Known to be close to CM Nitish Kumar, Ashok Choudhary earns Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s wrath
At least 19 Congress MLAs from Bihar have met party vice-president Rahul Gandhi in Delhi over the past two days following rumours of a possible split in the state unit of the party.
Rahul is believed to have given a clear instruction that Bihar Congress president Ashok Choudhary be removed from his post. Choudhary was a minister in the Nitish Kumar government when JD(U) was part of the grand opposition alliance.
His closeness to the Bihar CM is well known and there was speculation about Choudhary leaving the Congress to join Nitish’s party soon after the JD(U) left the alliance.
Sources in the Congress told ThePrint that Rahul Gandhi is upset with Choudhary and even pulled him up for trying to split the party.
“When we had four MLAs in Bihar, we sent him to the legislative council with support from other parties. When the party came to power, we made him a minister. Now, he is trying to destroy the party in the state,” said a senior Congress leader.
Sources said the Congress high command had already taken a decision on Choudhary and a formal announcement is expected soon.
Around 12 MLAs of the Congress are believed to be constantly in touch with Nitish Kumar and are reportedly ready to switch sides. The Congress has 27 MLAs in Bihar. To form a new faction or split the state unit, the defectors need 18 MLAs.