With the backing of his intermittent ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party, Nitish Kumar will take the oath of office as chief minister of Bihar for the seventh time on Sunday, sources told NDTV on Friday, as the political upheaval in the state comes to an end. As per the agreement reached during the 2020 election, the BJP will receive two Deputy Chief Minister positions in exchange for its support.
Additionally, sources stated that there will not be a poll or a dissolution of the Assembly at this moment. It makes sense that neither party is in a haste, as Bihar would cast its ballot the next year nonetheless. The Lok Sabha election will be the main emphasis right now.
In an attempt to seal the deal, the BJP and JDU have called a meeting with their respective MPs and MLAs. Nitish Kumar also visited Governor Rajendra Arlekar this evening at the annual Republic Day tea reception.
According to sources, the leader of the Janata Dal (United) has canceled all of his scheduled events for January 28, including a public meeting. This has raised speculation that he is planning to reverse his 2022 jump from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP to the RJd, which was a retaliatory move for his 2017 shift in allegiance. This could lead to him regaining his moniker, “Paltu Kumar.”
According to sources, Nitish Kumar’s return to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance will be part of a well-thought-out plan that starts with the nomination of the Assembly Speaker and involves rearranging the cabinet to make room for BJP officials, with one ministerial seat for every four MLAs.
Crucially, fewer Lok Sabha seats are reportedly being granted to the JDU as part of Nitish’s ghar wapsi terms. The party ran for 17 seats in 2019 and won 16, but now that it is off this switch and needs to make room for other NDA partners, it will have to settle for 12–15 seats.
The “in politics, doors are not permanently closed” remark made by Nitish’s former deputy and close adviser, Sushil Kumar Modi, gave rise to speculation about the BJP re-alignment, even if it has since been denied. “Anything can happen in politics; it’s a game of possibilities,” declared Mr. Modi, who was succeeded by Tarkishore Yadav and Renu Devi following the 2020 election. His ‘open doors’ statement is crucial since, since an apparent break in connections, the now Rajya Sabha MP has been a regular opponent of Nitish Kumar.
Political figures in Bihar have responded to the BJP ghar wapsi in different ways, and a second set of sources claims that there is division inside Nitish Kumar’s party. Lalan Singh, who Nitish removed from his position as JDU chieftain last month, is reportedly opposed to abandoning the RJD, while a faction headed by Sanjay Jha and Ashok Choudhary is advocating for a partnership with the BJP.
Junior Union Home Minister Nityanand Rai is in charge of completing the deal with former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and his Hindustan Awam Morcha, who is currently a JDU ally and a member of the state administration. Thus far, Mr. Manjhi has remained reticent, stating simply that he had anticipated Nitish’s leap.
Not in the public eye, anyway, as the INDIA bloc remains hopeful. “I can say with confidence that Nitish Kumar will remain with the alliance. He has resolved to throw the BJP out, and we trust him,” Bihar Congress leader Prem Chandra Mishra said to ANI.
The RJD is also (publicly) upbeat; deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav today talked about the state administration keeping its job-related commitments, while party spokesperson Shakti Yadav claimed the tie-up chatter showed a “scared” BJP.
On Thursday, Nitish surprised everyone by turning down an invitation to participate in Rahul Gandhi’s “Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra” and then surprising the Congress-led India alliance by extending an invitation to the BJP. By the end of the day, he was less likely to be able to remove Mr. Modi from office and more likely to be the one who persuaded the opposition to form the odd alliance.
There were a number of reasons that may have caused Nitish Kumar to make his sixth political 180-degree turn in 11 years, should he re-align with the BJP, as is currently most likely. This could have changed the political landscape of the state to the BJP’s advantage.
These include tensions with the RJD, which were heightened by the since-deleted social media statements made by Rohini Acharya, Lalu Yadav’s daughter, and disagreements inside India, where Nitish was passed over for both the PM position and the convenorship.