Sometimes friend, sometimes enemy. Nitish Kumar, called “Paltu Ram” by many political leaders, has once again changed alliance. The JDU chief on Sunday broke ties with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Grand Alliance in Bihar.
Watch live updates in Bihar politics here
He joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies to form the new government in the state. Only about one and a half months ago, Nitish Kumar had left the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and formed an alliance with the Grand Alliance.
However, today, January 28, 2024) is a different story again.
After taking oath as Bihar Chief Minister for a record ninth time on Sunday, Nitish Kumar said, “Now I am back where I was before (in NDA) and now there is no question of going anywhere.”
But why did Nitish Kumar leave NDA in 2022?
1. Nitish Kumar had reportedly blamed the BJP for influencing Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Chirag Paswan to field candidates in almost all the constituencies where JDU was contesting. Paswan had fielded rebel BJP candidates on all seats contested by the JD(U) in the 2020 elections, with some alleging that it was part of a conspiracy by the BJP to force its way into the ruling coalition in the state. .
Also read: What will be the numbers in Bihar Assembly after Nitish Kumar changes alliance?
2. It was reported that several JD(U) MLAs had told Nitish Kumar that the JD(U)’s alliance with the BJP has weakened them since 2020. The JD(U) was also wary of alleged attempts by the BJP to divide it. JDU leader RCP Singh, who was the Union Minister at that time.
3. Nitish Kumar is also said to be uncomfortable with Deputy Chief Ministers Renu Devi and Tarkishore Prasad as they did not get along well with Sushil Kumar Modi, who was the Deputy CM for 13 years, the Indian Express reported.
4. ANI reported that Nitish Kumar had said in 2022 that BJP did not give proper representation to Bihar in the Union Cabinet. Kumar was quoted as saying, “How many people from Bihar have they (BJP) made ministers at the Centre? I told them to make our people ministers too. I asked for four ministers from my party. They did not give.”
Also read: Why did Nitish Kumar leave India Bloc and rejoin BJP-led NDA?
then and Now: How key leaders reacted after JD(U) changes alliance in 2022 and 2024
What does Nitish Kumar say?
Then: When asked about the reason for breaking the alliance with BJP, Nitish Kumar said, ‘There was a discussion in our party, this was the wish of the people. Even during the elections, the winning candidates said that no one from BJP supported them and the losing candidates said that they were defeated by the BJP people. I had to keep my party safe and work as per the wishes of the people.”
A video purportedly of 2023 recently went viral, in which Nitish Kumar can be heard saying, “It is acceptable to live together but it is never acceptable for us to live with them (BJP). (I would rather die than join them)”.
Now: Nitish Kumar said he broke ties with the RJD and the Grand Alliance because “things were not working well” for him in the Grand Alliance and the opposition group India.
Kumar said the RJD leader and his former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav are “doing nothing”. He said, “Now I am back where I was before (in NDA) and now there is no question of going anywhere.”
What does BJP say
Then: Till some time back, BJP had declared its ‘doors closed’ for Nitish Kumar. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in one of his speeches in 2023, had criticized Nitish Kumar and accused him of sitting in the lap of RJD leader Lalu Yadav to satisfy his hunger for power.
The BJP had termed Nitish Kumar’s move to forge an alliance with the RJD and the Left as an “insult and betrayal” of the people’s mandate. The party claimed Kumar’s “prime ministerial ambitions” were behind JDU’s decision to walk out of the NDA and join hands with the RJD-led opposition in the state.
Former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Sushil Modi had rejected JDU’s allegations that BJP wanted to break the party and had made RCP Singh a Union minister without the consent of Nitish Kumar.
Now: BJP National President JP Nadda Said“Nitish ji is back in NDA, it is a matter of happiness for us. The people of Bihar gave mandate to NDA. The natural alliance of JDU and Nitish ji is NDA…” BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad. Said, “Now there will be development in Bihar. BJP will win all 40 Lok Sabha seats…”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Nitish Kumar, Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Sinha on taking oath as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar. PM Modi tweeted, “The NDA government formed in Bihar will leave no stone unturned for the development of the state and to fulfill the aspirations of the people…”
What does RJD say
Then: After the alliance with Nitish Kumar in 2022, Tejashwi Yadav said, “Today, except BJP, all the parties and members of Bihar Assembly have accepted Nitish Kumar as their leader.”
Now: Tejashwi Yadav called Nitish Kumar a “tired chief minister” after Nitish left his party JD(U) out of the grand alliance and again joined hands with the BJP. Speaking to ANI, Yadav said, “He was a tired CM. The game has just begun, the game is still left, I can tell you in writing that JDU party will end in 2024. The public is with us…”
Yadav said, “Why should we not take credit for the work we have done? … The CM who used to say that giving jobs is impossible, we gave jobs and showed that it is possible. We brought new policies in tourism.” , IT, and sports. The work which was done in 17 months could not be done in 17 years (BJP-JDU rule). We did historic work in 17 months…”
The grand alliance of JD(U), Congress and RJD had won a landslide victory in the 2015 assembly elections, but the alliance broke down in just two years. Kumar returned to the NDA in 2017, hoping to gain some leverage after taking a stand against the corruption taint on his then deputy Tejashwi Yadav. Again in 2022 he is back in alliance with RJD.
In the current 243-member Bihar Assembly, JDU has 45 MLAs and BJP has 78 MLAs. Kumar also has the support of an independent member. Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha, which is already part of the NDA, has four MLAs. The RJD (79), along with the Congress (19) and the Left parties (16), together have 114 MLAs, eight short of the majority.
(with inputs from agencies)
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Published: 28 January 2024, 09:11 PM IST
