New Delhi: The Janata Dal (United) faced another setback as five more party MLAs from Manipur joined hands with the BJP soon after a similar episode in Arunachal Pradesh. However, if the party leaders are to be believed, at this point, the party has its unwavering focus on the 2024 elections. Against the backdrop of all these developments, ETV's National Bureau Chief Rakesh Tripathi spoke to Afaq Ahmed Khan, a senior leader from the JD(U) and a close confidant of Nitish Kumar. Afaq Ahmed has been with Nitish Kumar since his Lok Dal days and has been working quietly behind the scenes for the party. He is the in-charge of the North-East states. Under him, Manipur won six seats and registered presence by winning seven seats in Arunachal, and one in Nagaland. Now that the MLAs have turned their backs on the party, the leader is left high and dry, though not without a ray of hope for his party, as well as for Nitish Kumar, in the upcoming 2024 elections.
'Nitish Kumar is not eyeing PM's post at all'
Speaking about the recent press conference between Nitish Kumar with KCR which gave off a poor image of opposition unity as both leaders tried to exhibit their dominance, Khan said the JD (U) does not care much about dominance or who gets the Prime Minister's seat as long as it's not a BJP candidate. "Nitishji's only wish is to unite the opposition parties for the 2024 elections. He is not eyeing the PM's post. Our leaders are not Prime Ministerial candidates at all," he said.
However, the slogan his party has been propagating in Bihar -- "Pradesh mein dikha hain, desh mein bhi dikhega" -- implies that the party does intend on getting a hold over the Centre. When asked about the discrepancy, he said the slogan just means that BJP should be thrown out of power from the Centre as it has been thrown out in Bihar.
The recent split between the BJP and the JD (U) has left many wondering about the loyalties of the JD (U) after it dumped the party it formed a government with twice. When asked for an explanation of the possible reasons for which the party decided to take such a step, Khan said there are several reasons. "It went well with us in the Lok Sabha. But what did they do to our party in the Assembly elections? One of our MPs from the Rajya Sabha was made a minister at the Centre without our consent. When we won fewer seats in the 2020 elections, our leader was forced to take the CM's post despite refusing. After that, too, he was continuously humiliated by small leaders," he said.
'JDU will take Nagaland in 2024, become a national party'
Asked what is the party's strategy now that 12 out of 13 JDU MLAs from Arunachal and Manipur have joined the BJP, Khan said the sense of organization in his party is quite strong even if the BJP managed to break the spirit of its MLAs this time. "Our organization is in a very strong position there (in the North East). We will rise there again. Nagaland elections are due in February 2023. We are hopeful about it," he said.
Further reassuring that the exodus would not affect his party's performance, he said, "We are a regional party in three states. We will be in Nagaland, the fourth state, next February during the elections. Of course, our MLAs in Arunachal and Manipur have left us, but our vote is 7 per cent in Arunachal. To be a national party, we need only one state now, and we can accomplish that through the Nagaland elections. The intention of the BJP was to wipe us off the North-East, which they failed at doing."
Taking a dig at the BJP, Khan said the party had to try very hard to break JD (U) like this. "Be it Nagaland, Manipur, or Arunachal, we won all these places by fighting against the BJP. We had no alliance with anyone. We fought and won alone. These people tried hard to take our people in North-East states. And even if they succeeded this time, their victory won't last long," he said.
The leader also said today's BJP is not the same as Atal Bihari Vajpayee's BJP. "Vajpayee did great work for the North-East while he was in power, he was one of the most responsible leaders of the time. But today's BJP is flouting the Atal Code of Conduct," he alleged. "We are not discouraged by what happened in Manipur. The Prime Minister talks a lot about morality, but this is the real face of his party. With the help of money and power, they buy MLAs from other parties," the JD (U) leader added.
Asked if the difference in approach by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) -- the ruling party in Bihar -- and Khan's party JD (U) would harm his party's image in the North Eastern states, Khan said the present circumstances are not the same as before. "Right now our priority is to first sideline those who are destroying the country with their power. We are after a greater cause," he said. Reiterating that CM Nitish Kumar has no desire to become the Prime Minister, Khan said, "He has only one wish -- the unity of the opposition parties--fortunately, the executive has authorised him for further talks in the matter. He will be in Delhi on September 5 and will meet the leaders for the same," he said.
