PATNA: The BJP’s landslide victory in the Uttar Pradesh polls has struck JD(U) and its national president, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, as a double-edged sword, handing him time to analyse and make tough choices.
Having endured numerous hitches in running the grand alliance government in Bihar with RJD and Congress for a year and four months, JD(U) leaders are elated that the rout of the SP-Congress alliance in UP, for which RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav had campaigned, promises a smoother path for Nitish to run Bihar.
Sources in RJD, which has the most MLAs in the alliance, said an SP-Congress victory would have propelled RJD to “fructify without delay” its plan to replace Nitish with Lalu’s son and deputy CM Tejaswi Yadav.
“BJP’s undisputed, emphatic rise in UP has provided us local relief, but it has also posed a national dilemma for us,” said a JD(U) minister.
While political analysts predict greater possibilities of Nitish now allying with BJP to get rid of RJD, JD(U) leaders say there is little chance of it happening. “BJP is fuelling such speculations to come to power in Bihar. BJP was rejected by Bihar’s people, who chose Nitish,” said JD(U) leader Shyam Rajak.
Nitish, who continually sends out mixed signals towards BJP by praising PM Narendra Modi’s demonetisation exercise, appears keen on keeping the door open for BJP. Such tactics enrage RJD, but they help keep Lalu’s party under control.
JD(U) believes Nitish is the most potent face to counter the “Modi wave” in 2019. JD(U) leaders recently said Kumar must lead a broader coalition of anti-BJP parties.
The demands also have RJD’s tacit support as it would ensure Tejaswi Yadav becomes Bihar CM. But Congress is opposed to any such plans as it wants Rahul Gandhi to be the PM candidate for 2019.
“Nitish is PM candidate of all non-BJP parties for 2019, but any exercise in that direction now could alienate Congress and destabilise the state government. So we are stepping ahead with caution and tact,” said a senior JD(U) leader.
BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said Nitish’s alliance government has little chance of lasting its full term and that there is “no vacancy for PM post” till 2024. “He (Nitish) is most welcome in NDA as JD(U) had been our natural ally for many years,” said Modi.