'Nitish Kumar will not dare challenge BJP'

'Unke andar will power ki kami hai.'

Rashtriya Janata Dal state president Jagdanand Singh's statement of support to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United created speculation about a likely political realignment in the state.

Without naming the Bharatiya Janata Party, which rules Bihar in tandem with the JD-D, Jagdanand Singh said Nitish Kumar should dismiss those cabinet colleagues who are against a caste-based census.

Several of Nitish Kumar's ministerial colleagues have expressed their opposition to a caste-based census.

Jagdanand Singh advised Nitish Kumar not to bow down before the BJP on a caste-based census and the demand for special category status to Bihar as the Opposition would support him on these issues.

While Upendar Kushwaha -- president of the JD-U national parliamentary board -- welcomed Jagdanand Singh's statement, JD-U National President Lalan Singh dismissed the RJD's offer as hypothetical.

"Nitish Kumar is a paltu. No one can rely on him," Jagdanand Singh, a former MP and ex-Bihar minister who is considered close to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, tells Rediff.com's Senior Contributor M I Khan.

After you offered the RJD's support to Nitish Kumar on a caste-based census and special category status for Bihar, the JD-U's response has been indifferent. Are you disappointed?

Where is the question of disappointment as we don't expect much from Nitish Kumar and his party.

I have offered support on conducting a caste-based census and the demand for a special category status to Bihar.

But we know Nitish Kumar will not dare to challenge BJP. Unke andar will power ki kami hai.

We have come forward to provide support to Nitish on these issues in case his ally the BJP did not support him or creates political problems for him.

The RJD strongly supports a caste-based census and we favour that the state government should conduct it from its own resources.

You also stated that the RJD has no issue accepting Nitish Kumar's leadership in the interests of Bihar.

No, I never said this. It was wrongly reported.

Your statement of support triggered speculation that the RJD and JD-U may come together again.

My statement was in a different context and it has nothing to do with joining hands with Nitish Kumar. I have never said that we will join hands (with Nitish Kumar).

What is the RJD stand on Nitish Kumar? Is there a possibility that the JD-U and RJD will join hands again?

Look, Nitish Kumar is a paltu. No one can rely on him. He has already lost political credibility.

There is no chance of an RJD relationship with him. How can we join hands with him after he betrayed us in 2017?

Nitish Kumar once claimed he would never join hands with the BJP, but he joined hands.

The RJD will not join hands with Nitish because we are different.

There are reports that the RJD is keen to oust the BJP from power in Bihar by joining hands with Nitish Kumar.

We consider Nitish Kumar responsible for the BJP's rise in the state.

It is our strong belief that all those supporting the communal BJP are communal too.

Nitish Kumar's JD-U has been with the BJP since the mid-1990s, except for a short period during 2015 to mid-2017, so there is no doubt about him.

The RJD's stand is clear -- to keep away from communal forces, counter them and oppose them.

Days after you offered support to Nitish Kumar, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav announced that it was not an offer, but a reminder on the caste-based census.

Tejashwi has been raising the issue from inside the Bihar assembly to outside on the roads.

A caste census was first demanded by the RJD and it is committed to it.

The RJD's aggressive stand forced Nitish Kumar to take the issue.

Since 2015, Lalu has been demanding that the caste data from 2011 be made public to 'ensure the empowerment of all those lagging behind in development.'

The state assembly passed a unanimous resolution for conducting a caste-based census in 2021.

It is known to all that the BJP is not in favour of a caste-based census.

Nitish Kumar himself said that an all-party meeting to finalise a caste-based census in the state was delayed due to the BJP's reluctance.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com