The political compulsion and understanding between Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his ally in Bihar is getting murkier by the day and subsequently the diatribe on one another has intensified particularly after Narendra Modi’s induction in BJP’s parliamentary board. Both the parties are locking horns by keeping in mind their political necessity and arithmetic in and out of Bihar which they consider can help them to play a decisive role before and after LokSabhapolls.
It is beyond doubt that on most occasions the spat between these two political parties are manifestation to create hype to keep their respective voters intact but now it has almost become a political necessity to go alone if Narendra Modi is to be projected as a prime ministerial candidate by the BJP. Both these parties are in a catch-22 situation whether it would be politically correct to go alone or remain in alliance. For Nitish Kumar, it is important to preserve his ‘secular’ credential which he has earned in the past few years by his approach towards inclusive growth. The development and the growth indicator index of Bihar has compelled the calculator of the index of development to place him at par with Narendra Modi’s developmental model which is focused towards a particular section and is not uniform at all levels.
So far Nitish Kumar has played his own way of politics and that is by remaining with the BJP he has tried to get the support of the Muslims by playing the Modi card whenever required or necessary. He knows for sure that it may become almost difficult for him to keep Muslim votes by his side the way Muslims voted for his party last time if Narendra Modi ismade prime ministerial candidate of the BJP.JD-U, in its national council meeting held in the national capital on 14 April, declared some qualities that a prime ministerial candidate must have.They include: 1. He should be a man of secular credentials. 2. He should be committed towards national agenda of governance and has the desire to settle core issues like Ram Temple, Uniform Civil code, abrogation of Article 370. 3. He must be willing for inclusive politics and development. 4. He must be committed to the development of backward states and regions. The party has strongly conveyed the message to the BJP that Narendra Modi will not be acceptable and any decision in that direction would compel the party to walk out of the alliance. Nitish Kumar said that his party is committedtosecularism and will not compromise on it just to remain in power.
The cadre of both the parties in Bihar are putting pressure on their political peers to fight election alone but in coalition politics whichhas becomeorderof the day in today’s politics even a single party, no matter how big or small, sometimes can play important role in deciding the future course of politics of the two big parties Congress and the BJP. This could be the only reason why the BJP is treading cautiously on the issue of alliance with JD-U.