RJD to rake up issues against BJP, reiterates opposition unity, public outreach

The RJD national executive meeting in New Delhi on Sunday saw several points of action being introduced by leaders attending the event.

New Delhi:Post Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)'s Executive Committee meeting in the national capital on Sunday, several issues and points of action have emerged. The meeting was attended by party heavyweights, including party president Lalu Prasad Yadav, Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, and Minister Tej Pratap Yadav, alongside Bihar government's Public Account Committee Chairman Abdul Bari Siddique, former Bihar Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary, and others.

Addressing the media following the convention, Rajya Sabha MP and party spokesperson Manoj Jha outlined the meeting as one consisting of three key points, the first being building resistance to the BJP government using issues that have emerged in recent years such as economic woes and inflation, rise in unemployment and body blows to an already depleting social harmony.

Jha also hinted that the upcoming strategy for the Bihar-based side will be to strive to engage with other non-BJP sides in order to create greater Opposition unity. This comes as a somewhat expected next move for the party in light of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's attendance earlier in September at an INLD meet in Haryana's Fatehabad, attended by leaders representing several other national parties - including but not limited to - NCP chief Sharad Pawar and CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury.

The RJD leader highlighted that the party chief could, in near future, sit with other Opposition leaders to create a common platform for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The most significant of the 'three-pronged formula' that came out of the meeting, however, is a public reach-out stance. The campaign said to have been discussed at the convention, will see each party worker tasked with connecting to at least 20 people. 'Choupal' (village meetings) will additionally be used to ensure rural penetration of the RJD, the spokesperson noted.

The executive meeting further garnered public interest on Sunday amid speculations of Bihar RJD President Jagdanand Singh's resignation. Singh, whose son and former state Agriculture Minister Sudhakar Singh tendered his resignation earlier in October alleging corruption inside the department, is set to be at odds with the party leadership.

Jha, although, denied any such development. His (Singh) absence in the executive meeting does not mean he has separated himself from the party, the former observed.