had contested the seat earlier. Why did RJD take a decision to ignore the Congress demand and contest from there?
There is a bit of history to the seat many are unaware of. There is this community called Musahars, which has remained unrepresented from that constituency till now. We were keen to field a Musahar candidate. The Congress was not willing to come on board. We had two choices – go ahead discarding the fact that this community needed representation or stick to something called ‘coalition dharma’. RJD is practising ‘coalition dharma’. We were keen that Musahars should be represented. Congress was not keen. I think that was the turning point. We thought Congress being a national party would understand that one by-poll seat doesn't matter. The last four times, they had contested the seat and were losing it.
Does this move to take over the seat have something to do with the latest developments including the induction of CPI's Kanhaiya Kumar into the Congress?
This question has nothing more than a gossip value. There used to be a popular Hindi magazine 'Manohar Kahaniyan'. This story is best suitable for 'Manohar Kahaniyan'. RJD chief Tejashwi Yadav has led this Grand Alliance and almost brought it to victory in 2020. If the administration had not intervened with a dubious design, we would have been in power. Anybody saying it is because of this or that, it makes no sense at all.
You referred to Das' allegation that RJD is helping the BJP. What will be your specific response to this?
My response will be that the people of India should check the record of fighting the BJP. We don't need to provide any proof. My party has suffered, my leader has suffered and he is still suffering because he stays committed to certain ideas and principles. What should I say about Congress? Where are their five past state presidents? Records will tell you.
Do you still consider Congress as a reliable ally in Bihar?
Of course, yes. I have been maintaining that the Congress central leadership has a very robust relationship with the RJD and Lalu Prasad ji. We have had many battles together. We have seen good times. We have seen bad times. I am sure that the Congress central leadership will look at the larger picture and probably rein in its state leadership.
There is also a rift within the RJD between Tejashwi Yadav and his brother Tej Pratap Yadav. Is RJD in the doldrums?
Not at all. I tell you this is another story that a section of the media loves to circulate. There are certain issues but these are issues that can be resolved. It is between the family. The party is not impacted by it. It will be resolved.
How do you see the JD(U)'s chances in these bypolls? Will it be a referendum?
Every election is a referendum. The 2020 Bihar Assembly election was a referendum. Despite being reduced to 40-odd seats, JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar chose to remain in power. So that tells you his ideological moorings. I am campaigning in both the seats going to bypolls. I can tell you that people desperately want to see that the RJD wins these two seats. People want these two seats to be the harbinger of change in the government. There are many JD(U) MLAs who are actually not very happy with the kind of governance they are seeing.
In five months time, we will see elections in five states, including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Several say the results will set the tone for the 2024 elections. What impact will these elections have on the 2024 polls?
Every election is a new election. I personally don't subscribe to calling some elections semi-finals or quarter-finals. Elections should be on people's issues. How can the country forget the highest unemployment rate recorded recently or unaccounted Covid-19 or disaster sort of situation owing to rising prices? I think these are the kind of issues where the entire opposition should stand together. I know there will be some hiccups, but setting aside those blocks, building a narrative shall probably pave the way for 2022 and subsequently 2024.
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