India News | No Feelers Received from NDA, Says Bihar Cong MLA Who Chose to Stay Back
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Congress MLA Siddharth Saurav, who has raised many eyebrows by deciding to stay back when party legislators from Bihar have been shifted to Telangana amid fears of poaching, on Monday denied having got feelers from the NDA.
Patna, Feb 5 (PTI) Congress MLA Siddharth Saurav, who has raised many eyebrows by deciding to stay back when party legislators from Bihar have been shifted to Telangana amid fears of poaching, on Monday denied having got feelers from the NDA.
Saurav claimed that he was firmly with the Congress and ”because of preoccupations in my constituency”, he chose not to join colleagues in Delhi for a meeting with AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge followed by a visit to Hyderabad over the weekend.
"It is a wedding season during which all public representatives like to remain present in the constituency and help people who are in need. I had conveyed my decision to the party leadership upon receiving a phone call for the meeting in Delhi and they were okay with that," claimed Saurav.
The MLA of the Bikram assembly seat said there is no question of him or any of the other Congress MLAs in Bihar crossing over to the NDA.
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"The BJP and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) together crossed the magic mark. Besides, they have the support of four MLAs of former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM. They do not need to try to poach MLAs from the opposition camp," he said.
The NDA, which includes an Independent MLA Sumit Kumar Singh, who is also a minister, enjoys the support of 128 legislators in the 243-member assembly. In contrast, the Mahagathbandhan, comprising RJD, Congress and three Left parties, accounts for 114 MLAs, eight short of the majority mark.
Asked why, in his view, the party leadership chose to send Bihar MLAs to the southern state if he saw no threats of poaching, Saurav said they may have thought that prevention was better than cure.
"There have been attempts to poach MLAs in other states in the past. Moreover, the legislators may have also thought it was a fine opportunity to tour Telangana after the installation of a Congress government. I shall be looking forward to a visit in future," Saurav said.
MLAs of the Congress in Bihar, the second largest constituent of the ‘Mahagathbandhan', which lost power last month, were on Sunday flown to Hyderabad amid fears of poaching by the BJP-led NDA.
He added: "If a split in any party would make a difference, it is the JD(U). I am not suggesting that I suspect a split in the chief minister's party. I do not also see much substance in speculations around Manjhi. Even if he were to switch sides, he would not help Mahagathbandhan form its own government."
Manjhi's son Santosh Suman has also got a ministerial berth in the NDA government which was formed last week. However, the former CM has been demanding an additional cabinet berth for his party, stressing that he has remained in the BJP-led coalition despite being tempted by the offer of the chief minister's post by the RJD.
While no RJD leader has gone on record to confirm any such offer to Manjhi, state Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh had made a tongue in cheek remark a couple of days ago.
The HAM founder's demand for another cabinet berth "should be considered in view of his immense political value", Singh had said adding "If he wants to become the CM, he should come to our side".
Meanwhile, former Lok Janshakti Party president Chirag Paswan, who has been uneasy with the JD(U)'s return to NDA, threw his weight behind Manjhi.
Paswan, whose LJP (Ram Vilas) has no representation in the assembly, said, "In view of the political situation in Bihar, the numbers that Manjhi brings to the table do matter. If he has some concerns, these should be addressed".
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)