Politics in Bihar: explains why (nitish kumar) latest renegotiation benefits the BJP.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had declared a year prior that JDU leader Nitish Kumar’s access to the BJP was closed. And now, months before the Lok Sabha elections, in the midst of events that have rocked the political establishment, Mr. nitish kumar, the eight-time chief minister, has re-joined the BJP. This is his fifth election in a decade during which his popularity and party’s electoral performance have rapidly declined.
Sources claim that BJP MLAs in Bihar have written letters endorsing Nitish Kumar. Today, the party’s MLAs met in Patna as well, just before Mr. nitish kumar met with Governor Rajendra Arlekar and submitted his papers.
The main query, though, is why, given his history of jumping political parties, the BJP is prepared to accept him back into the NDA.examines a few of the variables that influenced the BJP’s choice.
One of the main figures of the opposition’s INDIA bloc, Nitish Kumar spearheaded the formation of a unified front against the powerful BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to Jairam Ramesh, the leader of the Congress, Mr. Kumar was the one who called the INDIA meetings, and the opposition was expecting him to take on the BJP all the way to the end. Months before the Lok Sabha elections, the INDIA bloc would be humiliated by a flip-flop at this point. It also supports the claim made by the BJP that the opposition bloc is an unstable coalition.
With 40 Lok Sabha seats and a reputation as an INDIA stronghold up until now, Bihar presents a flip-flop opportunity for the BJP. Seat-sharing negotiations have already caused tensions between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab and the Trinamool Congress in Bengal. At this point, more problems for India would result from ending the RJD-JDU alliance in Bihar. Despite the opposition of some state BJP leaders, it’s possible that the central leadership approved the move after considering the bigger picture.
Notwithstanding his frequent renunciations, Mr. Kumar has been able to maintain his position as Chief Minister for the last ten years. On the other hand, both his party’s electoral success and his popularity have steadily declined. His perception of “paltu kumar,” the person who constantly switches sides, has now taken the place of Sushashan Babu, the development man.
The JDU has lost ground in the Assembly, going from 115 seats in the 2010 Bihar elections to 71 in 2015 to just 43 in 2020.
As a result, even though Mr. Kumar is the Chief Minister, his party only holds the third-largest majority in the Assembly. Whether it is the BJP or the RJD, Mr. Kumar’s autonomy has decreased since his ally has more members. Therefore, the BJP is aware that it has more influence over decisions made by the Bihar government than JDU, even if it allows Mr. Kumar to continue serving as Chief Minister. In this manner, the BJP benefits from both sides.
The last ten years of Mr. Kumar’s flip-flops have damaged his reputation. Since it isn’t a group of ruling party MLAs switching, as it is in Madhya Pradesh or Maharashtra, the BJP is aware that it has little to lose in the perception game. The BJP was charged with instigating mutinies in those states in order to overthrow governments. In this case, the BJP will not be viewed as the antagonist due to Mr. Kumar’s frequent switching of allies.
As expected, BJP leaders have returned to their jungle raj rhetoric when defending their decision to work with Mr. Kumar once more. The BJP refers to the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led RJD’s tenure marred by crime and corruption as “Jungle Raj.”
“In Bihar, we are the largest party. We are vigilant and keeping a close eye on the events. We are fed up with Bihar’s shifting political landscape. When it comes to fulfilling our obligations, we won’t back down. According to BJP national spokesperson Ajay Alok, we cannot leave Bihar in the hands of Jungle Raj, as reported by news agency ANI.
