RJD’S NEW CARD MYK, IF IT WORKS, TEZASHWI WILL BE IN LUCK

RJD’S NEW CARD MYK, IF IT WORKS, TEZASHWI WILL BE IN LUCK

23-JULY-ENG 16

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

PATNA------------------------When Aurangabad MP Abhay Kushwaha was chosen as the leader of RJD Parliamentary Party, it was discussed a lot in Bihar politics. The discussion was why Abhay was given preference in the presence of Misa Bharti. Actually, the secret behind this is Kushwaha associated with Abhay, through which RJD has its eyes on 6 percent Kushwaha vote bank, read RJD's new political equation in Bihar politics

Patna: RJD's political history is a witness to the fact that the major posts of the party have been occupied by Lalu Prasad's family, but by choosing Abhay Kushwaha, who broke the norm and won from Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat on Friday, as the leader of RJD Parliamentary Party, the party has given the message that apart from Lalu family, someone can also get a big post in the party, and it is also being considered as an attempt to woo a particular caste.

Along with Abhay Kushwaha being elected as the leader of the RJD parliamentary party, Surendra Prasad Yadav, who was elected MP from Jehanabad, was nominated as the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha, while Fayaz Ahmed was made the party's chief whip in the Rajya Sabha. Before Fayaz, Misa Bharti was the chief whip, who has now become a Lok Sabha MP.

Everyone is familiar with Lalu's MY equation and people also know that on the strength of this MY equation, Lalu Prasad ruled Bihar politics for years unilaterally. However, in the last few elections, it has been seen that this spell of Lalu is now weakening. In such a situation, RJD is now eyeing the 6 percent Kushwaha vote bank and Abhay Kushwaha being elected as the leader of the parliamentary party is being considered a part of this important strategy.

After the Lok Sabha elections, now all political parties are eyeing the Bihar assembly elections to be held in 2025. Even though RJD may have won only 4 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, there is no doubt that in this Lok Sabha election, RJD has been successful in creating an equation different from the MY equation. Especially the Kushwaha caste was seen joining RJD this time.

During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, giving preference to the Kushwaha caste of the Mahagathbandhan, 7 candidates from this caste were fielded in the Lok Sabha elections, out of which Abhay Kushwaha was successful in winning from Aurangabad and Raja Ram Singh from Karakat.

To woo the Kushwaha caste, BJP made Samrat Chaudhary the state president of the party, but in the Lok Sabha elections, Samrat Chaudhary was not successful in giving even a single candidate from his caste. Not only this, Kushwaha is also seen angry with BJP due to the defeat of Upendra Kushwaha in Karakat.

The speed with which the Kushwaha caste is seen joining RJD in Bihar politics has made the strategists of RJD happy. In such a situation, RJD wants to keep the Kushwaha caste connected to the party at any cost and the selection of Abhay Kushwaha as the leader of the RJD parliamentary party in the Lok Sabha is being considered a part of this strategy.

"With the pretext of selecting Abhay Kushwaha, RJD has tried to give a message to the Kushwaha community that we not only gave 7 seats to the Kushwaha caste in the Lok Sabha elections but now after winning four seats, we have made Abhay Kushwaha the leader of the House. RJD wants to give a message to the people that we have taken this decision not just for show but to give respect." Sanjay Kumar, senior political analyst

BJP is raising questions on the selection of Abhay Kushwaha as the leader of the RJD parliamentary party. BJP spokesperson Kuntal Krishna says that "Lalu family has a history of doing whatever they have done only for the benefit of their family. Abhay Kushwaha has also been chosen as the leader of the party's parliamentary party so that he can work as a rubber stamp for the Lalu family." When BJP raised questions on the selection of Abhay Kushwaha as the leader, RJD retaliated. RJD spokesperson Ejaz Ahmed said that "In the Lok Sabha elections, BJP did not give ticket to anyone from Kushwaha caste, on the contrary Upendra Kushwaha was cheated in Karakat. Whereas RJD not only fielded 7 candidates but also gave respect to Kushwaha caste by choosing Abhay Kushwaha as the leader of the parliamentary party." During his Jan Vishwas Yatra before the Lok Sabha elections, Tejashwi Yadav has been continuously saying that RJD is now a party from A to Z. Tejashwi was also seen repeating this during the campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. Political pundits believe that "taking this theory forward, RJD is working on a policy to formulate new equations for the 2025 assembly elections. It feels that if K is added to MY and the MYK equation is formed, then the path to winning the assembly elections in 2025 can become easier."