After Congress’s criticism, RJD’s caution; estranged allies in choppy waters

It all started on Saturday when RJD state president Jagdanand Singh accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of not being in control of the law-and-order situation in the state and criticised his governance track record. He also took on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), likening it to the Popular Front of India, an Islamist organisation. His comments echoed that of Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manavjit Singh Dhillon who triggered a controversy over a week ago by comparing the PFI’s training style with that of the RSS. Three men with alleged links to the PFI, including a retired Jharkhand policeman, were arrested earlier this month for being part of a “potential terror module”.

In response to Singh, Bihar Congress spokesperson Asit Nath Tiwari on Sunday alleged that just as the BJP and the RSS were “evoking fear of Muslims among Hindus” the RJD was “evoking the fear of the BJP and the RSS among Muslims”.

“Though I do not wish to comment on the statement of Jagdanand Singh, it is true that the BJP and the RSS have been evoking the fear of 16 per cent Muslims among 80 per cent Hindus, and the RJD has been evoking fear of the BJP and the RSS among Muslims. Both have been doing their politics,” said the Congress leader.

This is the first time in years that someone from the state Congress has lashed out at the RJD like this. With the party seemingly in a decline in Bihar, senior leaders such as state Congress chief Madan Mohan Jha and Congress Legislature Party leader Ajit Sharma seldom take on the RJD on ideological grounds.

In the 2020 Assembly polls, the Congress won only 19 of the 70 seats it contested while the RJD emerged as the single-largest party by winning 75 of the 144 constituencies it fought. On several occasions, RJD leaders have held the Congress responsible for holding back their party and stopping it short of a majority.

The two parties also did not reach an agreement for the Kusheshwar Asthan and Tarapur Assembly bypolls in 2021. The RJD finished a close second behind the Janata Dal (United) in both seats, while the Congress candidates were unable to poll even five per cent votes in each constituency. In April, the RJD wrested control of the Bochahan Assembly seat in Muzaffarpur, aided by a split in the National Democratic Alliance’s votes. The same month, the RJD and the Congress had a run-in when RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav advised the Congress to focus on 200-odd parliamentary seats in which it is in direct battle with the BJP and take a “backseat” in states where regional parties are dominant players.

Barring perhaps the 2009 general elections that the two parties did not contest together, the current phase seems to be the worst the RJD-Congress ties have ever been. The two parties came together in the late 1990s after the BJP and the JD(U) formed an alliance. With the Congress’s upper caste, Dalit, and Muslim votes, and the RJD’s Muslim-Yadav politics, the two parties tried to set up an alliance of convenience. But the coalition’s performance was not consistent.

Its best showing was in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls when the RJD won 22 seats and the Congress got three. The Congress’s best electoral performance was in the 2015 Assembly polls when the JD(U) too was part of the alliance. It won 27 seats while the RJD bagged 80 constituencies and the JD(U) 71. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the RJD drew a blank while the Congress won the lone Opposition seat. The RJD made a strong comeback in the Assembly polls last year and currently has 79 MLAs in the House.

Responding to Asit Nath Tiwari’s comments, RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari told The Indian Express, “The Congress should be careful while making remarks about us. We often contest the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls as allies … Bihar Congress should introspect why it has been a downhill journey for them in the state since Lalu Prasad Yadav ended its rule in 1990.”