On Wednesday, the ailing Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav will travel from New Delhi to Patna where he will meet with top officials and MPs for the first time since his party’s re-election in Bihar.
RJD and Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) split up in 2017, but this month they came back together to form the administration.
Although Kumar has stated that his new Cabinet will be expanded at any moment after August 15, this has not been confirmed. A third RJD leader stated that “we shall learn of the date of Cabinet expansion soon,” implying that the time for the swearing-in of the new ministers has not yet been determined.
The RJD leader is thought to have been eager to travel back to Patna to attend the swearing-in ceremony but was advised against doing so. Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Prasad Yadav took the oath on August 10. the largest party in the current Grand Coalition.
The RJD leader, who was hospitalised in Patna and New Delhi in July while dealing with a hairline fracture, may also see state minister Nitish Kumar in the wake of significant speculation about the latter’s potential involvement in politics at the federal level. Sanjay Yadav, another leader, stated that the RJD leader is anticipated to travel to Hajipur on Friday in relation to a court case involving the violation of the election code of conduct.
According to a member of the ruling alliance, the two will meet in the coming weeks to deliver a message of political unification among socialists and the bolstering of Opposition forces in advance of the 2024 parliamentary elections.
