By Our Editor
For quite some time there was simmering relationship between the Bharitya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal United (JD-U), both uneasy partners in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the former advocating Hindutva agenda whereas the latter favouring Samajvadi or socialist principles. Strategy of BJP in trying to pacify JD(U) was to project Nitish Kumar as leader of Bihar in 2025 Assembly elections after 2024 Lok Sabha polls, a gesture which aims to tone down its domineering stance and thereby gaining in both elections but JD (U) did not fall to BJP’s tactics and refused to bite the bait. While publicly declaring that the alliance was still strong yet Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) made its position clear that it would not join the Union Council of Ministers again even when the BJP insisted. So the battle of nerves between two political stalwarts went on each trying to outdo the other.
On August 9, Nitish Kumar announced that snapping of JD(U) ties with BJP and openly declared that he was fully ready to face Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Prime Minister’s post in 2024. His resignation as Bihar’s chief minister was the seventh time in 17 years and subsequently became the eight-time chief minister. This was recorded as first for any chief minister to resign and then becoming chief minister again which earned him the title ‘Paltu-Ram’ meaning the ‘Ram’ who does more U-turns than gymnast does somersault. There was talk that Kumar would challenge Modi in 2014 but it did not happen. In 2019 there was no talk at all and everything seemed quiet in the political arena. But now there ensues hot debate among various opposition leaders who seem to be clueless about the future because till then there was no viable leader who could seriously undertake the task of facing the tough challenge against PM Narendra Modi in 2024. Kumar, born in 1951 and now in his 70s, has raised the spirits of more than half the nation. Important leaders flocking to his support include Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwa, Rahul Gandhi, Chandrashekar Rao of the Telengana Rashtra Samithi and others. Bihar accounts for 40 Lok Sabha MPs which is considered to be half of the Hindi heartland.
The present government known as Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) headed by Nitish Kumar comprises JD(U), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Communist Party of India (CPI), CPI (Marxist) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) which together have more than 160 MLAs in the 243-strong assembly. Kumar’s idea of having coordination panel which was in place during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s time with George Fernandes as its coordinator so that different constituents can voice their divergent opinions was ignored by present BJP; it may be added that most of its prominent constituents like Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Shiv Sena and Siromani Akali Dal are now out of the coalition.