Tejashwi Yadav brought the four legislators to the state assembly and informed speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha about their formal decision to break away from the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party.
Patna, June 29 (PTI): All but one of the five MLAs of the AIMIM in Bihar on Wednesday joined the RJD, making it the largest party in the 243-strong assembly, a development hailed by the leader of the opposition Tejashwi Yadav as strengthening of secular forces in the NDA-ruled state. Yadav, who is now the RJD’s de facto leader, took the four MLAs to the assembly in a car he himself drove, in a gesture that was rich in optics as well as symbolism. Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha was handed over a communication announcing the MLAs’ desire to be treated as a separate group and its merger with the RJD, thereby raising its effective strength in the House to 80, three more than that of the BJP. A beaming Yadav emerged from the Speaker’s chamber, along with the four MLAs and old confidants, and left the assembly premises responding to congratulatory messages. The MLAs who have jumped ship are Syed Ruknuddin Ahmed (Baisi), Shahnawaz Alam (Jokihat), Mohd Izhar Asfi (Kochadhaman) and