Lalu Yadav's estranged daughter-in-law's father, an RJD MLA, plans to leave the party (File)
Disgruntled RJD MLA Chandrika Roy, whose daughter is locked in a nasty marital dispute with founding president Lalu Prasads son, on Thursday declared that he has decided to quit the party and that he thought of the JD(U) headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as a possible destination.
Lavishing praise on Nitish Kumar, Mr Roy said he had "full faith" in the leadership of the JD(U) chief whom he credited with having worked for the betterment of Bihar during his 15-year-long stint as chief minister.
Bihar would have become uninhabitable had improvements in law and order situation and condition of roads and electricity not taken place under Nitish Kumars watch. You can recall how things were 15 years back, he said.
Mr Roy has been multiple term MLA from Parsa, which he has represented as an Independent as well as on tickets of Congress and RJD in his three decades long political career. He admitted to having met Nitish Kumar recently and "discussed the political situation".
"I will inform all about my next political move at an appropriate time. At the moment, it shall suffice to admit my my mohbhang (disillusionment) with RJD which I will quit", said the party MLA, who had contested as its candidate in the Lok Sabha polls last year from Saran a pocket borough of Lalu Prasad Yadav but lost.
Mr Roy also alleged that "a small coterie" was now controlling the RJD leaving many senior leaders sore and claimed "many more MLAs may desert the party in the run-up to the assembly elections".
Notably, Mr Roy's daughter Aishwarya had tied the knot with Lalu Prasad Yadav's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav in May, 2018 though the latter filed a divorce petition barely six months later citing incompatibility.
Son of late Daroga Prasad Rai, a Congress veteran who had served as the Chief Minister of Bihar in the 1970s, Roy had initially sought to downplay the marital dispute as an internal matter between the two families.
However, things reached a flashpoint in the last few months after Aishwarya alleged that she has been driven out of the house by her mother-in-law Rabri Devi a former Chief Minister herself at whose place she had been living despite the divorce petition in a bid to salvage her marriage.
Reacting to Mr Roy's statement, state RJD president Jagadanand Singh said "he has some personal problems with the party. If he feels better by going elsewhere, I can only offer my good wishes".
He also asserted "any number of similarly disgruntled people may leave if it pleases them. This is going to have no adverse effect on the party".
However, the party's founding member and national vice president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh known for speaking his mind sought to differ.
"How can one say there will be no effect? A party is strengthened when new people join and gets weakened when old hands leave. I will speak to Chandrika Roy and try to convince him so that he changes his mind", the former Union minister said.
Meanwhile, the JD(U) said Roy was "welcome" to join the party.
"Chandrika Roy is a respectable leader and hails from a renowned family. We shall welcome him with open arms", JD(U) spokesman Sanjay Singh said.