"Congress' focus was on grabbing important posts, weakening regional parties" says JD(U) leader KC Tyagi

New Delhi [India], January 29 (ANI): After JD(U)'s return to the BJP-led NDA, the party's senior leader, KC Tyagi, said that Congress was focusing on getting hold of important posts, weakening the regional parties, while JD(U) was trying to strengthen the alliance.
KC Tyagi, while speaking to ANI, said, "Coordination could not be established between INDIA parties. From the outside, everything appeared normal but Congress was doing politics with the alliance parties."
"While we were working to strengthen the alliance, Congress was busy grabbing the important posts. They were trying to weaken SP, DMK, TMC and other regional parties. Rahul Gandhi even once said that regional parties don't have an ideology. Due to this, we broke our association with the alliance," he added.
On being asked about Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's statement that the return to NDA was pre-planned by JD(U), KC Tyagi said, "If this was pre-planned, then why did we organise the first meeting of the INDIA alliance in Patna? Why did we bring Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal and Akhilesh Yadav with an 'achhut' (untouchable) party like you (Congress)? This happened after Mamata Banerjee in Delhi proposed Mallikarjun Kharge as INDIA alliance's prime ministerial candidate. Congress always wanted to grab this (PM) post."
Earlier, the Congress President had alleged that the JD(U) and the BJP 'planned' to break the INDIA bloc as such decisions can not be taken in a hurry.
"Such decisions can not be taken in a hurry. This shows that it was all pre-planned. To break the INDIA alliance they (BJP-JD(U)) planned all this. He (Nitish Kumar) kept us in the dark; he kept Lalu Yadav in the dark," Kharge said.
Meanwhile, speaking on Tejashwi Yadav and Rohini Yadav, KC Tyagi said they had a good experience with Tejashwi and he did not want to reply to Lalu Yadav's children's comments.
"We always wish for Lalu Yadav's good health," he said.
After a dramatic volte-face, ditching the Mahagathbandhan and the opposition bloc INDIA and forming a new government with the BJP, JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, along with eight ministers--three each from the BJP and the JD-U, one from HAM and one independent--took oath on Sunday.
Nitish Kumar took oath as Bihar Chief Minister for the ninth time at Raj Bhavan on Sunday after snapping ties with "Mahagathbandhan".
Alongside Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, took the oath as Deputy Chief Ministers
In the Bihar Assembly of 243, the RJD has 79 MLAs; followed by the BJP's 78; the JD(U)'s 45' the Congress's 19, the CPI (M-L)'s 12, two each of the CPI(M) and CPI, the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular)'s four seats, and the AIMIM's one, plus one Independent legislator.
Nitish Kumar, after parting ways with the BJP in 2022, took on the initiative of uniting all opposition forces to jointly take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling party in the national election.
In 2000, Nitish became CM for the first time after campaigning against RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav's 'Jungle Raaj'. Till now, he has been Bihar's CM on eight occasions.
In 2013, Nitish broke ranks with the NDA after a 17-year alliance following the announcement of Narendra Modi as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate.
He expressed his displeasure to the BJP over Modi's selection as the PM face, and after the BJP decided to not change its decision, Kumar left the alliance.
In 2017, Nitish forged a grand alliance with the RJD and Congress and returned as chief minister in 2015.
He walked out of the grand alliance in 2017, accusing the RJD of corruption and choking governance in the state. In 2022, Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the BJP once again, alleging the BJP was conspiring against him and trying to influence JD-U MLAs to rebel against him. (ANI)