Bihar Minister, close confidante of CM shares cryptic post, fuelling rift speculations

Janata Dal (United) leader and Minister for Rural Works Ashok Choudhary shared a post on Twitter which fuelled conjecture regarding an imminent rift in the ruling party

A close confidant of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and prominent Dalit leader of the Janata Dal (United) Ashok Choudhary landed in soup with a cryptic social media post on Tuesday (September 24, 2024). The post by Mr. Choudhary, who is the Minister for Rural Works, led to speculations about an internal rift between him and the Chief Minister, with the Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) remarking that this was a “trailer of the upcoming rift within ruling JD(U)”.

“Leave them as you grow older: if someone is not understanding after explaining it once or twice, then do not explain it to those in front of you, just leave it; when the children grow up and start making their own decisions, leave it; if we do not get ideas from one another, leave it; if after a certain age none asks about you or someone is saying wrong things about you behind your back then do not take it by heart, leave it; worrying about the future when you experience you have nothing in your hands, leave it; if there is a big difference between desire and ability, then have less expectations from yourself, leave it…,” Mr. Choudhary wrote in a Hindi post on the social media platform X on Tuesday.

The post soon fuelled speculations of a growing rift between him and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Opposition party leaders spared no opportunity to seize the moment and said that this was “just a trailer” before the “imminent rift in the” JD(U).

Mr. Choudhary drove straight to the Chief Minister’s official residence for an hour long meeting soon after his post triggered speculations of a rift. “The original expression of the post was not political but personal,” Mr. Choudhary told mediapersons while saying that “people will say something, it is the people’s job to say something”. Mr. Choudhary’s daughter Sambhavi Choudhary won the last Lok Sabha election from the Samastipur (reserved) seat on a Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) party.

A month ago, Mr. Choudhary who is also a prominent Dalit face in the ruling JD(U), had sparked controversy and embarrassed the ruling National Democratic Alliance in Bihar by blaming the land-owning upper caste Bhumihar community for his party’s loss on the Jehanabad seat during the last Lok Sabha election. “I know the Bhumihars very well. When the Lok Sabha elections were held, these people abandoned Nitish Kumar and ran away. Just because we fielded a candidate from an Extremely Backward Caste from here, we lost,” Mr. Choudhary said in a meeting several weeks ago. His remarks drew sharp reactions from the Bharatiya Janata Party, as well as upper caste Bhumihar leaders from the JD(U). Mr. Choudhary said he made this remark in a “personal capacity”.

Meanwhile, JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar reacted defensively over Mr. Choudhary’s post. “Nitish Kumar has been working as a Chief Minister for 19 years and holds a reputation as a global thinker and a climate leader. Any attempt to question his credibility - whether direct or in veiled manner, would be met with strong rebuttals,” he said. No other JD(U) leaders were willing to speak on record regarding Mr. Choudhary’s remarks.

Opposition RJD leader Mrityunjay Tiwari linked Mr. Choudhary’s post on social media with a comment regarding the “internal strife within JD(U)”.

“The post smacks beginning of cracks within the JD(U), not only between him [Mr. Choudhary] and the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. In the time to come, many more leaders in JD(U) may speak on the same tune as Mr. Choudhary,” Mr. Tiwari alleged.

Published - September 24, 2024 08:08 pm IST