Senior Janata Dal United (JDU) leader KC Tyagi (73 years) has resigned from the post of national spokesperson of the party. Rajiv Ranjan Prasad will now be the new spokesperson of JDU in his place. On Sunday, JDU said in a statement that KC Tyagi has left the responsibility due to personal reasons. However, there is also a discussion that Tyagi’s continuous statements were creating an uncomfortable situation in the BJP-led NDA. KC Tyagi was not able to fit in the Delhi vs Patna politics within JDU? Because JDU is a partner of NDA and is a part of the central government. JDU is running the state with the support of BJP.
Tyagi said in a statement, I am still with the party. I am a political advisor of the party. I have resigned from the post of party spokesperson, not from the party. I wrote a letter to Nitish Kumar yesterday. He called me and requested me to continue working as a party advisor. Nitish Kumar can call me whenever he needs me. My relationship with him is very old. I have had and will have respect for him. Tyagi was a Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar from 2013 to 2016. He has also been a Lok Sabha member from Hapur seat from 1989 to 1991.
Tyagi has always been a part of the core team
KC Tyagi has been associated with the Samajwadi movement and is considered one of the very close leaders of Nitish Kumar. It is clear from Tyagi’s statement that he is a part of the party and can again take up a big responsibility in the coming days. From Sharad Yadav to Lalan Singh, whoever has been the president of JDU, Tyagi has always been included in the core team. Recently, this development has come to light at a time when the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Bihar has claimed that at least three MPs of LJP (Ram Vilas) are in touch with the BJP. There were also talks that everything is not going well in the NDA and there are signs of a rift in the alliance from the regional party.
When did KC Tyagi’s stature increase and decrease?
It is said about Tyagi that he is caught in the politics of ‘Delhi vs Patna’ within the party. In fact, recently, Tyagi’s continuous statements have brought to the fore the news of differences in power balance and political decisions between the central and state leadership of JDU. Tyagi has been a prominent face of the party in the national capital for the last two decades and has been a spokesperson and strategist of the party for a long time. While living in Delhi, he has been playing an important role in the activities of the organization at the national level. Tyagi’s political stature has been rising and falling with the changing alliances and equations of the party.
– Under the leadership of Nitish Kumar, the main center of JDU has been Patna. Here the main focus of the party is on Bihar politics, local development and strategy to maintain power. Nitish Kumar dominates Patna and his decisions determine the direction of the party. It is believed that KC Tyagi has faced challenges and difficulties in reconciling between ‘Delhi vs Patna’ within the party. On his shoulders has been the responsibility of maintaining the image of the party at the national level as well as strengthening the leadership of Nitish Kumar in Bihar. Experts believe that Tyagi’s stature has been affected by the tussle between Delhi and Patna.
– When JDU entered the NDA in the early 2000s, KC Tyagi got a place as the party’s spokesperson and strategist. He became the face of the party in the media and worked to strengthen Nitish Kumar’s leadership in Bihar politics at the national level.
– In 2015, JDU broke away from BJP and formed a grand alliance with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress. During this period, Tyagi’s role became limited. Since the party’s focus was on Bihar politics and coordination with Lalu Yadav. The agenda of the grand alliance was focused on regional issues of Bihar, Tyagi’s national level role decreased somewhat.
– In 2017, Nitish Kumar again took a big political step and left RJD-Congress and returned to NDA. After that, Tyagi’s stature increased again and he became the prominent face of JDU in national politics. He was given the responsibility of coordinating with BJP and other NDA allies.
– In the year 2020, when there was a JDU-BJP government in Bihar and former Union Minister RCP Singh (now BJP leader) was made the national president of JDU, Tyagi left the post of party spokesperson.
– In 2022, when Nitish Kumar again broke away from NDA and returned to the Mahagathbandhan, Tyagi’s role became more complex. Tyagi was given the responsibility to help establish harmony between state and central level politics. In fact, Tyagi is known for his communication and political skills and he has been entrusted with the responsibility of media and public relations.
– After that in March 2023, when there was a JDU-Grand Alliance government in Bihar and Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lallan was the party president, even then Tyagi was removed from the post of National General Secretary and Chief Spokesperson of the party, however, two months later in May 2023, Tyagi returned and was made the ‘Special Advisor and Chief Spokesperson’ of the party. At that time JDU was leading the Grand Alliance government in Bihar.
– When JDU again became a part of NDA in January 2024, Tyagi was again seen in a key role and was seen advocating on behalf of JDU. However, this time his comments created problems for him.
Did Tyagi lose the battle between Delhi and Patna politics?
It is believed that KC Tyagi has to pay heavily for commenting on every issue while sitting in Delhi. Since, Tyagi has his frank opinion on every issue and the JDU leadership sitting in Patna could not tolerate this rhetoric. From Tyagi’s statements, it seemed that JDU has a different opinion in NDA. Sources say that when the news of differences in NDA started coming, BJP talked to the allies to suppress it and asked them to maintain coordination. In this connection, former national president of the party and Union Minister Lallan Singh and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Jha met him and asked him to leave the post of national spokesperson. However, the party said in the official statement that Tyagi has left the responsibility due to personal reasons.
What statements did Tyagi make, which led to talk of displeasure in NDA?
According to experts, KC Tyagi has made statements on many issues that are against the party line, for which he did not even discuss with the party high command. These include statements on foreign policy, lateral entry in Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Supreme Court’s decision on SC-ST reservation. Tyagi presented his personal views on many issues as the party’s views, which damaged the party’s image.
Before the swearing-in ceremony of the NDA government for the third time at the Centre, KC Tyagi had given a big statement. He had demanded a review of the Agneepath scheme in army recruitment. Apart from this, Tyagi had also given a statement on the issue of lateral entry in UPSC. Tyagi said that our party has been asking the government to fill the reserved seats from the very beginning. We are people who believe in Ram Manohar Lohia. When people have faced backwardness in society for centuries, why are you looking for merit? This order of the government is a matter of serious concern. Tyagi had also echoed the India Block’s voice regarding foreign policy and signed a joint statement with the leaders of opposition parties. He had urged the central government to stop the supply of weapons to Israel. Apart from this, Tyagi gave statements different from the party line on many issues like Waqf Bill, Uniform Civil Code without discussing with the party. It is being told that this is why his resignation has been taken.
When did JDU form an alliance with RJD and NDA?
– On 24 November 2005, Nitish Kumar formed the NDA government in Bihar in alliance with BJP-JDU. Nitish became the Chief Minister. After that, Nitish Kumar again became the Chief Minister on 26 November 2010. This government was also of BJP-JDU alliance.
– Nitish Kumar again became the Chief Minister on 20 November 2015. For the first time, he formed a Mahagathbandhan government with RJD.
– On 26 July 2017, Nitish left RJD and again formed the government with NDA. This government lasted for about two and a half years. On 16 November 2020, Nitish again formed the JDU-BJP government and became the Chief Minister.
– After two years, JDU-BJP relations deteriorated and on August 10, 2022, Nitish again went to the grand alliance of RJD camp and formed the government.
– This government lasted for about two years. Nitish then changed sides and formed a new JDU-BJP government on 28 January 2024. JDU fought the Lok Sabha elections together with NDA and became a partner in the central government.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)