Oppositions size decreasing in Bihar assembly

Patna: The opposition is usually considered as a watchdog which keeps the ruling party in a democracy on its toes. But in Bihar, the party is fast losing out.
Their ranks are dwindling fast and the reason behind it is that there is a virtual scramble among lawmakers to join the ruling party to enjoy power.
This trend has given a free run to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who is now in the thick of a controversy involving allotment of prime industrial plots to the kin of ministers, lawmakers and bureaucrats.
In the past five days, at least two parties in the Opposition have merged with the ruling Janata Dal (United) whereas two prominent leaders of the main Opposition, Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have quit.
Key portfolio
While RJD leader Ram Bachan Rai has joined the ruling JD-U, Dr Shakeel Ahmad Khan who held key portfolios in the previous RJD government looks headed for Kumar’s party.
The fast-shrinking opposition suffered the third consecutive jot on Monday evening when the three-member LJP (Lok Janshakti Party) Legislature Party in the Legislative Council merged with the JD-U in the presence of the chief minister.
Later, council chairman Tarakant Jha formally recognised the three MLCs (Members of the Legislative Council) as members of the JD-U. This has virtually ended the existence of Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP party in the Upper House.
In the past week, Shibu Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) ceased to exist in the Bihar assembly when its lone member, Sumit Kumar Singh, was officially inducted into the JD-U.
With the merger, the combined strength of the opposition in the Assembly or Lower House has come down to 36, while in 75-member State Council or Upper House, their combined strength has come down to a mere 12 seats.
This has literally left the opposition voiceless, thus ending their relevance in the state politics.