Nitish Kumar who is infamous for his political volatility is positioning himself for a massive U-turn once again. Tejashwi Yadav and Nitish Kumar have been exchanging parleys with two meetings in 48 hours in what seems to be an attempt to lay down the groundwork for forging a coalition in the state.
Both the RJD and the JD (U) seem to be coordinating inside the Assembly and coming to agreement on several contentious issues. Earlier this week, the Bihar Legislative Assembly got together to pass a resolution not to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state. The Assembly also resolved that the National Population Register (NPR) should be carried out in strict conformity with the 2010 format.
Then the two parties also got together on Wednesday for a unanimous resolution to get a caste-based census conducted- a long pending demand of the RJD and other caste based regional satraps in order to counter the growing trend of consolidation of Hindu vote in the favour of BJP overriding caste divisions.
In the context of such suspiciously smooth coordination in the Legislative Assembly, Nitish Kumar has met the RJD leader and his former Deputy in the coalition government that had come to power in 2015, Tejashwi Yadav two times.
While the first visit took place in the Chief Minister’s chamber in the Bihar Assembly on Tuesday- the day when the RJD and the JD (U) got together to pass a resolution against the NRC and NPR, the second meeting described as a “courtesy visit” took place in the office of the Assembly Speaker Vijay Choudhary.
Such bonhomie between Tejashwi Yadav and Nitish Kumar has sparked speculations in the political circles within Bihar. The BJP feels that there is more than what meets the eye with such meetings.
Meanwhile former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi has extended an open invite to Nitish Kumar to join the Mahagathbandhan (grand coalition fold). He said, “What’s wrong if Nitish Kumar wants to return to the Mahagatbandhan? Is there a bigger face than him for the Chief Minister’s post.”
The Congress too seems to be pandering to the Bihar Chief Minister. Lawmaker and Congress leader Awadhesh Singh who was also in Nitish’s cabinet when the RJD-JDU-Congress coalition was in power has said, “Can anyone question Nitish Kumar’s secular credentials? By passing a resolution against NRC and NPR, Bihar has become the first NDA state to oppose NRC and back the UPA-era NPR of 2010.”
With JD (U) and RJD cosying up to each other, Tejashwi Yadav is also sending feelers to Nitish Kumar. Inside the Legislative Assembly, he declared, “Nitish Kumar, on a personal level, is like my guardian and I respect him. But it is because of him that I am the leader of the opposition. I am carrying out the duty of an opposition.”
According to Deccan Herald, a BJP legislator said, “We were kept in the dark when the resolution against NRC/NPR was moved in the Assembly.” The NPR would have been a major poll plank of the BJP during the Bihar polls. Now, by disturbing that the JD (U) supremo has also soured his ties further with the BJP- his present ally in the Bihar government.
As in 2015 Assembly polls and then in 2017, it seems that Nitish Kumar will take a U-turn in the run up to th 2020 Assembly polls also. The temptation to corner the BJP over the CAA-NPR-NRC debate seems to have got the better of the JD (U) supremo.
However, what Nitish Kumar doesn’t realise is that this move can prove to be counter-productive and bring his political career to a grinding halt. People of Bihar are not likely to get fooled once again with his political volatility.
It seems that the encouraged by the Maharashtra fiasco, Nitish Kumar is now looking to join hands with the RJD and sideline BJP in Bihar. What he doesn’t realise is the fact the the RJD is itself embroiled in a deep leadership crisis.
RJD does not have an effective President. Their current chief, Lalu Prasad Yadav is facing a jail term which places the party at a massive disadvantage. Apart from the loss of credibility, Nitish Kumar will have to carry the burden of a leaderless RJD that could weigh him down further. 2020 polls will not pan out like the 2015 Elections if Nitish Kumar aligns with the RJD.
The BJP has strengthened its roots in Bihar. The BJP led NDA had fought the Lok Sabha polls in Bihar with PM Modi as its face. This was primarily the reason why the alliance won all but one seat in the Elections. This is the kind of popularity that Nitish Kumar will have to tackle if he joins hands with the RJD. Nitish Kumar is bracing for yet another U-turn which might finally prove to be the reason of his own undoing.