'BJP tried the 'Ekanth Shinde' plan but...': JDU leader amid NDA breakup speculations

Nitish Kumar smartly assessed the situation of Bihar and he was minutely observing the activities of RCP Singh, said the JDU leader.

Patna: While Janata Dal-United reached the stage where it planned to break away from the NDA in Bihar, the BJP leadership activated the "Eknath Shinde plan" to sabotage the Nitish Kumar government but the Chief Minister spotted it within time and changed the entire game, a JD-U leader claimed. The claim by a party leader, who was speaking on the condition of anonymity, came a day after JD-U national President Lalan Singh said that Nitish Kumar and the JD-U were targeted with the "Chirag model" during the 2020 Assembly election and as a result, the party only secured 43 seats. The reference was to how the Lok Janshakti Party of Chirag Paswan fought elections outside the NDA, but only in the seats that the JD-U was contesting.

According to the party leader: "This time, the Chirag model was activated through R.C.P. Singh. The saffron party wanted R.C.P. Singh to stay in the JD-U and work like Eknath Shinde. Lalan Singh`s statement about the Chirag model was actually the Eknath Shinde model in Bihar. Everyone knows who was behind the conspiracy to remove Uddhav Thakeray in Maharashtra."

"Nitish Kumar smartly assessed the situation of Bihar and he was minutely observing the activities of R.C.P. Singh. When he thought that the time had come to end the climax, he asked the JD-U state President to serve the notice to R.C.P. Singh and asked to clarify the 40 bigha lands obtained by him and his family in the last 9 years. Following that development, R.C.P. Singh resigned from the primary membership of the party and levelled sensational allegations against Nitish Kumar and national president Lalan Singh. He even claimed that the JD-U is a sinking ship."

The party insider said that BJP started the plan to change the Chief Minister ever since its top leadership included only R.C.P. Singh in the Narendra Modi government. At that time, there was a buzz that there were several JD-U MLAs in touch with R.C.P. Singh and he might become a rebel.

"Nitish Kumar realised the threat and started surgical operations on two fronts. One he had given complete authority to Lalan Singh to evict every sympathiser of R.C.P. Singh either out from the party or take away the responsibility in the organisational structure. Many leaders in the organisation became loyalists of Nitish Kumar.

"The situation was such that none of the MLA or MLC openly went into the events where R.C.P. Singh was the chief guest in Bihar. Nitish Kumar then opened another front in his own hand and forced the BJP central leadership to send a leader in Patna. Due to the strong stand of Nitish Kumar, Dharmendra Pradhan came to Patna on that occasion to discuss the issue. Nitish Kumar pointed out to Pradhan that if such a thing will be repeated in future, he would not respect the `Gathbandhan Dharma`. After the resignation of R.C.P. Singh, BJP started the same game plan again which may force Nitish Kumar to take a decision," he said.

Weighing in on the R.C.P. Singh issue, Lalan Singh said: "During the expansion of Narendra Modi government, R.C.P. Singh told JD-U leadership that he received a phone call from Amit Shah, telling him that his name was selected as a cabinet minister. How could BJP decide who would be the minister from JD-U? Nitish Kumar gave the authority to R.C.P. Singh to negotiate with BJP, what was he (R.C.P. Singh) doing when Amit Shah told him that his name was selected as a cabinet minister? Why had he not objected to it? This statement of R.C.P. Singh proved that he was working for BJP while staying with JD-U."

Lalan Singh also targeted R.C.P. Singh for later claiming that he was associated with Nitish Kumar since 1998.

"R.C.P. Singh was associated with Nitish Kumar as a private secretary in 1998. At that time, Nitish Kumar was the Railway Minister and there were two dozen officials associated with him. That does not mean he was a leader of JD-U. He became leader of JD-U in 2010 when Nitish Kumar sent him to Rajya Sabha," Lalan Singh said.