Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM suffered a major setback in Bihar today after four of his five MLAs joined the Rashtriya Lok Dal. Thus, the RJD’s strength in the state assembly rose to 79, allowing it to regain the status of the largest party in Bihar.
The four AIMIM MLAs that have joined the RJD are Shahnawaz, Izhar, Anjar Nayani and Syed Rukundin. Now only the party’s head of state, Akhtarul Imam, remains in the camp.
News Agency IANSIn an earlier report, sources quoted as saying that four AIMIM MLAs are in contact with the RJD over concerns about their future after the 2021 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, which saw the Owaisi-led party shortlist its candidates at more than 90 seats but failed to win even one constituency.
By March this year, the BJP had surpassed the RJD to become the largest party in Bihar after three MLAs of the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), led by Bihar minister Mukesh Sahani, jumped to the saffron party. With the entry of the three VIP MLAs into the BJP, the number of saffron parties in the state assembly rose to 77 from the previous 74.
The Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) has 45 MLAs, Congress has 19, while the left-wing parties together have 15 MLAs.
