JDU MP Devesh Chandra Thakur draws flak from his own party & ally BJP for his anti Muslims & Yadavs remark

JDU's Sitamarhi MP Devesh Chandra Thakur's remark that he won't do any work for Muslims and Yadavs as they did not vote for him in the Lok Sabha polls have raised Bihar's political temperature. He made the comment in his constituency which he won by defeating RJD candidate Arjun Ray by 51,356 votes.

Thakur's statement has drawn flak from his own party, with senior JDU leader and state minister Vijay Choudhary stating that the government led by Nitish Kumar and JDU believe in taking people of all communities together. "We have a proven track record of working for all communities and that has resulted in us getting support from everyone," he told ET.

"...It is shameful to make such a statement. I appeal to Thakurji to take back this controversial statement," JDU MP from Banka, Giridhari Yadav, posted on X.


BJP, the largest party in NDA in Bihar, has also reacted strongly to Thakur's statement. "The expression of Devesh Chandra Thakur is discriminatory because caste-based ill-will in politics is shameful and condemnable. BJP is a party of all communities and we believe in taking the votes and support of all sections of society as well as work for the welfare of all the people," Nikhil Anand, national general secretary of BJP OBC Morcha, told ET.

"Any political party or the state of Bihar cannot benefit by ignoring the Yadav community, which constitutes 14% of the state's population. We will oppose tooth and nail any attempt to marginalise and victimise Yadavs or any OBC community," he said.

BJP national secretary and minister in the Bihar government, Nitin Navin, has also condemned the statement. "In 2019, NDA won 39 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. It was only possible because people of all communities - Yadavs, Kushwahas and others -- voted for the BJP. In 2024, the NDA won 30 seats with support from all communities. Such a statement is highly condemnable," Navin told ET.