The state of Bihar has seen many political ups and downs and has suffered due to the same. From Karpuri Thakur to Lalu Prasad Yadav, every tenure has a different history. But what the future holds in its womb for Bihar. Is Nitish Kumar going to be the undefeated man of Bihar politics, or will Tejaswi Yadav make his mark? And amongst all this, the most important question is where the BJP stands.
Bihar MLC Election indicates the ‘mood of the people’
The recently concluded MLC elections traumatized many political pundits who were predicting a rise of Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) to reclaim its lost ‘glory’. Though some chose to write that RJD emerged as the ‘second-largest’ party, the results signal a shift.
In the MLC elections, the NDA alliance won 13 seats, 7 by the BJP and 5 by JD(U). Whereas Lalu Yadav’s RJD managed to put up a score of 5 seats. The elections were held for 24 seats. The BJP has contested on 11 seats, and it registered victory on seven seats thus registering a strike rate of more than 60%, while JD(U) succeeded on less than 50% of seats it contested.
This MLC election and its results are indeed important as they indicate a shift in the ‘mood of the people’. The NDA alliance has come down to 13 seats from 20 seats that BJP and JD(U) together held in 2015. BJP had singlehandedly grabbed 12 seats whereas Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) managed to win 8 seats when it contested as part of the Mahagathbandhan in alliance with RJD. RJD’s tally however has gone up from 2 to 6.
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Nitish Kumar: A political pariah down and out
The rumour has been floating for a few days that BJP may exert pressure on Nitish Kumar to shift to Delhi and vacate the CM seat for the former. But BJP and JD(U) did not have an edgy relationship since always, rather a lot has passed.
Nitish Kumar has been in the chair for last 17 years. But it seems that the ‘Chanakya of Bihar’ who has been known for being astute and intuitive, is lonely today as he is shunned by all, his allies, his opponents and obviously by the ‘Janta’, the reason behind this is Nitish Kumar’s politics of opportunism and self-promotion. And due to this, he is currently fighting the toughest battle of his political tenure, the battle of existence.
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Not only the janta of Bihar but the allies of Nitish Kumar, all are upset with him, as he has successfully ditched both RJD and the BJP time and again, and through this, he has maintained himself at the helm of affairs. Nitish Kumar cunningly gained the support of upper-caste Hindus by aligning with the BJP, still being a staunch leader of Mandal politics.
Nitish Kumar is the only politician in India, who, despite lacking mass appeal and dismal party organisation, is leading a state and that is possible because of BJP.
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BJP should stop being too generous to Nitish
The BJP and JD(U) have an alliance and it is known to all the alliance between the BJP and JD(U) in Bihar is running at the cost of the BJP. It was predicted that BJP may drop Nitish Kumar if he fails to sustain a good amount of vote share. The BJP potrayed a magnanimous gesture and handed over the chief ministership to Nitish Kumar adhering to the pre-poll arrangement.
Nitish Kumar faced erosion in the assembly elections 2020, his JD(U) was reduced to the third position and BJP being the largest party made Nitish Kumar the CM as the party had to face assembly elections in some crucial states ahead.
BJP for very long has allowed Nitish Kumar to thrive on their voter base, but the time has come when BJP should sideline Nitish Kumar and stop him from shadowing the BJP and BJP should carve its path.
BJP has strength in Bihar, it has its faces, manpower and a strong organisation, backed by the charisma of leaders like PM Modi and committed cadre like RSS.
The janta of Bihar has made it very clear firstly during the assembly results and now with this mandate in the MLC elections, Bihar is fed up with Nitish Kumar and his ‘policies’ and it loves the BJP, especially PM Narendra Modi. Nitish Kumar has outlived, and now BJP should think about expanding its base and come out of the shadow of Nitish Kumar.
