Once Nitish’s closest aide, ex-JD(U) chief RCP Singh joins BJP

NEW DELHI: While Nitish Kumar continues to meet opposition leaders to forge a grand pan-India alliance of opposition parties, BJP once again displayed its intent towards the Bihar CM by inducting his party JD(U)’s ex-national president and former Union minister RCP Singh.
Singh, for long the closest associate of Nitish, who even made him the president of JD(U), fell out with the Bihar CM in intriguing circumstances with the latter blaming him for taking the unilateral decision to join the Modi government. The subsequent expulsion of Singh, formerly of the IAS, from JD(U) climaxed the breathtaking factional manoeuvres that overlapped with Nitish’s dramatic decision to leave the BJP a second time.
While Singh is yet to contest an election, BJP sources consider him a good acquisition because of his familiarity with Nitish’s way of functioning and the bond he shares with many in JD(U). Singh also has an “irritant” value as criticism from him, BJP circles reckon, may rile Nitish Kumar more.
Singh, a Kurmi like Nitish, lived up to the billing soon after he joined the party in the presence of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, party national general secretary Arun Singh and national media head Anil Baluni.
“Nitish Kumar was a PM, is one now and will remain so forever. But not the PM that you and I understand, in his case PM stands for ‘Palti-maar’ (one who is adept at changing sides),” Singh said, playing on the volte faces that have marked Nitish’s career.
“Nitish Kumar says that no development was taking place in the country, then how come the Indian economy is among the top five in the world?” Singh questioned and added that the Bihar CM had joined hands with the “corrupt” as he is obsessed with the “chair”.
“Nitish babu used to say that he was against crime and corruption. Today, he is sitting in the lap of those against whom he once struggled. He is in love with the letter ‘C’ because ‘C’ stands for chair also. Everything he is doing is for the chair only,” Singh said.
He added that he tried to show the mirror to Nitish on several occasions but the CM could not see the groundswell due to his love for the chair. “What kind of opposition unity will you forge? Who is the leader? Is it possible to forge opposition unity without a leader?” he asked, adding, “Nitish babu, you always talk about history. Don’t forget history. Ahead of every Lok Sabha election, there has been talk about opposition unity, in 2019 as well.”
Singh said rule of law was established in Bihar after the NDA government was formed in the state. “But everything has gone awry in Bihar today. The situation is worse than in the past,” he said. Dharmendra Pradhan also hit out at Kumar and said the JD(U) leader moved out of the NDA to pursue his “personal political ambitions and goals”.
“NDA played a significant role in keeping Bihar on track. But Nitish ji kept back-stabbing (us) to pursue his personal political ambitions and goals,” he said.