E-Paper
BJP puts up a brave face amid turbulence in Bihar
The BJP has kept its end of the bargain, despite the partnership being marred by turbulence, and is committed to ensuring the longevity of the government that is less than two years old, senior party leaders said.
Amid reports that its alliance with the Janata Dal (United) is on the brink of a collapse and the coalition government the two parties run in Bihar could be hurtling towards a premature end, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s leadership on Monday said the party has maintained coalition dharma and will not snap ties with its partner.
Senior leaders, however, betrayed anxiety about the upcoming meeting Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has called on Tuesday with his party colleagues and the impact it could have on the government’s survival.
The BJP has kept its end of the bargain, despite the partnership being marred by turbulence, and is committed to ensuring the longevity of the government that is less than two years old, senior party leaders that HT spoke to said on condition of anonymity.
“We have not done anything that can be held against us. We allowed Nitish Kumar to be the chief minister though we had the numbers and could have staked claim (to the post). As recently as last week, our leaders went on record to say that we would contest both the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in the state and the 2025 state polls with the chief minister as the leader,” said a party functionary.
BJP national general secretary Arun Singh had said in Patna earlier this month that the BJP would contest the elections under Kumar.
The BJP has 74 seats in the 243 member Bihar assembly and the JD(U) 43.
In the wake of reports that the JD(U) has been in talks with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress to cobble together the numbers to form government, a second leader said that the onus now lies on the JD(U) to ensure the coalition government does not fall.
“While it is true that the BJP is not numerically strong or does not have the required support from the castes that play a key role in the state’s electoral politics, it is also true that the JD(U) has benefitted from the union government’s social welfare schemes. So, the BJP’s contribution towards strengthening the alliance should also be recognised,” the second leader said on condition of anonymity.
While the JD(U) has accused the BJP of using Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan and former cabinet minister RCP Singh of trying to engineer a split in the party and topple the Kumar government, the BJP has denied the allegations.
“When Chirag did not stop his tirade against the JD(U), the BJP did not include him in the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) and he contested on his own. The BJP did not induct RCP Singh into the party as was being speculated…what happens within the JD(U) cannot be pinned on the BJP,” the first functionary said.
The BJP has been underplaying Kumar’s absence from meetings chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as the swearing-in ceremony of President Droupadi Murmu.
After Kumar’s public spat with assembly speaker and BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha, the BJP tried to iron out differences by sending union minister Dharmendra Pradhan as an emissary.
“We were not consulted ahead of any major policy decision, whether it was the farm laws or, more recently, the Agnipath scheme. The central leadership also did not check local leaders, including the state president Sanjay Jaiswal, who challenged the chief minister’s leadership on several occasions. The terms of the coalition were not adhered to,” a senior JD(U) functionary said on condition of anonymity.
The JD(U) was also miffed at not being offered more than one cabinet berth and that RCP Singh, who was the only face of the JD(U) at the Centre, seemed to toe the BJP’s line. “There was active instigation by a senior minister, which did not sit well with the chief minister,” the JD(U) functionary said.
A third BJP leader said these statements could just be “posturing”.
“There is a possibility that the JD(U) boss is trying to get his way on some issues, or that he is exploring a chance to be the face of a third front that the opposition is trying to cobble together as an anti-BJP front ahead of the 2024 elections.”
