Saryu Roy, a former leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jharkhand, has joined Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s party, Janata Dal (United) or JD(U). This move is expected to bolster the JD(U), a significant BJP ally both at the Centre and in Bihar, ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Jharkhand.
Roy was inducted into the JD(U) on Sunday, in the presence of Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Kumar Jha, Bihar ministers Ashok Choudhary and Shravan Kumar, and Jharkhand JD(U)’s Khiry Mahto.
Bihar minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary stated that Nitish Kumar’s policies are attracting people to the JD(U). He criticized the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for attempting to take credit for the caste-based survey and the increased reservations for backward classes, extremely backward classes, scheduled castes, and scheduled tribes.
“RJD is desperate. It was never serious about the survey and took no initiative when it was in power and had the opportunity. The initiative was solely Kumar’s, with the decision being made for the first time in June 2022 when Bihar had the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government,” Choudhary remarked.
Choudhary further explained that Kumar built a consensus and managed to get the necessary legislation unanimously passed in the Bihar legislature based on the collected data. Kumar then requested the Centre to place the legislation in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution to limit judicial review. After the Patna High Court set aside the legislation, the Bihar government promptly appealed to the Supreme Court to challenge the decision.
