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RJD begins review to identify ‘saboteurs’ after defeat in Bihar polls
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has launched an elaborate internal review to identify those it believes worked against the party and the wider alliance during the campaign.
NEW DELHI: Reeling from what party leaders describe as a “humiliating” defeat in the Bihar Assembly elections, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has launched an elaborate internal review to identify those it believes worked against the party and the wider alliance during the campaign. Senior leaders said the exercise aims to pinpoint individuals whose conduct “played a key role” in the loss of RJD and Mahagathbandhan candidates across several constituencies.
RJD’s state spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari said that the review process began on Wednesday at the RJD’s state headquarters in Patna with a day-long interaction between the central leadership, winning MLAs and defeated candidates from the Magadh region.
“The feedback gathered in these meetings will form the basis of a list of suspected ‘betrayers’ and action, including expulsion, could follow once the review is completed in two stages. Several candidates have already named individuals who allegedly worked “openly and covertly” to undermine the campaign,” he said.
The meeting was attended by state RJD president Mangal Lal Mandal, former minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui, Bhola Yadav and other senior RJD leaders. Candidates were asked to submit written reports detailing the behaviour of party workers, local leaders and alliance partners in their respective constituencies.
Tiwari said the district-wise review will continue till December 4. “In the second phase, from December 5 to 9, the top leaders will meet district presidents, the principal general secretary and other state office-bearers to cross-verify the names flagged by candidates. Inputs from these sessions will be combined before any final decision is made on disciplinary action.”
The RJD has also scheduled interactions with candidates from Saran on Thursday and from Purnea division on Friday. Alongside the review of election lapses, the leadership is seeking suggestions from senior leaders on future organisational strategies and issues of public concern that the party should prioritise.
Many other RJD leaders, however, admitted that factionalism, poor coordination and internal dissent had hurt the party’s prospects.
“The current exercise may be aimed at setting the house in order before RJD repositions itself for future political battles in Bihar, but the fact is dissidence among all district units is looming large, due to the dictatorship of some sycophant ‘outsiders’. This election has given a good lesson to many party workers like me that Laluji has no control on party affairs,” said a former RJD MLA, asking not to be named.
Echoing similar views, a senior RJD leader from Darbhanga alleged that no proper eligibility criteria was set while distributing the tickets. “This is the main reason that we even couldn’t counter the NDA’s narrative of ‘jungle raaj’. There was a clear lack of coordination between the alliance partners and some of the RJD dissidents even helped the opposition candidates in several constituencies,” he said, asking not to be named.
