Talks among INDIA allies on seat-sharing not progressing: JD(U)

Things have not moved as the party had wanted, JD(U) leader and state finance minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said on Sunday.

A day after Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar declined the offer of opposition parties to become convener of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), the Janata Dal (United) expressed disappointment over the bloc not finalising seat- sharing arrangements nor chalking out a campaign to take on the National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the upcoming parliamentary polls.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar (R) with his deputy, Tejashwi Yadav. (HT file)

Things have not moved as the party had wanted, JD(U) leader and state finance minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said on Sunday. “No serious effort has been made to finalise seat- sharing. The national campaign as proposed earlier has also not been chalked out. We feel things have not moved as we had planned earlier,” he said.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge emerged as the consensus chairperson of the INDIA bloc but Kumar’s candidature as convener has been opposed by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, HT reported on Sunday. Discussions on sharing seats for the Lok Sabha elections did not make substantive progress at the alliance’s fourth meeting on January 13.

Seat- sharing talks in Bihar among the six ruling coalition members has also made tardy progress over differences on seat adjustment and allotment with JD(U), Congress and the Left parties, especially CPI-ML (Liberation) playing hardball, according to people aware of the details.

JD(U) chief Kumar declining to become the convener of INDIA despite being offered the post only reaffirmed that he did not wish to take up any post in the coalition, as he always insisted his larger objective was to bring the opposition together to fight the BJP, said Chaudhary, who is considered to be close to the Bihar chief minister.

“A perception was built that Kumar wishes to take the post of convener, but there is opposition from various parties. But yesterday, it was broken as Kumar declined the post ,” Chaudhary said. “In yesterday’s meeting, Kumar also emphasised that the bloc should work for fast-tracking big tasks like seat- sharing finalisation, campaign and other nitty-gritties instead of discussing about posts.”

By refusing to become convener of INDIA, Kumar has kept all opposition parties guessing on his next move. “The month-long period of kharmas (inauspicious period according to the Hindu calendar when important decisions are kept on hold) has ended today,” said JD(U) general secretary KC Tyagi. “What decision Nitish Kumar has to take cannot be speculated. There is nothing for now.”

“The post of convener is not a coveted post in the INDIA bloc, unlike the post of chairperson or being a prime ministerial face. But a consensus has eluded on making Kumar the chairperson over the last several meetings of INDIA, be it at Bangalore, Mumbai or in Delhi. So, Kumar did not evince interest in the post at the virtual meting of the bloc yesterday,” a leader of the state’s ruling coalition said, declining to be named.

There were issues on sharing seats as allies like the Rashtriya Janata Dal could have put pressure on the JD(U) to compromise on its demand for 17 seats out of a total of 40in Bihar in case the post of convener was accepted by Kumar, another leader said.

Kumar had no option but to refuse the convener’s post, the JD(U) leader said, wishing to remain unnamed. “Why should he go in for an insignificant post and lose his bargaining power in seat sharing? There are not many who could match his political stature in the opposition alliance. He is one and only in Bihar,” he said.

The option of making Kumar the convener was still open and a consensus would be arrived soon, according to Chittaranjan Gagan, state spokesperson of the RJD. “ Efforts are on to build a consensus on making Kumar the convener,” he said.

By refusing to become convener, Kumar’ stature would only rise in the state, where he remains the lone leader all sides want to align with to have that extra edge in the state’s triangular politics of the RJD, BJP and JD(U), and that gives him multiple options to play around with, according to DM Diwakar, former director of AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies.

“With a chairperson also made, there was no point for Nitish Kumar to accept the convener’s post and move to central politics to make room for (deputy chief minister) Tejashwi Yadav, which (RJD chief) Lalu Prasad wants,” Diwakar said. “The Congress was always reluctant to make Kumar convener and, therefore, it denied him any major role and delayed the process. However, the RJD wanted Kumar to move to central politics. But Kumar has unmatched political acumen and cannot go in for uncertain national politics at the cost of certain state politics, which has given him the command.”

The BJP was also aware of the importance of Kumar despite posturing differently, Diwakar said. “After all, without Kumar, the going will be tough for the BJP. He never allowed the BJP leadership to grow in the state despite working with them and that is how he has been to always keep himself in focus,” he added. “What he will do next is something only Kumar can say for he knows how to balance things to his own advantage.”

The next couple of weeks would be crucial in Bihar politics, with all parties trying to set their equations right, according to political analyst NK Choudhary.

BJP leaders, on the other hand, read a clear message into Kumar’s denial, but in a guarded way. “The Congress has insulted Nitish Kumar. We doubt if the Congress was ever serious about giving convener’s post to him,” said BJP leader and former union minister Ravishankar Prasad. “Did the Congress really offer him the post?”