What are Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Janata Dal (U) vice-president Prashant Kishor up to? Are they playing good cop, bad cop?
These questions have arisen as Kumar and his confidante Kishor have been sending out conflicting signals on the Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Register of Citizens and the relationship between the JD(U) and its senior partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Kishor has been unusually vocal, while the Bihar chief minister has maintained a studied silence on these issues. This has naturally created confusion in Delhi’s political circles, as also within the JD(U).
No one is sure if Kishor is speaking for himself or for Nitish Kumar. And if the party vice-president has not been authorised to take a public position on critical issues or to speak on behalf of the Janata Dal (U), why has he not been pulled up by his boss or asked to keep his own counsel.
Though always a backroom player, poll strategist-cum-politician Kishor has, of late, been unusually visible and vocal. He is hyperactive on twitter and has made controversial statements in a series of press interviews.
He fired the first salvo after the JD(U) voted in favour of the new citizenship law. While publicly opposing the legislation, Kishor tweeted: “We are told that CAB is a bill to grant citizenship and not to take it from anyone. But the truth is together with NRC, it could turn into a lethal combo in the hands of government to systematically discriminate and even prosecute people based on religion.”
This led to speculation that there were serious differences between Nitish Kumar and Kishor. However, this talk came to naught when Kishor declared, after a long meeting with the chief minister, that Nitish Kumar is not in favour of the National Register of Citizens. He was also quick to add that if the new citizenship law is tagged with the NRC, it will “become discriminatory and cause trouble”.
While continuing with his relentless campaign on the twin issues of Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens, Kishor opened up another front after the BJP’s defeat in the Jharkhand elections, when he said that as “big brother” and senior partner, the JD(U) should get more seats in the year-end Bihar assembly polls. He went as far as to suggest that the Nitish Kumar-led party should contest more than half the 243 Assembly seats.
Kishor also took a dig at Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Modi of the BJP, saying, “It is a pleasant experience to hear lectures on political dignity and ideology from Sushil Modi, who became Deputy Chief Minister even after the ‘defeat in 2015’ due to ‘circumstances’.”
Kishor’s controversial statements have not only incensed the BJP but have also provoked a strong reaction from within the JD(U).
Ram Chandra Prasad Singh, the party’s Rajya Sabha member known for his proximity to Nitish Kumar, hit out at Kishor, saying the party’s line on the citizenship law was clear, and those who did not agree with it were free to choose their path. Not taking kindly to his remarks, Sushil Modi also lost no time in slamming Kishor.
Interestingly, Nitish Kumar has remained a mute spectator to this war of words. He has not commented on the protests against the citizenship law or the National Register of Citizens, and has dismissed all talk of differences with the BJP. At the same time, the chief minister has made no effort to restrain Kishor from going public with his freewheeling comments.
All this suggests the two are working in tandem. One obvious explanation is that the Bihar chief minister is using Kishor to mount pressure on the BJP for a larger share of seats in the assembly polls, as it believes the saffron party is on the back foot after it lost power in Jharkhand.
It is also being suggested that Kishor is deliberately allowed to publicly oppose the citizenship law and the National Register of Citizens , with an eye on the minority vote. Nitish Kumar had successfully wooed the Muslims during his first stint in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, a major reason for his vehement opposition to Modi, then Gujarat chief minister. However, it is a different story now that he has thrown in his lot with Modi.
Today, the Rashtriya Janata Dal is the first choice for Muslims in Bihar, but with the RJD on a weak wicket, Nitish Kumar will be hoping to win them over to his side again.
Then there is constant chatter about the tension between the BJP’s state unit and the JD(U) and the possibility of Nitish Kumar snapping ties with the BJP. Though this is a remote possibility, it only helps Nitish Kumar to keep the rumour mill going. It may be a coincidence but post-Jharkhand, there is talk that the JD(U) could be accommodated in the Modi government with three ministerial berths.It is anybody’s guess how this cat-and-mouse game will end.
Anita Katyal
The writer is a senior journalist.
This column will appear every fortnight