Patna: Ending months of speculation, a group of Congress leaders led by former Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) Chairman Ashok Chaudhary on Wednesday demanded recognition as a separate faction in the Legislative Council.
Ashok Chaudhary, in a letter to Deputy Chairman Haroon Rashid sought that his group be recognised as a separate group. He has claimed that he has the support of three other members of Legislative Council — Tanweer Akhtar, Ramchandra Bharti and Dileep Chaudhary.
Congress has six members in the Council and 27 in the 243-member Bihar Assembly.
One of the three, Dileep Chaudhary told News18 that they do not want to sit in opposition. When asked whether they will support Nitish Kumar government, he said, "A decision will be taken very shortly."
This development comes on the same day as Jitan Ram Manjhi’s announcement of quitting the NDA and joining hands with RJD and Tejashwi Yadav-led ‘Mahagathbandhan’.
Both NDA and the Mahagathbandhan leaders have been claiming that many MLAs from the rival faction are in touch with them. Coming right after Manjhi's announcement, Ashok Chaudhary's decision is being considered by many as a counter-attack by the NDA.
A senior BJP leader and minister in Nitish's cabinet had already indicated this earlier on Wednesday when he said, "See what happens tonight."
Ashok Chaudhary, former education minister in the Nitish-led Mahagathbandhan government, is considered close to the chief minister and has been criticising the Congress leadership for quite some time.
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