In yet another indication that all was not well within the Opposition "Mahagathbandhan" (grand alliance) in Bihar, RJD on Friday crossed swords with its ally Hindustani Awam Morcha after its president Jitan Ram Manjhi threw his hat in the ring for the post of Chief Minister if the alliance attained power next year.
Manjhi, who had served as the chief minister from May, 2014 to February, 2015, made a statement to this effect on Thursday here while interacting with the media and also spoke about the inexperience of RJD heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav the younger son of Lalu Prasad, already projected by RJD as its chief ministerial candidate.
Congress- another partner of the Opposition grouping- has also been skeptical on projection of Tejashwi Yadav as the coalition CM nominee for the 2020 Bihar poll.
Notably, the HAM president who had floated the party after quitting the JD(U) in protest against having been asked to step down and make way for the return of his mentor Nitish Kumar used to be a staunch admirer of the young RJD leader, who made his political debut at a young age of 25 in the 2015 assembly polls and was straight away made the Deputy CM.
However, Manjhi who succeeded in securing a berth in the legislative council for his son with the RJDs help after quitting the NDA and joining grand alliance has grown skeptical of Yadavs leadership since the Lok Sabha polls dismal showing.
The five-party formation was drubbed in the Parliamentary election in Bihar and the RJD which had contested 19 out of the 40 seats in the state- drew a blank.
Dissatisfaction with Yadavs leadership, among the RJDs alliance partners, has grown in the months that followed the general elections as the party heir apparent remained in sulk for long, staying away from all political activities and refusing to attend a month-long monsoon session of the assembly despite being the Leader of the Opposition.
Moreover, many eyebrows were raised when Manjhi recently met Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, a former RJD MP and strong critic of Tejashwi Yadav, who went on to float his own Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) after Lalu Prasad expelled him for anti-party activities.
Yadav has been going to town with his plans to form a Third Front in Bihar where the bloated, loosely knit Mahagathbandhan is posing a feeble challenge to the NDA comprising the BJP, Chief Minister Nitish Kumars JD(U) and Ram Vilas Paswans LJP.
