A day after JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar walked out of the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) to rejoin the BJP-led NDA and become the Chief Minister for the ninth time, RJD national vice president and veteran socialist leader Shivanand Tiwari speaks to The Indian Express on various issues ranging from Nitish’s move and its ramifications for the Opposition camp to RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav’s political trajectory. Excerpts:

What can I say? I cannot imagine. I am shocked, dismayed, surprised and saddened. Having known Nitish all these years and also having played a crucial part in his political journey when I had also walked along with him from Janata Dal in 1993 to form Samata Party, I can safely say that it is not the same person and politician. He was once known for his political acumen. I want to know who had invited him to join Mahagathbandhan in August 2022. I am also a witness to how he, after returning to us in 2022, had apologised to former CM Rabri Devi with folded hands for his 2017 switch to BJP. That time, I was made to believe that he would now stay back and give a right direction to Mandal politics we all championed all these years.

Tejashwi has evolved as a very mature leader and I see a great potential in him. While he has drawn heavily from his father Lalu Prasad’s social justice theme, he has very smartly woven development politics into it. He had successfully done it during the 2020 Assembly polls when the RJD had almost come to power on the promise of 10 lakh jobs. After Nitish and Tejashwi got together in 2022, we saw how Tejashwi made Nitish own up his job theme. The same Nitish who had laughed away Tejashwi’s job promise at the Gopalganj rally during 2020 poll campaign ended up distributing appointment letters. Here, Tejashwi has clearly scored over Nitish. No matter Nitish takes out full-page health department advertisement without giving credit to then health minister Tejashwi, everyone knows that Tejashwi has performed very well in his brief 17-month tenure as the Deputy CM.

We were very happy when he (Nitish) had raised EBC (Extremely Backward Classes) pitch and how almost all the parties had started vying with each other after Jan Nayak Karpoori Thakur had been awarded Bharat Ratna. I was also reminded of how Nitish, Mangani Lal Mandal and I and some others had first talked about making EBC a part of social justice plan in 1992. Now, I wonder how Nitish had returned to socialist camp in 2022 with caste survey theme and had built the right momentum…. He might now get political benefits but his politics has lost all its core values.

Tejashwi has clearly said with reference to whether the JD (U) would survive after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls when Nitish’s political utility could be over. As for the RJD, it would work as a responsible party. Tejashwi has made the right comment and it is just a matter of time he starts hitting the ground, spend time with party workers and common people to know the political pulse beyond whatever is being said and published in newspapers, channels and social media.

Political calculations have surely gone topsy-turvy. With Nitish with us, we had a clear advantage. But now, it is very tough for Mahagathbandhan and INDIA bloc. If we refer to 2019 poll results, there was a huge gap between NDA and Mahagathbandhan. With Left and Congress, RJD has to cover a lot of ground. This is where we have to be in the field. Tejashwi has done the right thing by trying to own up (government) achievements made under his leadership. We have to keep up the momentum and work around our A to Z (all-community) politics.