Patna, May 18 (IANS) Former Union Minister and ex-JDU National President R.C.P. Singh has formally merged his party Aap Sabki Aawaz (ASA) with Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj on Sunday ahead of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.

However, the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) lashed out at R.C.P. Singh. JD-U Chief Spokesperson Neeraj Kumar branded both R.C.P. Singh and Prashant Kishor as “poisonous germs of politics” and accused them of betraying Nitish Kumar.

“These are spent cartridges of politics. R.C.P. Singh was made personal secretary by Nitish Kumar and sent to the Rajya Sabha. Today, he is biting the very hand that fed him,” Neeraj Kumar said.

In a direct challenge, he added: “R.C.P. Singh should contest from any seat in Nalanda. If he secures more votes than a village chief (mukhiya), I will quit politics.”

Kumar also questioned the integrity of both leaders, accusing R.C.P. of “silent corruption” and Prashant Kishor of questionable corporate dealings in Telangana.

BJP Spokesperson Arvind Kumar Singh also dismissed the merger as “irrelevant” to Bihar’s political landscape.

“After the by-election, Prashant Kishor is known as a lost leader. R.C.P. Singh is a spent force. Neither of them can mobilise caste votes. Upper castes are with the NDA, and so are Koeri-Kurmi voters,” he said.

The BJP reiterated confidence that the NDA’s five-party alliance will return to power in Bihar, stating that the people have already rejected Kishor’s outreach model and no longer see Singh as a credible community representative.

During the merger event, R.C.P. Singh predicted the formation of a Jan Suraaj government in 2025 and launched a scathing attack on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Singh, once considered Nitish Kumar’s close confidant, declared his political rebirth alongside Kishor and framed the new alliance as a challenge to the status quo.

“The time has come for Bihar to embrace a new political culture. Jan Suraaj will bring that change,” he said.

Singh’s political trajectory saw him rise from a trusted IAS officer in Nitish Kumar’s team to JD-U national president and Union Steel Minister.

However, tensions with Nitish led to his exit. Prashant Kishor, once Nitish’s political strategist, too broke away and launched Jan Suraaj, aiming to establish an alternative, grassroots-based party.

–IANS

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