Former Bihar Congress chief Ashok Chaudhary joins JDU

New Delhi: The Congress party received a setback on Wednesday after a former chief of its Bihar unit, Ashok Chaudhary, switched to the ruling Janata Dal (United) along with three other members of the legislative council (MLC). Chaudhary was removed from the party’s top post in the state in September last year and has been vocal against the leadership.

“We have decided that we are saying goodbye to this party and we are joining Nitish Kumar-led JDU. Why we are doing this is because we think Nitish Kumar is one of the finest chief ministers that Bihar has got,” Chaudhary told reporters at a press conference in Patna on Wednesday evening.

Chaudhary’s resignation came hours after the party suspended him along with the three MLCs—Dilip Chaudhury, Tanvir Akhtar and Ram Chandra Bharti. According to a senior party leader, the immediate trigger for the suspension was that the four rebel leaders had requested the chairman of the legislative council for a separate seating arrangement in the house.

“The party needs to think why we got down to just 44 (seats in Lok Sabha). This is because the people who give their blood and sweat to the party are treated badly,” Chaudhary added.

Their joining JDU could bolster the ruling alliance’s poll math in the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls where six seats are going to polls.