BJP did not follow coalition 'dharma', claims JD(U) chief Lalan Singh

New Delhi [India], August 12 (ANI): Janata Dal (United) national president Lalan Singh on Friday accused the BJP of violating "coalition dharma" by trying to damage his party which led to the breaking of their alliance in Bihar.
Singh also alleged that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was under pressure from within the JD(U) to pull out of the alliance as party leaders were being "insulted" by the BJP.
Speaking to ANI, Singh said, "The BJP did not follow the coalition dharma. The present BJP leadership should tell how many NDA allies are still left in the alliance as compared to 2014. Because every party was insulted. They wanted to run the alliance by insulting their allies. BJP started conspiring against us in the 2020 Assembly elections. They started making efforts to lessen our numbers and finish us. They provoked the LJP to field their candidates against us."
Singh claimed that it was pressure from within the organisation that forced Nitish Kumar's hand. "There was pressure on the Chief Minister from the leaders that they were being insulted. Then Nitish Kumar ended the alliance," he added.
Rejecting BJP's allegations that JD(U) joining hands with the RJD meant the "return of Gunda raj" in Bihar, the JD(U) chief said the people of Bihar will show the reality to the BJP.
"No gunda raj has returned in Bihar. No crime has increased. The people of the state will tell them in the 2024 General elections, whether the crime has increased or not," he said.
Claiming that the BJP will lose a number of seats in the next General elections in 2024, Singh said that it will find it hard even to find candidates to contest elections in West Bengal and will also suffer a huge loss in Bihar.
"BJP will not find candidates to contest elections in West Bengal in the 2024 elections. They will lose at least 16 seats in Bihar," he said.
Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar was sworn chief minister for a record eighth time on Wednesday after he resigned from the post a day earlier and quit the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav took an oath as deputy chief minister.
The Nitish Kumar-led Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar will go for a floor test on August 24 to prove its majority in the state assembly.
The decision to hold the floor test on August 24 and make a suitable recommendation for convening the state assembly was taken at a cabinet meeting attended by Kumar and Yadav on Wednesday. Sources said that expansion of the cabinet is likely to take place on August 16 and RJD will have more ministers than the Janata Dal-United.
Mahagathbandhan or Grand Alliance has the support of 164 members in the assembly.
Nitish Kumar broke his alliance with the BJP for the second time in eight years on Tuesday before joining hands with RJD and other parties in the Mahagathbandhan including the Congress and Left parties. The Grand Alliance also has the support of Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM), which has four MLAs in the Assembly. (ANI)