All's not well in JD (U): Party boss Sharad Yadav slams his CM Nitish on caste politics

In an indication that all is not well in the Janata Dal (United), party chief Sharad Yadav on Saturday hit out at the party’s chief minister in Bihar, Nitish Kumar. Yadav accused the chief minister of destroying Bihar by playing caste politics. Yadav made the comments while addressing a rally in Muzaffarpur. [caption id=“attachment_1463233” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Sharad Yadav. Ibnlive[/caption] Not only were the comments embarrassing for Nitish coming at this late stage amid Lok Sabha election, but they also add fuel to rumours of deep fissures within the JD (U) ever since the party broke away from the NDA last June over Narendra Modi’s ascension to the post of campaign committee chief. With the JD (U) chief’s pet project of a third front failing to take off just yet, Nitish’s failure in cobbling together a winning alliance of upper castes alongside the ‘Mahadalits’ and the EBCs appears to have prompted Sharad Yadav’s outburst. “Both (Nitish and Lalu) have pursued the politics of caste. I am taking responsibility for the pathetic condition of the state because I helped Lalu and Nitish in governing Bihar,” Yadav told a gathering in Muzaffarpur during campaigning for Madhepura from where he is contesting “It is sad but both of them believe in caste-based politics,” Yadav said. There is growing realisation that Nitish’s gamble in breaking off from the NDA has not worked too well for the party. While the rainbow alliance Nitish had envisioned has not firmed up, the 16 percent Muslims of Bihar appear to be consolidating solidly behind the Congress-RJD alliance. Meanwhile, there was a clash between Rabri Devi’s workers and administration officials during a roadshow in Saran on Sunday where the RJD was holding a roadshow without permissions.