The BJP will not make the first move to break the Grand Alliance in Bihar, despite getting “positive feelers” from Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. It will wait for either of the coalition partners—JDU or the RJD—to act.
The party, according to sources, is of the view that despite squabbling between Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, the alliance is still intact. “The fact of the matter is that they are running the government together, despite having many differences on various issues, with the most recent one being on the choice of the Presidential candidate. There is no tangible change in the coalition,” said a senior BJP leader.
Nitish Kumar has extended support to NDA’s Presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind. He has gone against the joint Opposition’s candidate Meira Kumar.
The BJP, according to the leader, is not, and was never, interested in rocking the boat in Bihar. However, the party believes that the alliance between JDU and RJD is “unnatural”, which became evident from Day One, when the Mahagathbandhan government took charge in 2015, after an impressive victory in the Assembly elections.
However, according to BJP leaders, the differences which came out on the surface between the two Bihar based parties have definitely created a fissure within the ruling coalition in the state. “There is a sense of mistrust between the two allies, which will not be good for the stability of the Nitish Kumar government,” said another BJP leader.
The mistrust increased after reports emerged that the Rashtriya Janata Dal was trying to break the JDU in order to form an alternate government. However, according to sources, the RJD could not succeed in its attempts. The RJD leaders, on the other hand, allege that it was the JDU which was trying to split their party MLAs.
However, despite the war of words between Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav, there appears to be no threat to the coalition government, at least for the time being. According to sources, the RJD will not do anything to topple the government because, in the process, it will also lose power. “The RJD has come to power after a long wait of 10 years. It will be in its interest that the government completes its full term,” said a source.
“Also, Lalu knows that his party cannot come to power on its own, in case a mid-term election is thrust upon Bihar. He understands the fact that in 2015, the RJD got seats in Nitish Kumar’s name. Kumar was successful in creating the image of being a ‘Vikas Purush’ (man of development) as his earlier government did well in areas like roads and electricity. Lalu is aware of the fact that he or his sons—Tejashwi and Tejpratap Yadav—cannot guarantee success in future elections,” he added.
BJP sources said there is no question of the party coming into picture till the time any of the three alliance partners—JDU, RJD and Congress—desert the Mahagathbandhan. “The tug of war, currently going on between Nitish and Lalu, is not unusual. The only thing we have to watch is as to how long this continues. In any case, we are focusing on building our organisation,” sources added.