Bihar polls pose a tough challenge for Nitish Kumar as internal struggles intensify, while BJP rises.
NEW DELHI: After a massive mandate for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Delhi Assembly elections, all eyes are now on the upcoming Bihar polls, which are likely to be held in October-November this year. Political insiders suggest that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, once the unchallenged leader of the Janata Dal United (JDU), is struggling to maintain his grip on the party.
With multiple factions emerging within JDU, the party appears to be at a crossroads, and the upcoming Bihar elections will be Nitish Kumar’s toughest political battle.
According to sources, the three dominant factions within JDU include Nitish Kumar’s own camp, former party president and Union Minister Lalan Singh’s supporters, and the increasingly influential Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Jha’s faction.
Jha, considered close to Nitish Kumar, is credited with bringing JDU back into the NDA fold and enjoys a healthy camaraderie with the BJP.
In the past few months, political circles have been abuzz with speculations that as many as 9-10 JDU MPs and around 20-25 MLAs have been in talks with the BJP, facilitated by Jha. This has led to speculation that Jha could eventually take over the party, sidelining Nitish Kumar in the process.
Adding fuel to this fire is Nitish Kumar’s absence from the recent swearing-in ceremony of Delhi’s Chief Minister, raising eyebrows in political circles.
While party leaders claimed that he was busy with his ‘Padyatra’ and had deputed Singh and Jha on his behalf, it seems that all is not well between Nitish Kumar and the BJP.
Further, his recent visit to Delhi last week for a wedding without meeting any BJP leader has only strengthened whispers of growing rifts.
Despite this turmoil and uncertainty, Nitish Kumar has been making efforts to re-engage with his voters through his ‘Pragati Yatra,’ which ended on Friday. Over the past weeks, he has travelled across Bihar, sensing the local mood, interacting with grassroots leaders, and announcing various welfare schemes. However, political observers believe that this might be a desperate move to salvage his waning political stature.
Amidst this, what has surprised many is the increasing public presence of Nitish Kumar’s low-profile son, Nishant Kumar.
Rumours indicate that Nishant Kumar might make his political debut, but party leaders in Delhi have clarified that this is unlikely to happen. Nevertheless, in the last few months, his low-profile son has been making an increasingly public presence, urging voters to re-elect his father but carefully avoiding questions about
It is pertinent to note that in the 2020 Assembly elections, JDU contested 115 seats but won only 43, with BJP outperforming it by winning 74 of the 110 seats it contested.
This time, the stakes are even higher. With an apparent internal power struggle and a resurgent BJP, the road to victory looks difficult for Nitish Kumar.