NEW DELHI: The ruling alliance in Bihar appears adrift given CM Nitish Kumar’s participation in an iftar party hosted by RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav on Friday. The BJP’s central leadership is learnt to have become more cautious over political maneuvering of the JD-U leader.
Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar on Saturday said there was no political connection to his visit to the Iftar party hosted by the RJD’s first family. “The practice of hosting Iftar by political parties is in vogue for long,” he said, adding that politicians cutting across party lines participated in such events.
JD-U sources, however, said contentious issues raised by the BJP such as the uniform civil code or CAA would not get the party support. “Our party is in alliance with the BJP but it does not mean we support it for its bulldozer politics and polarisation,” said a senior JD-U leader.
What struck the BJP on Friday was Nitish Kumar’s alleged secrecy over his presence at the RJD’s Ifftar party. Without informing the BJP ally, he walked up to Rabri Devi’s official residence where he found Tejashwi Yadav waiting to greet him, said a BJP source.“Though Nitish Kumar went to the Patna airport on Saturday to welcome Union Home Minister Amit Shah, his Friday move has made us wary of the JD-U,” said another party source.
Over the past few days, the Bihar BJP has questioned the state government over deteriorating law and order. The recent Assembly by-election defeat of the BJP candidate at Bochaha appears to have created a rift within the ruling alliance. It widened further on Friday with Nitish’s participation in RJD’s Ifftar party. “Whenever Nitish feels uncomfortable over alliance issues, he does something of this sort to put pressure on the BJP,” said a BJP leader.