Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at a meeting in New Delhi, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is a cool customer. The Janata Dal (United) (JDU) leader, who has created a record by being sworn in nine times as Bihar chief minister, knows how to say things, and when they will have the maximum impact.
Not amused by controversial Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister Giriraj Singh's recent actions, Kumar has made his displeasure known subtly but firmly to underline that he was the undisputed leader of the state, and nothing should be done to jeopardise it by those who claim to be the allies.
The recent meeting of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar was intended to convey to the BJP high command that experiments like Singh's Hindu Swabhiman Yatra were not conducive to the health of the coalition.
“Whether we get the Muslim vote or not, communal harmony should be maintained at all costs”, Kumar said, implying that Singh’s yatra was an out-and-out attempt to communalise Bihar.
It was aimed at polarising the Hindus on the lines of Uttar Pradesh, where it is slowly losing steam. So, the BJP using such experiments is the refrain in political circles.
Despite being in power for nearly 20 long years, Kumar has been able to send home the message that he is a secular leader. This is notwithstanding the off and on alliance with the BJP. This helps him in getting an added space and virtually keeps the BJP on tenterhooks.
The BJP’s rationale looks simple. If Kumar wants to retain the goodwill of the minorities by his secular card, the BJP wants to polarise the Hindus in the caste-dominated Bihar and enlarge its footprint in a state known for the politics of social justice.
An ambitious Singh who is not looked upon favourably by the Muslims for his communal statements has also failed to gain enough traction among the Hindus.
With the passing away of Sushil Modi, the BJP in Bihar has become faceless, and Singh’s attempt is to fill in the gap. Sushil Modi was always seen as Kumar’s deputy and once the BJP decided to focus on building the party in Bihar, he was moved to Delhi a few years ago.
While everything looks well on the face of it, Kumar is seeking to keep the BJP off balance, indicating that any political misadventure will boomerang.
Kumar’s action is significant as it comes ahead of the Assembly polls scheduled by the end of 2025. He knows that the BJP needs to be kept under check whatever might be the results from the Assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. He also knows that the BJP will become more aggressive if it fares better in these polls; thus, offence is the best part of defence.
This time Kumar is in a more comfortable position because he is the vital ‘crutch’ to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, after the BJP failed to secure a majority in the Lok Sabha polls.
Kumar knows that the BJP has been impatient for long to dominate the politics of Bihar despite several failures. The world’s largest party would not have had any truck with him again early this year after Home Minister Amit Shah’s categorical statement that the BJP will not touch Kumar with a bargepole. “Enough of ‘Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram, the BJP’s doors are closed forever for Nitish Kumar," he had said early last year.
Kumar might be a fading star but wants to be the leader on his home turf, taking advantage of the delicate political situation where rival sides cannot reach the winning post by antagonising him. He seems unconcerned about the ‘Paltu Ram’ tag, and believes in the idea that one bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Kumar would be aware that Singh’s venture into Bihar’s politics was not possible without the tacit support of Shah, if not Modi, to change the status quo ante in Bihar. There has been speculation that the BJP could win over the dozen odd JD(U) MPs, leaving Kumar high and dry. The BJP might not yet to it, at least not until the Assembly polls because currently it is ‘faceless’ in the state, and poaching before the state polls could backfire for the BJP in Bihar.
Closer to the Bihar Assembly polls, the NDA allies will have to decide who will lead the coalition in the state. By exiting the I.N.D.I.A. bloc when he was not made the face of it, Kumar has showed that he prefers to be projected as the leader. The BJP will be cognisant of this demand.
The Patna NDA meet is significant because it has set the cat among the pigeons and is a clear sign that the tension between the BJP and JD(U) will only increase from here on.
(Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari are senior journalists.)
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.