Has BJP permanently blocked Nitish's access to Lalu?

New Delhi: The Nitish Kumar government’s decision to shift former chief minister Rabri Devi out of 10, Circular Road after nearly 20 years has triggered a political row and is being read as a signal that the era of easy political crossovers in Bihar may be ending.

According to a notification issued by the state building construction department, Rabri Devi has been allotted 39, Harding Road as her new residence. 

This means she will have to vacate 10, Circular Road, the government bungalow that stands directly across the road from the chief minister’s official residence at 1, Anne Marg and has functioned for years as the RJD’s camp office and power centre.

Rabri Devi and her family shifted to 10, Circular Road after losing power about two decades ago. The address became the permanent Opposition base of the Lalu-Rabri family. In those years, the stretch between 1, Anney Marg and 10, Circular Road was also a barometer of shifting equations. 

Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad’s families often crossed the road to visit each other on festivals and special occasions, including Holi milan, whenever political relations allowed.

That history is why the latest notice is being seen as more than a routine re-allotment of government accommodation.

RJD sees BJP hand behind eviction

RJD spokesman Shakti Yadav said, “The minister for building construction is a sensible man. But the decision shows the influence the BJP has come to exercise over 1, Anney Marg (the CM’s official residence).” 

The building construction department is headed by senior JD(U) leader Vijay Kumar Sinha, but the RJD claims the move reflects BJP pressure on the ruling alliance.

Rabri Devi’s daughter Rohini Acharya, who had earlier said she left the family residence after a dispute with her younger brother and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, attacked the government in a social media post.

Sharing a screenshot of the department’s notice, she called this the “development model” of “sushasan babu”, the sobriquet Nitish Kumar earned for his claims of good governance.

She alleged that the government’s “top priority” is to humiliate her father, RJD chief Lalu Prasad.

“You may evict him from a house, but how will you evict him from people’s heart. If not his health, his political stature should have been taken into consideration,” she wrote, arguing that both his age and his long political career should have been factored in before asking the family to leave 10, Circular Road.

The BJP has rejected the charge. Party spokesman Neeraj Kumar said the family is being asked to vacate the house in accordance with rules

He added that, given their “past track record”, the government will keep a close watch and ensure no damage is done to state property.

Tejashwi Yadav had earlier faced allegations of taking away items from 5, Deshratna Marg, the official residence he occupied when he was deputy chief minister, and BJP leaders continue to invoke that episode.

No more crossing over, either bungalows or sides

Behind the sharp exchanges lies a larger political reading. RJD leaders, including Rohini Acharya, say the notice to vacate 10, Circular Road after around 20 years shows that the BJP is confident enough about its position in Bihar to push the Lalu-Rabri family out of the symbolic address opposite the chief minister’s residence.

The move also comes after a phase in which Nitish Kumar has switched alliances multiple times, sometimes siding with the BJP, sometimes with the RJD. 

Through those shifts, 10, Circular Road remained the fixed Opposition address across the road, and the personal visits between the two families at different points reflected the possibility of political realignments.

Now, RJD leaders argue, the message is that there will be no repeat of such switching. Even if one accepts their charge that the BJP is driving the decision, the underlying calculation appears clear. 

With the RJD winning only about 25 seats in the last Assembly election, the party is no longer being seen by the BJP as a central force that must be kept in tactical play for future coalition options. 

Earlier, when the RJD regularly won a larger block of seats, it remained an important player in any discussion on who could form the government, and doors on both sides of the road stayed cautiously open.

It is in this context that shifting Rabri Devi to 39, Harding Road is being read in Patna’s political circles as more than a change of address. 

It helps BJP-JDU combine project distance from the Lalu-Rabri family and reinforces the claim that rules are being applied without exception. 

For two decades, the building at 10, Circular Road facing the chief minister’s residence across a narrow road, also symbolised Nitish’s repeated flip-flop. The latest move suggests that, at least for now, those crossings may be over.