Patna, July 22
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and chief spokesman Shakeel Ahmad Khan, considered a loyalist of party chief Lalu Prasad, Friday announced he was leaving the party.
Khan, who had joined the RJD from the Communist Party of India over one and half decades ago, alleged that Lalu Prasad has lost touch with masses and was surrounded by sycophants, a state of affairs that led to the party's humiliating defeat in the last year's state assembly polls.
Khan declined to reveal his next move though there were rumours he was joining the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) of Lalu Prasad's arch rival, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
However, state RJD president Abdul Bari Siddiqui said that Khan was expelled from the party before he announced his resignation.