Rashtriya Janata Dal - Congress friends in Bihar, rivals in West Bengal

PATNA: Ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal, its effects are also being felt in the politics of Bihar. According to the trends that have emerged in West Bengal so far, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are contesting alone while the Congress has forged an alliance with the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) which is with the Congress in Bihar and Jharkhand, has announced support to the TMC in West Bengal. The Bihar Congress leaders are unable to come to terms with this decision of the RJD.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Monday announced unconditional support to Mamata Banerjee's TMC in West Bengal. After this decision politics in Bihar have also intensified.

An RJD leader says that Tejashwi is working hard to expand the party's base. The RJD has intensified its efforts to expand its reach in other parts of the country after losing the 2020 Bihar Assembly polls. Tejashwi has his eyes on the upcoming Assembly elections in Assam and West Bengal. He said his party would contest the elections by aligning with like-minded parties.

During his two-day visit to Assam, Tejashwi met Assam Congress unit President Ripun Bora and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) Chief Badruddin Ajmal. It is believed that the RJD would contest in Assam going ahead with the Congress-AIUDF alliance to give a tough fight to the BJP.

RJD Spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari says the party's popularity has increased. Tejashwi Yadav is also popular down south, including other states. He said the RJD has been forging alliances with like-minded parties in the past and will do so in the future also.

The Congress is doing everything to stop the BJP and the TMC in West Bengal. Sources say that the main political plan of the Congress and the RJD is to stop the expansion of the BJP but the paths followed by both the parties are different.

An RJD leader says that in West Bengal only the TMC can stop the BJP while the Congress wants to stop the BJP but also wants to establish itself as a potent opposition. (IANS)

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