The countdown for thet first phase of Bihar Assembly elections has begun, and in this decisive election environment, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has suffered a severe political blow. Pratima Kushwaha, who has a strong identity within RJD and former state president of Mahila Morcha, has changed sides. She has joined the ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Who gave membership to Pratima Kushwaha?

BJP state president Dilip Jaiswal formally gave her membership of the party. This development creates a serious internal challenge for RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav just before voting. After joining BJP, Kushwaha has made many serious allegations against RJD’s leadership and its working style.

Sharp criticism on RJD’s functioning

After taking membership of BJP, Pratima Kushwaha came in front of the media and strongly condemned the functioning of RJD. She clearly said that there is no place of respect for grassroots workers in RJD. According to her, the party is now dominated only by dynasty politics and nepotism. She also added that the situation is not much different in the MahaGathbandhan ally Congress Party, where the leaders are quite angry with the conduct of the top leadership.

Target on promise of employment

Pratima Kushwaha also directly attacked Tejashwi Yadav’s much talked about promise of providing employment. She alleged that even though RJD talks about providing jobs, in return it used to grab people’s land. This comment rekindles the earlier allegations of ‘land in exchange for jobs’.

Further, she claimed that the benefit of reservation within RJD is limited only to influential families, whereas in reality women have been given reservation and rights by the NDA government. She believes that a lot of internal opposition and dissatisfaction is growing within RJD.

This defection of Pratima Kushwaha is also being seen as an attempt to send a message among the vote bank of the Kushwaha community. This incident raises questions on the unity and cohesion of the opposition alliance and gives rise to a new debate in the election season of Bihar. It is clear that the fight for assembly elections is no longer limited to policies and promises only, but it has become even more heated due to the politics of defection.

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