'Respect for Nitish Kumar unchanged': Veteran KC Tyagi quits JDU after longstanding friction

Tyagi will be attending a meeting of "like-minded persons" at Delhi's Mavlankar Hall on March 22 to discuss the political situation of the country.

New Delhi: Senior JD(U) leader KC Tyagi on Tuesday quit the Nitish Kumar-led party by "not renewing" his membership and said he will decide on his future course action soon after consulting his political friends, sympathisers and activists.

Tyagi, a former Rajya Sabha MP who was associated with the JD(U) since its inception in October 2003 with the merger of Samata Party and erstwhile Janata Dal will be attending a meeting of "like-minded persons" at Delhi's Mavlankar Hall on March 22 to discuss the political situation of the country.

His relationship with the party had deteriorated in the recent years after the emergence of Working President Sanjay Jha, leading to his resignation as national spokesperson, amid unease in the party leadership over his stand on various issues that triggered trouble with senior ally BJP.

In a statement, Tyagi recalled that he was Secretary General of the party when George Fernandes was President besides working with Sharad Yadav and Nitish as party chiefs. He held various posts, including Chief General Secretary, chief spokesperson and political advisor to the party.

"Now, the membership campaign of the party has ended. This time I've not renewed the membership of the party," he said, adding that his commitment to the "larger and wider ideological points" concerning the interests of downtrodden, peasants and agriculturalists, including the deprived sections of society "remains as firm as ever".

"My personal respect for Nitish Kumar who remained my comrade for close to half a century also remains unchanged...My further course of action will be decided soon in consultation with all required people," the 75-year-old leader said.

"Few of my friends, political friends, sympathisers and activists are organising a meet of like minded persons on March 22 to discuss the political situation of the country at Mavlankar Hall…We will continue to be inspired by the ideas and ideology of Bharat Ratna Chaudhary Charan Singh-ji, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia-ji and Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur-ji," he said.

Tyagi's troubles with the JD(U) was not new, as he was first dropped as national spokesperson in March 2023 but was reinstated two months later, before he quit again after around 18 months. The party was upset with his statements on Waqf Bill, Uniform Civil Code and Palestine issue, which rubbed the coalition leader BJP the wrong way.

Party sources then had claimed that Tyagi was taking an independent line on issues and as he was the national spokesperson, it was projected as JD(U) views, creating “confusion and trouble” within the NDA.

His statements also projected that there was “trouble” within the NDA and the BJP had raised it with the JD(U) leadership. There was a view within and outside the party that Tyagi’s statements were not helpful to maintain cordial ties.

A joint statement he signed with Opposition MPs supporting the Palestine cause while “unequivocally condemning the ongoing Zionist aggression” in September 2024 also was not seen well by the party.