K.C. Tyagi joins Rashtriya Lok Dal days after quitting JD(U)

Former Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader K.C. Tyagi on Sunday (March 22, 2026) formally joined the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in the presence of party chief and Union Minister Jayant Chaudhary in New Delhi.

Mr. Tyagi, a founding member of the JD(U), did not participate in the party’s membership renewal drive, signalling his exit from the JD(U) on March 17.

He had clarified at that time he held no animus regarding the JD(U) or Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who has been elected to the Rajya Sabha, making it clear that he would not be remaining CM in the State in future.

Mr. Tyagi also addressed speculation regarding his parliamentary ambitions, denying that his exit was linked to a desire for a seat in the Rajya Sabha. “There is not a single instance of me trying for a Rajya Sabha ticket. Even in 2013, Nitish Kumar called me and offered me a ticket,” he said.

“I have a 50-year-old relationship with Nitish Kumar. In Jayaprakash-ji’s movement, then in the Janata Party, Lok Dal, and then under Karpoori-ji’s leadership, we did politics together,” he said. He had told The Hindu in a video interview recorded after his exit from the JD(U) that he wanted to regain his political ground in Uttar Pradesh, and with the JD(U) restricted to Bihar, he found he could not do so in that party.

Mr. Tyagi had earlier resigned as the JD(U)’s national chief spokesperson in September 2024.