Bihar win: JD (U) likely to make a U-turn on GST

Nitish Kumar-led party had earlier supported enactment of a pan-India tax law

The massive victory of the grand alliance in Bihar is likely to echo in Parliament when the Winter Session begins with Janata Dal (United) indicating that it will go with the larger opposition unity on the GST Bill, which it had earlier supported.

The Centre has argued that consumer states like Bihar will benefit from the rolling out of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) and it was the major reason behind the JD(U), which has ruled the state for the last 10 years, lending its support to it.

With opposition parties buoyant after NDA's drubbing in Bihar, senior JD(U) leaders have said they will take a final call only after consulting other parties.

"There are new circumstances. We will take a decision in consultation with other opposition parties," a JD(U) MP said.

Congress, a part of the grand alliance, has opposed certain provisions of the reform bill and blocked its passage in the Monsoon Session of Parliament over a host of issues, including the alleged corruption of some top BJP leaders.

JD(U) and Lalu Prasad's RJD, which has returned to power in Bihar after 10 years, leaders have said a final decision will be taken in the coming days.

With Congress being the biggest opposition party, the two regional parties believe that they must take its concerns on the bill into account.

The GST Bill, which will subsume all indirect taxes to create one rate and integrate the country into a single market, has been approved by the Lok Sabha and is pending approval of the Rajya Sabha.

JD(U) has 12 members in the Rajya Sabha, where the ruling NDA is well short of majority, while RJD has only one MP.

BJP's ambitious GST Bill would remain one of the highlights during the Winter Session of the Parliament which begins November 26.