Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav today claimed that his party's victory in by-polls to two assembly segments in Bihar would lead to a political upheaval in the state where the NDA is running a government with a slender majority.
Mr Yadav, who is also the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, made remarks to the effect while campaigning for the RJD candidate in Tarapur assembly constituency in Munger district.
"If we are blessed with a victory here (Tarapur) and in Kusheshwar Asthan, you could see a khela (upset) in a few months' time", said Mr Yadav at an election rally, apparently drawing inspiration from the "Khela hobe" (game will happen) slogan coined by Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress in adjacent West Bengal ahead of the high-voltage assembly polls held a few months ago.
The RJD had bagged 75 seats in the assembly polls held last year, one more than the BJP's tally, and significantly higher than that of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) which could win less than 50.
Nonetheless, in the 243-strong assembly, the NDA which also included a couple of smaller parties got a slender majority. The RJD-headed five-party Grand Alliance which included the Congress and the Left, fell short of the magic mark by about 10 seats, for which the opposition coalition has been blaming "manipulations" in tightly contested seats.
Mr Yadav, who has been a former deputy CM, also sought to target the Nitish Kumar government for the death of JD(U) MLA Mewa Lal Chaudhary, whose demise has led to the by-poll in Tarapur.
"It is wrong to say that COVID-19 killed the MLA. A failed healthcare system is responsible for his death and the buck stops with Nitish Kumar who has been ruling the state for 16 years", said the RJD leader who had served as Mr Kumar's deputy for a little about two years, until the JD(U) leader's abrupt return to the NDA.
The younger son and heir apparent of RJD boss Lalu Prasad asserted that in the reserved seat of Kusheshwar Asthan, the death of JD(U) MLA Shashi Bhushan Hazari was, similarly, a result of poor healthcare facilities in the state.
He asked, "Why else would he have to be rushed to Delhi for the treatment of something so common like hepatitis?"
Although the RJD has been sounding confident of wresting the two seats from the JD(U), it faces a challenge in the form of the Congress which has thrown its hat in the ring in both constituencies.
The allies run the risk of cutting into each other's votes which could benefit the JD(U) candidate.
The RJD is also mortified by Lalu Prasad's elder son throwing a tantrum and announcing that he would follow the "coalition dharma" in his own way, by supporting his father's party in Tarapur but the Congress in Kusheshwar Asthan.
Voting is scheduled for both seats on October 30.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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