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Hectic parleys on amid buzz over strain in JD(U)-BJP ties in Bihar
Bihar’s main opposition party, the Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal and its ally, the Congress, have also called separate meetings of their MLAs in Patna on Tuesday.
Amid indications that the Janata Dal (United) may to walk out of the National Democratic Alliance, Bihar chief minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar briefly met deputy chief minister Tarkishore Prasad of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday, a day before a meeting of JD(U) MLAs and MPs to discuss the political situation in the state.
Bihar’s main opposition party, the Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal and its ally, the Congress, have also called separate meetings of their MLAs in Patna on Tuesday to take stock of the developing situation. Leaders of RJD, Congress and the Left parties have said they were ready to join forces with Kumar.
Kumar has skipped three national events in the past month – Sunday’s Niti Aayog meeting of all chief ministers, the swearing-in ceremony of President Droupadi Murmu and the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind – making his disenchantment with the BJP apparent to the central leadership of the party.
The ruling alliance has 127 MLAs – 77 from BJP, 45 from JD(U) and five from smaller parties – in the 243-member Bihar legislative assembly. The RJD-led opposition has 112 members. Kumar was the NDA’s chief ministerial face in the 2020 assembly election.
JD(U) contested the 2015 assembly election as part of a grand alliance comprising the RJD and the Congress. The alliance won 178 seats. However, Kumar left the coalition in 2017 over alleged corruption by RJD leaders and formed a government with the BJP, which then had 53 MLAs.
The meeting between Kumar and Prasad on Monday lasted about 10 minutes, JD(U) leaders said. The chief minister reportedly insisted on the removal of assembly speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha, with whom Kumar had a spat during the budget session in March this year.
Prasad reportedly reminded Kumar of Union home minister Amit Shah’s recent statement that the 2024 Lok Sabha and 2025 assembly polls would be contested in alliance with JD(U). However, JD(U) president Lalan Singh on Sunday was non-committal about the alliance for these polls.
State BJP leaders declined to speak about the meeting, saying they have been advised not to speak till tomorrow’s meeting of JD(U) lawmakers. A BJP minister admitted of the crisis and expressed confidence that the tensions will be defused.
There have been a lot of important developments in the party and it was natural to sit with party lawmakers to discuss how to proceed further, JD(U) leader and minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary said.
“This is a natural democratic process in any party. The only specified agenda of discussion is the situation arising out of RCP Singh’s resignation. But discussions may take place on other issues. There is nothing wrong on the NDA front,” he said, requesting anonymity.
RCP Singh, JD(U)’s face at the Centre, resigned from the party on Saturday, alleging a conspiracy against him.
Kumar, who has maintained a studied silence over his differences with the BJP, is expected to discuss his political plans at Tuesday’s meeting. “An important political decision can be announced by the chief minister at the meeting,” said another JD(U) leader aware of the fast moving developments in the party.
On Monday, JD(U) national president Lalan Singh once again attacked the BJP regarding RCP Singh.
“Who is the BJP to decide who will become a minister from the JD(U)?” Lalan Singh asked a day after RCP Singh said that Shah had told him that his name was picked for the post of a Union minister.
RJD spokesperson Shivanand Tiwari on Monday said his party was ready to “embrace” the chief minister if he breaks ranks with the BJP.
“If Nitish Kumar chooses to dump the NDA, what choice do we have except to embrace him (gale lagaenge)? The RJD is committed to fighting the BJP. If the chief minister decides to join this fight, we will have to take him along,” said Tiwary.
RJD has recently softened its stand against Kumar, who meet the former’s chief Lalu Prasad in a Patna hospital in July, where he was being treated after a taking a fall.
“We will welcome Nitish Kumar,” PTI quoted Congress MLA and party national secretary Shakeel Ahmed Khan as saying. “We always believe that parties with similar ideologies (samaan vichardhara) should come together. If the JD(U), which believes in socialist ideology, quits BJP, we will definitely welcome it. But these are early days. We will discuss the unfolding situation at the meeting in the evening,” Khan said.
Both RJD and Congress have asked their lawmakers to remain in Patna at least till Wednesday.
The RJD legislators will be meeting at former chief minister Rabri Devi’s house on Tuesday morning and Congress MLAs will meet at the home of Ajeet Sharma, the party’s leader in the state assembly.
Khan said the party’s in-charge of Bihar, Bhakt Charan Das, also reached Patna on Monday evening. On asked whether Kumar has spoken to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Khan said he had no information on this.
On Sunday, Lalan Singh claimed a conspiracy was hatched to cut Kumar to size by the BJP, which allowed Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan to target him (Kumar) during the 2020 assembly polls. The BJP, in response, has pointed out that Paswan was removed from the NDA.
Although the BJP honoured its commitment by making Kumar the chief minister of Bihar despite his party winning fewer seats in the 2020 polls, it was lately trying to get around him, another JD (U) leader said, declining to be named.
There has been a demand from a section of party leaders to contest the polls in Bihar on their own, other BJP functionaries said. The party will see what the JD (U) does before reacting, said a BJP functionary in Delhi.
