Let someone else do it: Nitish aide K C Tyagi quits JD-U post

'I have been a spokesperson of the party for the last 41 years and now I think some other party member should take up my post,' Tyagi tells Rediff.com.

IMAGE: Janata Dal-United leader K C Tyagi. Photograph: Amit Sharma/ANI Photo

Janata Dal-United leader K C Tyagi surprised everyone on Sunday morning when he announced his decision to quit as chief spokesperson of the party.

Tyagi is the closest confidant of Bihar Chief minister Nitish Kumar and has always stood by him during ups and downs in his political career.

In January 2024, when Nitish Kumar revamped the party, he appointed Tyagi as political advisor and spokesperson, elevating him from the earlier post of special adviser-cum-chief spokesperson.

When Rediff.com contacted K C Tyagi, he said, "I have some personal duties to do therefore I decided to quit."

Tyagi's stepping down from the party post comes at a time when reports indicate that all is not well between Janata Da-United chief Nitish Kumar and Rajiv Ranjan, popularly known as Lalan Singh, Union minister in the National Democratic Alliance government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Lalan Singh's recently developed proximity to Bharatiya Janata Party leaders was causing concern within the JD-U as many in Patna fear that there could be some kind of 'Khela Hobe' -- the political manouevres undertaken by the by the Bharatiya Janata Party in Kolkata to unsettle Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee -- in Patna as well.

Tyagi brushed off such rumours stating, "I have been a spokesperson of the party for the last 41 years and now I think some other party member should take up my post."

In December 2023, Nitish Kumar had taken over as JD-U chief after showing the door to Lalan Singh.

The BJP-led government of Prime Minister Modi is short of 33 seats in the Lok Sabha for a simple majority on its own.

It has got the support of 12 JD-U MPs, 16 Telugu Desam Party MPs and five MPs of Chirag Paswan-led Lok Jan Shakti Party-Ram Vilas which adds to 272 seats.

Besides, with smaller parties and Independent MPs extending support to the Modi government, the total adds up to 293 MPs in the Lok Sabha.

Asked if his resignation at such a time sends a wrong message to party cadres since he was the face of the party, Tyagi said, "There is an age to do everything. I have finished my responsibilities as a party worker and therefore I am resigning. New people should get chance. 41 years is a long time to continue. I joined in 1984."