Sometimes friends, sometimes foe. Nitish Kumar, dubbed “Paltu Ram” by many political leaders, switched alliances once again. The JD(U) chief severed ties with the Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) and the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar on Sunday.
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He joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its partners to form a new government in the state. It was only around a month-and-a-half years ago that Nitish Kumar had collaborated with the Mahagathbandhan, ditching the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
However, it is again a different story today, January 28, 2024).
“Now I am back where I was before (in NDA) and now there is no question of going anywhere,” Nitish Kumar said after taking oath as the Bihar Chief Minister for the record ninth time on Sunday.
But why had Nitish Kumar left NDA in 2022?
1. Nitish Kumar had reportedly blamed the BJP for influencing Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Chirag Paswan to field candidates in nearly all constituencies where JD(U) was contesting. Paswan had fielded rebel BJP candidates on all seats fought by the JD(U) in the 2020 polls, in what some had alleged was part of a plot by the BJP to wedge its way into the ruling coalition in the state.
ALSO READ: What numbers in Bihar Assembly look like after Nitish Kumar switches alliance
2. It was reported that many JD(U) legislators had told Nitish Kumar the JD(U)’s alliance with the BJP had weakened them since 2020. The JD(U) was also wary of the BJP’s alleged attempts to split it, using then JD(U) leader RCP Singh, who was a Union Minister at the time.
3. Nitish Kumar was also said to have felt uneasy with Deputy Chief Ministers Renu Devi and Tarkishore Prasad, lacking the rapport he shared with Sushil Kumar Modi, who served as deputy CM for 13 years, the Indian Express reported.
4. Nitish Kumar had said in 2022 that the BJP did not give due representation to Bihar in the union cabinet, ANI had reported. “How many people from Bihar did they (BJP) make a Minister at the Centre? I told them to make our people ministers too. I asked for four ministers from our party. They did not give,” Kumar was quoted as saying.
ALSO READ: Why Nitish Kumar left INDIA bloc to rejoin BJP-led NDA
Then and Now: How key leaders reacted after JD(U) switching alliances in 2022 and 2024
What Nitish Kumar say?
Then: When asked about the reason for breaking the alliance with the BJP, Nitish Kumar said, “We had discussions in our party, it was people’s wish. Even during polls, winning candidates said nobody from the BJP supported them and losing candidates said they were defeated by the BJP people. I had to keep my party safe and act as per people’s wish.”
A video, reportedly from 2023 went viral recently, in which Nitish Kumar can be heard saying, “Mar jaana qabool hai lekin unke (BJP) saath jaana humko kabhi qabool nahin hai (I’d rather die than tie up with them)”.
Now: Nitish Kumar said he broke away from the RJD and the grand alliance as “things were not working well” for him in the Mahagathbandhan and the opposition bloc INDIA.
Kumar added that RJD leader and his former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav “was not doing anything”. He said, “Now I am back where I was before (in NDA) and now there is no question of going anywhere.”
What BJP says
Then: The BJP had till some time back declared its “doors closed” for Nitish Kumar. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had slammed Nitish Kumar in one of his speeches in 2023 and accused him of sitting on RJD leader “Lalu Yadav’s lap for satisfying his hunger for power”.
The BJP had dubbed Nitish Kumar’s move to ally with the RJD and Left parties as “insulting and betraying” people’s mandate. The party claimed that Kumar’s “prime ministerial ambition” is the reason behind the JD(U)’s decision to walk out of the NDA and join hands with the RJD-led opposition in the state.
Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi had dismissed JD(U)’s allegations that the BJP wanted to break the party and that it made RCP Singh a Union minister without Nitish Kumar’s consent.
Now: BJP national president JP Nadda said, “Nitish ji has returned to NDA, it is a matter of happiness for us. The people of Bihar gave the mandate to NDA. JDU and Nitish Ji’s natural alliance is NDA only…” BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Now there will be development in Bihar. BJP will win all 40 Lok Sabha seats…”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Nitish Kumar, Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha on taking oath as the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Ministers of Bihar. “The NDA government formed in Bihar will leave no stone unturned for the development of the state and to fulfil the aspirations of its people…,” PM Modi tweeted.
What RJD says
Then: After an alliance with Nitish Kumar in 2022, Tejashwi Yadav said, “Today, all parties and members of the Bihar Legislative Assembly except the BJP have accepted Nitish Kumar as their leader.”
Now: Tejashwi Yadav called Nitish Kumar a “tired Chief Minister” after the latter pulled his party JD (U) out of the grand alliance and joined hands with the BJP again. Speaking to ANI, Yadav said, “He was a tired CM. Khel abhi shuru hua haii, khel abhi baki hain. I can give you in writing that the JDU party will be finished in 2024. The public is with us…”
Yadav added, “Why should we not take credit for the work we have done? … The CM who used to say that it is impossible to give jobs, we gave jobs and showed that it is possible. We brought new policies in tourism, IT, and sports. The work that was done in 17 months could not be done in 17 years (of BJP-JDU rule). We did historic work in the 17 months…”
The Mahagathbandhan of the JD(U), the Congress and the RJD had won the 2015 assembly polls handsomely but came apart in just two years. Kumar returned to the NDA in 2017, hoping to get some traction after taking a stand against corruption taint on his then deputy Tejashwi Yadav. Again in 2022, he moved back to the alliance with the RJD.
In the current 243-member Bihar Assembly, JD(U) has 45 MLAs and the BJP 78. Kumar also has the support of one Independent member. Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha, which is already a part of the NDA, has four MLAs. The RJD (79), along with the Congress (19) and the Left parties (16), have a combined 114 MLAs, eight short of a majority.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Published: 28 Jan 2024, 09:11 PM IST