JDU Annual Meet To Continue Tomorrow; Suspense Looms Over President's Replacement

After the reports of Lallan Singh to be replaced by Nitish Kumar as the Janata Dal United (JDU) chief surfaced, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar cleared the air on Thursday stating there is no rift in the party. Kumar, who is in Delhi for a two-day annual meet ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, called the meeting with all its top party leaders "routine" and "annual affair. The meeting between JDU leaders will continue tomorrow also and some major decisions and changes are expected.

Talking to the media in Patna, before leaving for Delhi, Nitish Kumar said, "These meetings take place every year. It's normal, there is nothing specific at all. These are routine meetings."

However, if the reports are to be believed, then Nitish Kumar may take the reigns of the party in his own hands instead of Rajiv Ranjan Singh aka Lallan Singh.

Deputy of the Nitish Kumar government, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav was also expected to attend the annual meeting in Delhi today, but he was marked absent. Reports suggest that he is likely to participate in the meeting on Friday.

A day ago, reacting to rumors of political turmoil within the JDU, Yadav said, "I wonder what is so unusual about a Bihar-based party holding its meetings of the national executive and national council in Delhi. Had we (RJD) not done the same last year?"

Earlier, when the reports of Lallan Singh's sacking surfaced, Singh rubbished the reports calling it a BJP's conspiracy to divide the JDU. He also reiterated what Nitish Kumar had said, "JDU's meeting in Delhi is a routine one"

Answering the question of his resignation, Singh said, "If I have to resign, I will call you (the media), and consult you about what to write in the resignation letter so that you can go to the BJP office and get the draft,"