Soon JD(U) will be wiped out from Bihar too: Tej Pratap Yadav on Arunachal Pradesh row

Attacking the Janata Dal (United) after six of its MLAs joined the BJP in Arunachal Pradesh, RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav said that the party has started to break into pieces. "Soon they Janata Dal (United) will be wiped out from Bihar too. The party has started to break into pieces," he told news agency ANI.

Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar yesterday sought to downplay the split suffered by the JD(U) in Arunachal Pradesh and dismissed the matter with a bitter laugh. JD(U) won seven seats in the Assembly polls held last year and become the main opposition group while the BJP, his coalition partner in Bihar, came to power.

"We are focusing on our proposed meeting. They have gone their own way", Kumar said.

The JD(U) has been contesting Assembly polls in a number of states without having a truck with the BJP, insisting that its tie-up with the saffron party is "confined to Bihar".

The success in Arunachal Pradesh had helped the JD(U) gain recognition as a state party there, a development which was hailed by its rank and file as evidence of its growing footprint under the leadership of CM Nitish Kumar.

(With PTI inputs)