Just like in Maharashtra, BJP is seeking to be the primary force in Bihar.
New Delhi: As the distance between the JDU and BJP grows, the latter plans to emulate the “Maharashtra model” in Bihar in a bid to become the “big brother” after the Assembly elections in the state next year. In Maharashtra, the BJP, which once used to be a “junior partner” to Shiv Sena, has now become the “senior partner”.
Though the JDU is a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), its relationship with the BJP has turned bitter in the last few weeks. Sources said that while Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is ambivalent about BJP, the BJP, on the other hand, is also facing intense pressure from within its cadre to snap ties with the JDU.
“The BJP is trying to consolidate its foothold in Bihar. Ever since it joined hands with JDU in ousting Lalu Prasad Yadav from power in the state in 2000, it has always remained the junior partner. Time has come when we either lead the alliance or contest the elections on our own so that the Chief Minister is from the BJP next time,” a party source said.
The BJP dropped the first hint of not being the junior partner in the recent Lok Sabha elections, when it turned down JDU’s request to contest on more number of seats. However, the BJP remained firm and finally the two parties decided to contest on an equal number of seats (17:17), while the remaining six seats were given to Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP). “So, in a way, from ‘junior partner’, we have now become ‘equal partner’. And now we need to become the ‘senior partner’ or the ‘big brother’, just the way we did in Maharashtra,” the source added.
Elaborating on the Maharashtra example, he said, before the 2014 Assembly elections, the party had snapped its ties with long-tested ally—Shiv Sena—which, at that time, was the “big brother” in the alliance in the state. The Shiv Sena had offered 119 seats to the BJP, keeping 151 for itself, which was not acceptable to the BJP. After several rounds of negotiations, the two parties did not reach a conclusion and the 25-year-old Shiv Sena-BJP alliance ended in September 2014, just a few weeks before the Assembly elections.
“However, the strategy paid off. We contested 260 seats and won 122, while the Shiv Sena contested on 282 seats and won just 63. The vote percentage of BJP was 27.8%, while that of Shiv Sena was just 19.3%. So it became clear that we were being underestimated. This put us in a better bargaining position vis-à-vis Shiv Sena, which finally decided to support us after the elections and finally, we could have our own Chief Minister (Devendra Fadnavis). If this can happen in Maharashtra, it can definitely be replicated in Bihar as well,” the source added.
BJP sources said the character of BJP has changed under Amit Shah as the party president, who pursues an aggressive policy to win elections. “Why should we remain a junior partner when we have a charismatic leader like Narendra Modi and vast party organisation in place? We must utilise our full potential and stand up on our own in the state,” the source said.
BJP leaders say the recent Lok Sabha election results in the state, in which NDA won 39 out of 40 seats, was possible mostly because of the Modi factor. “If we have such a good leadership and support base why should we confine to being the ‘Number two’ in the alliance ? We need to get out of the shadow of Nitish Kumar gradually,” he said.
BJP workers believe that Nitish Kumar has been in power for 14 years and therefore there is considerable anti-incumbency against him. Also, they say, JDU does not have a cadre-base and has always survived on the strength of others—either BJP or RJD (during Mahagathbandhan days). When it contested the 2014 LS elections alone, it won just two seats, while forfeiting security deposits on 23 seats and therefore “it’s the JDU which needs us more and not vice versa”.
In the 2015 Assembly elections also, RJD got more number of seats (81) compared to JDU (70), despite the fact that the two parties contested as part of the Mahagathbandhan, on an equal number of seats (100). On the other hand, the BJP support base has been increasing gradually in the last few years, under the Modi-Shah leadership, say BJP leaders, who feel that the time has come for the party to stand on its own in the state.