BJP statement after two-day Patna meet leaves JD(U) guessing

The confusion stems from the press release issued by the BJP after the two-day meeting of all its seven frontal organisations in Patna, which says both elections would be contested under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, thereby putting question mark on the face of the NDA in 2025.

Union home minister Amit Shah may have tried to dispel the confusion in the rank and file in rank of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituents by saying that his party BJP and JD(U) would contest both Lok Sabha (2024) and Bihar Assembly elections (2025) jointly, yet uncertainty remains over the fate of chief minister Nitish Kumar.

At the national executive meet on Sunday. (HT Photo)

The confusion stems from the press release issued by the BJP after the two-day meeting of all its seven frontal organisations in Patna, which says both elections would be contested under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, thereby putting question mark on the face of the NDA in 2025.

JD(U) maintains one cannot think of NDA in Bihar without Kumar. “Nitish Kumar has been the leader of the NDA and this is the demand of the people of Bihar. It would be too premature to name the NDA leader at this juncture. The leadership of both the parties will decide on this at an appropriate time,” JD (U) spokesperson Nikhil Mandal said on Monday.

BJP leaders were circumspect. “We will contest all elections with the JD (U),” was the cryptic reply of union minister Giriraj Singh. However, BJP spokesperson Prem Ranjan Patel sought to clarify, saying that “both Modi and Nitish are the tallest leaders of the NDA and Kumar is the steward of the NDA ship in Bihar.”

Political observers feel Shah’s timing of announcement of contesting election in alliance was perfectly timed for many reasons. “For one, it would put an end to war of words between two parties and secondly, it is also an attempt to test the waters and see the reaction. It will also put Kumar in two minds if at all he is thinking of joining hands with opposition,” said D M Diwakar, former director of A N Sinha Institute for Social Studies.

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi sounded confident that JD (U) would “not repeat the mistake which it did in 2015 by joining hands with the RJD”.

According to Diwakar, BJP is also facing a leadership crisis in Bihar. “BJP cannot go independently since they do not have a leader who commands respect of other backward castes,” he said.

“Nitish Kumar gave respect to OBCs and EBCs, be it giving reservation in panchayats or the educational uplift of students of these classes,” said JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alais Lalan Singh.

JD(U) on BJP outreach

In the meantime, the BJP’s two-day programme wherein leaders of all its seven frontal outfits were asked to spend 48 hours in all assembly seats has not left ally JD(U) impressed.

Ahead of its two-day meet which ended on Sunday, BJP had asked leaders of its frontal outfits to visit 203 assembly constituencies .

“BJP, or for that matter any other party, works for its expansion. Every political party has the right to contest more seats. But they (BJP) should remember what happened in 2015 when they had contested on 153 seats,” said JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar.

JD( U), along with RJD, was part of the Grand Alliance in 2015, when BJP won just 53 seats.

BJP leaders say the outreach is ultimately for the benefit of NDA. “Even if BJP is visiting all assembly seats, ultimately it will help alliance partners as well,” said Sushil Modi.

A senior BJP leader, wishing not to be quoted, said more than 600 delegates from other states spent 48 hours in assembly constituencies assigned to them and worked on 11-point agenda, including holding meeting with Mandal president, interacting with people, tree plantation, visit of religious and historical places irrespective of the community in that particular assembly segment besides interacting with the beneficiaries of different government schemes.

The BJP leader said that the interaction of delegates with local party leaders and masses would help the party prepare a strategy for both the Lok Sabha polls of 2024 and the Assembly elections of 2025.