Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s massive rally in Bihar’s Gayaji on Friday sparked a crossover buzz in the poll-bound state after two Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLAs were spotted on the stage during the event.
The two lawmakers from Lalu Prasad Yadav’s party, Nawada MLA Vibha Devi and Rajauli legislator Prakash Veer, were seated in the back row of the stage during PM Modi’s address, news agency PTI reported.
Vibha Devi was elected as the Nawada MLA in 2020. She is the wife of Raj Ballabh Yadav, a multiple-term former MLA, who recently acquited by the Patna High Court in a POCSO case after spending several years behind bars.
Yadav is said to have been unhappy with the party since the RJD denied a ticket to a one of his family members in last year’s Lok Sabha polls. His brother, Binod Yadav, also quit the RJD and contested as an Independent from the Nawada Lok Sabha seat.
Meanwhile, Prakash Veer, who was elected for the second consecutive term from the Rajauli seat reserved for SCs, is said to have fallen out of favour with Tejashwi Yadav.
BJP Dismisses Crossover Buzz
As speculation over the defection began, the Bharatiya Janata Party put the speculations to rest, saying that everyone was invited for the event, and that a situation depends on “how people look at it”.
“The fact of the matter is that various departments were involved. There were a lot of projects that were inaugurated. So in that, all MLAs, MLCs, MPs – irrespective of their party affiliations – were invited. Those who didn’t turn up were largely from the Opposition alliance, and those who did turn up also had associations. So people are raising this whole issue,” he told NDTV.
The MP added: “The governor was there, even the local MP of Jehanabad – an RJD member – was present, even CPM members were invited. It’s only a question of who turned up and who didn’t. Some didn’t turn up because they had an opposition to the presence of the Prime Minister – which was unfortunate.”
PM Modi was in Bihar today to inaugurate and lay foundation stone of multiple projects worth over Rs 13,000 crore in the state. He also flagged off two trains, Amrit Bharat Express between Gayaji and Delhi and Buddhist Circuit train between Vaishali and Koderma.
