RJD MLA takes Treasury Bench seat, sparks buzz of another switchover

If Bind sticks to his line, this could be the fifth RJD MLA crossing over to the NDA in just three weeks. Since the Bihar trust vote in February, five RJD MLAs and two Congress MLAs have crossed over to the NDA. Earlier, RJD MLAs Sangeeta Kumari, Prahlad Yadav, Chetan Anand, and Neelam Devi had switched sides. Congress MLAs Murari Prasad Gautam and Siddharth Saurav, too, shifted allegiance.

Bind, an EBC leader from Kaimur, is a first-time MLA. A matriculate, Bind was once known as RJD state president Jagdanand Singh loyalist.

“Now, he sees a secure future with the BJP for the 2025 Assembly elections. Plus, the BJP reaches out to the EBCs in the Shahabad region after poaching two Dalit leaders from the Opposition camp (Murari Gautam and Sangeeta Kumari) in the region,” said a BJP leader.

An RJD leader called it a huge setback. “But we are not expelling any of our five rebels because then we will lose the status of the single-largest party in the Vidhan Sabha. These rebels can be treated as a separate group in Assembly. They may cross-vote but they are neither members of JD(U) nor BJP… The party has to take serious note of the rumbling,” he said.

PM Modi is scheduled to address public meetings in Aurangabad and Begusarai represented by BJP MPs Sushil Kumar Singh and Giriraj Singh respectively. Nitish would share dais with Modi at both the venues.