Patna: Samajwadi Party veteran Mata Prasad Pandey, the leader of the opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, has claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could remove Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar from power “in a few days.”
Speaking to reporters at an event marking the birth anniversary of former UP chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, Pandey issued a sharp attack on the ruling BJP governments in both Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Pandey alleged that the BJP’s governance model rests entirely on a Hindutva-first agenda, warning that the party aims to turn India into “a nation where there will be no equality.”
He said, “The government’s policies are not aimed at eliminating unemployment. Their only slogan is Hindutva… They want to run the government in the name of Hindutva and mislead the people by performing religious rituals.”
Claim: Samrat Chaudhary’s elevation signals internal power play
Responding to questions about the appointment of BJP leader Samrat Chaudhary—currently Bihar’s deputy chief minister—as the state’s new home minister, Pandey suggested the move indicated brewing political manoeuvring.
“Anointing Samrat Chaudhary as Home Minister is their internal decision and may have been made as part of an agreement,” he said.
Pandey added, “We believe he (Nitish Kumar) may be removed in a few days.”
The remarks come shortly after the National Democratic Alliance secured a sweeping victory in the Bihar Assembly elections, winning 202 of 243 seats, paving the way for Nitish Kumar to take oath for an unprecedented 10th term as chief minister.
‘No focus on unemployment, education or health’
Pandey—also a former Speaker of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly—accused the BJP of ignoring core governance issues. He argued that unemployment, public education and healthcare have all taken a back seat while the party prioritises cultural and religious messaging.
“The BJP government is not focused on the problems of unemployment, education, and health,” he said. “They are solely focused on transforming our country into a nation without equality by pushing the Hindutva agenda.”
