PATNA: Ahead of Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) two-day national meet, starting October 9, uncertainty has gripped the party’s state unit with speculations rife that party state president Jagdanand Singh, apparently peeved with the RJD top leadership after his son’s resignation from the cabinet, may tender his resignation from the post soon, said insiders within the Grand Alliance (GA).
According to the insiders, the RJD state president is expected to meet party national president Lalu Prasad in New Delhi in the next few days.
The possibility of Jagdanand, a close confidant of the RJD chief, stepping down from his post has gained importance in the backdrop of the veteran leader indicting the Grand Alliance (GA) government of ‘pursuing BJP agenda in agriculture department’ and even cited it as a reason why his son and former minister Sudhakar Singh had stepped down on October 2.
Jagdanand, however, remained non-committal about speculations about his resignation. “I cannot comment on what the speculations are. Let people understand and make their own perceptions. I have nothing to say,” he said.
On whether he was angry with the RJD leadership after his son’s resignation, the state president once again remained guarded. “I will meet the RJD chief and attend the national council,” he said.
Evidently, the fact that Jagdanand, a prominent Rajput leader of RJD who has steered the RJD in absence of Lalu during his incarceration, is annoyed over the chain of events in the last few days is clear; the reasons are many.
First, it is said the veteran leader is cut-off with the deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and the RJD chief for not siding with his son’s bid to take a different line in policy matters in the agriculture department, taking steps to curb the alleged corruption, bring back the mandi system for farmers by restoring theAgriculture Produce Market Committee Act (APMC) and also take a close look at the efficacy of the Agriculture road map.
Secondly, sources said that the RJD state president is also annoyed over the way party top leaders chose to accept his son’s resignation weighing it as an apparent easy option to keep the ‘larger interest of the government and giving in to pressure from allies, especially the JD(U) and the chief minister.
Insiders in the GA said CM Nitish Kumar was not feeling comfortable with Sudhakar’s repeated attack against the government and questioning ambitious projects like the agriculture roadmap, which had given a lot of fodder to the opposition BJP to attack the JD(U) strongman for allegedly failing to check corruption.
“ Jagdanand has had differences with the chief minister for long and it is clear, the RJD state president is offended with the way the party chose to remove its own minister for the smooth functioning of the government by bowing to allies, including the JD(U). The way Sudhakar Singh was removed is another reason why the RJD leader is personally aggrieved,” said Nawal Kishore Choudhary, a political observer.
However, RJD leaders said that Jagdanand had not tendered his papers yet. “It is likely, Singh may put his papers to the RJD chief when he meets him in New Delhi. Things are difficult now although Lalu would like Singh to continue,” said a senior RJD leader.
Meanwhile, BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi said the resignation by Sudhakar and previously by law minister Kartikeya Kumar only reflected the unease within the GA government and growing friction between the allies. “All is not well in the GA government because there is friction between RJD and JD(U) over the agricultural road map. There are chances Jagdanand Singh himself would tender his papers from the party state president. Jagdanand and Nitish are like two swords in the same sheath, who cannot fit in the grand alliance,” Modi said.
