Pushed to RJD sidelines by Tejashwi, once Lalu’s man Friday Shyam Rajak quits, set to rejoin JD(U)

In his resignation letter to RJD president Lalu Prasad, Rajak stated, “I am resigning from post of party’s national general secretary and also from its primary membership”, signing off in verse: “Mein shatranj ka shoukeen nahi tha, isliye dhoka kha gaya. Aap mohre chal rahe the, mein rishtedaari nibha raha tha (I was not good at chess, so I was betrayed. You were playing your moves, I kept maintaining our relationship).”

Rajak later told reporters that he has got disillusioned with the RJD. He also praised Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar for his “vision and leadership”. Although he did not spell out his next course of action, Rajak is expected to go back to the JD(U), from where he had returned to the RJD in the run-up to the 2020 Assembly polls.

The RJD, however, then denied him ticket from his bastion Phulwari, which was allotted to the party’s ally CPI(ML)L that won the seat.

In the recent Lok Sabha elections, he wanted to contest from either Samastipur or Jamui, but was again not fielded by the party.

Rajak, who was once very close to Lalu, found himself marginalised in the RJD following the rise of Lalu’s son and ex-deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav as its key leader.

RJD sources said Rajak had been “sulking for a long time”. “The man, who used to hold sway during Lalu Prasad’s heydays, was part of Ram-Shyam duo, along with Ram Kripal Yadav (currently with the BJP). But under Tejashwi’s leadership, he had little role to play. He felt marginalised and decided to quit,” said an RJD source.

Rajak, who won his first Assembly election from the Scheduled Castes (SC)-reserved seat of Phulwari in 1995, then went on to win the seat four times on a trot. He also served as the power minister in the government headed by Rabri Devi, the RJD chief’s wife.

Rajak, who had been initially vocal against Nitish, was finally won over by the latter. After joining the JD (U), he won from Phulwari again on its ticket in the 2010 polls and was inducted into the Nitish ministry as the food processing and consumer protection minister.

Rajak retained the Phulwari seat in the 2015 Assembly polls and was appointed as the industry minister in the Nitish-led government. He, however, fell out with Nitish in August 2020 and switched back to the RJD.

Rajak got upset with the RJD leadership especially after it did not consider him for a berth in the state Legislative Council in 2022. Subsequently, he fancied his chances of getting a ticket in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. “But then RJD decided to field Archana Ravidas from Jamui. This left Rajak with exploring option of another reserved seat of Samastipur that was allotted to ally Congress. He had since been cooling his heels in RJD, looking to quit the party sooner than later,” said a leader close to him.