PATNA: JD(U)-RJD ties have entered a tense terrain amid growing indications that Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is under pressure to avoid the embarrassment of having to defend or ignore the corruption charges against his deputy+ Tejashwi Yadav during the assembly session beginning on Friday.

Things seem set to hot up on Wednesday when legislators of both RJD and JD(U) will hold separate meetings to stake out their positions.
RJD was the first to announce a meeting of its MLAs, with JD(U) close behind to call one of its own. Sources in JD(U) said Kumar, who prides his anti-corruption credentials, will be loath to defend his deputy if BJP, as is likely, launches protests on the floor of the assembly to demand the resignation of Tejashwi who has not yet provided an explanation for the circumstances in which he ended up being the owner of properties worth hundreds of crores without having a known source of income.

“Nitishji has perhaps never faced such an embarrassing situation in his entire political career when his integrity and clean image is being questioned,” JD(U) secretary general K C Tyagi told TOI as suspense mounted in Patna about the options Nitish can use to head off the threat to his image.