Ties between Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav and senior party leader Nitish Kumar have reportedly been strained after the dismal Lok Sabha poll results
The BJP has not only complicated matters for Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) in the by-elections for three Rajya Sabha seats, it has also forced out in the open the tussle between the former Bihar chief minister and the president of his party Sharad Yadav.
The BJP has said it will support Independent candidates for two of the three seats against the JD(U). But it will not oppose Mr Yadav, the third JD(U) candidate.
This is likely to mean that while Sharad Yadav will win his seat, the onus of ensuring a win for his other two partymen - prominent Muslim leader Ghulam Rasool Baliyavi and retired diplomat-turned politician Pawan Verma - will be on Nitish Kumar. If they lose, he will get further isolated in his party.
The split that Nitish Kumar effected with the BJP last year reportedly did not go down well with Sharad Yadav, who was also the convenor of the BJP-led NDA, now ruling at the Centre with Narendra Modi, Mr Kumar's arch political rival, as Prime Minister. The washout of their party in the general election has reportedly strained ties further between the JD(U)'s two top leaders.
The party has nominated Mr Yadav, Mr Baliyavi and Mr Verma for the three seats which were vacated by Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan, BJP general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy and former Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Ram Kripal Yadav.
All three have been elected to the Lok Sabha; Ram Kripal Yadav is now in the BJP. The Rajya Sabha by-elections will be held on June 19
Without the BJP attempting to trip it up, the JD(U), which has 117 members in a 237-seat assembly, can win all the three seats.