NEW DELHI: The BJP-JD(U) coalition in Bihar on Monday appeared to be teetering on the brink as a gleeful opposition waited with open arms to embrace CM Nitish Kumar amid growing tension in his partnership with the saffron party.
Nitish to divorce BJP again?
There is all indication that the hours, not even days of the NDA government of Bihar are numbered. Four years after Nitish Kumar came back to the NDA fold, the ties between the JD(U) and the BJP have reportedly reached the breaking point.
D-day
Nitish has called a meeting of all its MLAs and MPs today, when he is likely to discuss the issues emerging out of the revolt of RCP Singh, the former Union minister, who has resigned from the party. The JD(U) has alleged that the BJP is trying to split the party by engineering a rebellion against him.
Bihar political crisis live updates
Why Nitish is unhappy
The BJP's reported snubbing of Nitish, refusal to remove Speaker Vijay Sinha and reported insistence on simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections in 2024 are among the reasons why Nitish is miffed. He is reportedly resisting the BJP's attempt to "control" his party.
A Chirag model?
The JD(U) has alleged that through RCP Singh, the BJP was trying to execute "Chirag model" as in the 2020 assembly election.
"The Chirag model was applied during the 2020 assembly polls. Another 'Chirag model' was being prepared. If required in future, I will reveal how and when conspiracies were hatched against the JD(U) to downsize the towering political personality of Nitish Kumar," JD(U) chief Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh said. "But now, we all JD(U) workers and leaders are alert under the leadership of Nitish and we will not allow any conspiracy against our party," he added.
'Take on BJP directly': Chirag Paswan
Former Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Chirag on Monday hit out at the JD(U) and dared it to take on the BJP directly instead of accusing him of involvement in a conspiracy to dent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's popularity.
Paswan claimed the chief minister faced "greater danger from his close aides than from me" even as he alleged that Kumar has insulted former JD(U) national president RCP Singh, and had previously humiliated Sharad Yadav and George Fernandes. Never before has one heard of a party accusing its own former national president of corruption. But, this is Nitish Kumar for you," Paswan said.
Paswan, who had in the 2020 assembly polls fielded candidates, many of them BJP rebels, in all seats fought by the JD(U) which saw its tally plummet from over 70 five years ago to under 45, bristled at the term "Chirag model" coined by Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan, the party's current national president.
"If there is a Chirag model, it stands for our call for 'Bihar First Bihari First', our vision for the state which the CM never respected. He should stop blaming me for his party's debacle. The Janata Dal (United) is, indeed, a divided house. RCP has been made to quit. But Nitish Kumar needs to be wary of people like Lalan and Upendra Kushwaha," he said.
An Uddhav angle
Nitish is a regional leader like Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray, whose party MLAs revolted against him. The BJP was held responsible for the Sena revolt, Thackeray said. The Maharashtra developments have made Nitish wary of the BJP, especially against the backdrop of growing tensions between them and BJP president JP Nadda's statement that the regional parties would be finished.
If Nitish dumps BJP, we will embrace him: RJD
The RJD, Congress and Left parties indication on Monday that they would support JD(U) if it ditched BJP.
"If Nitish chooses to dump NDA, what choice do we have but to embrace him? RJD is committed to fighting BJP’s communal agenda. If the CM decides to join our fight against communalism, we are ready to take him in,” RJD’s national vice-president and former minister Shivanand Tiwari said.
Announcements that MLAs of both the Janata Dal (United) and Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal would be holding meetings today have only fed the political frenzy in this highly politicised state.
(With inputs from agencies)
