Bihar CM Nitish not to attend INLD’s Jind rally

Kumar’s non-participation has come as relief to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which of late was forced on the back foot following Bihar CM’s demand for a caste-based census. The BJP is part of the ruling alliance in Bihar along with Kumar’s JD(U).

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has decided not to attend a rally called by former Haryana chief minister and an Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Om Prakash Chautala in Jind on September 25 to commemorate the birth anniversary of former deputy prime minister Devi Lal, Janata Dal (United) national president and Lok Sabha MP Rajiv Ranjan alias Lallan Singh confirmed on Saturday.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. 

“Nitish Kumar will not take part in Devi Lal’s anniversary function on September 25 due to floods (in Bihar) and review of the measures to combat Covid-19 in anticipation of a third wave,” Singh, the MP from Munger, told reporters at the party office. Singh confirmed that the Bihar chief minister was invited for the rally. On Friday, he had said he was not aware of Kumar’s participation.

The rally has been organised with what is seen as a larger motive of exploring the possibility of a third front ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. Chautala, son of former PM Devi Lal, has extended the invitation to several prominent leaders, including Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, former PM and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Deve Gowda, Shiromani Akali Dal supremo Parkash Singh Badal, National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, Telugu Desam Party leader and former Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu and West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.

In August, Nitish Kumar along with JD(U) national principal general secretary KC Tyagi met Chautala at his residence in Gurugram. “I will reach out to all Opposition parties. My aim is to unite all political forces opposed to this corrupt government at the Centre and stitch a robust third front. I will visit all states in the next one month,” Chautala had said ahead of the meeting.

Kumar’s non-participation has come as relief to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which of late was forced on the back foot following Bihar CM’s demand for a caste-based census. The BJP is part of the ruling alliance in Bihar along with Kumar’s JD(U). The decision is also seen as a setback to the opposition’s effort for a third front.

“More than floods and Covid-19, an important reason could be invitation extended to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and former UP CM Mulayam Singh Yadav. Kumar, probably, would not like to share dais with these leaders,” said political analyst Gyanendra Yadav, associate professor of Sociology, College of Commerce, Patna.

However, a senior JD(U) leader said it should not be seen from that prism. “It was former deputy PM Devi Lal who had made Nitish Kumar the all India chief of Lok Dal during early days of the latter’s political career,” the leader said on the condition of anonymity.