In a dramatic turn in Bihar’s politics, talk is emerging of arch rivals Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad entering negotiations to form a mahajot – a grand alliance that could also include the Congress and the Communist Party of India. This unlikely move has been triggered by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s alleged attempt to capture power in Bihar by engineering a split in the legislature party of the Janata Dal (United).
Negotiations between Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) and Lalu’s Rashtriya Janata Dal are said to have reached the advanced stage and will be made public after a final round of meetings, slated for Sunday afternoon, politicians familiar with the discussions claim.
Hinting at the possibility of these anti-Hindutva parties coming together in the face of the saffron surge in Bihar, JD(U) president Sharad Yadav told mediapersons in Delhi on Saturday that differences with the RJD leader Lalu Prasad would soon be resolved. “A new government will be formed in Bihar and it will be of JD(U),” he said.
Yadav’s remarks came soon after his return from Patna, where Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar tendered his resignation on Saturday, taking moral responsibility for the JD (U)’s rout in the general elections. “The Lok Sabha election results have not been good for the Janata Dal (United),” Nitish Kumar told journalists in Patna after sending his resignation to Bihar Governor DY Patil. “The people’s mandate has to be respected. So I have tendered the resignation of my Council of Ministers. I had led the campaign. So it is my duty to take moral responsibility.”
Seen in the light of the negotiations between Bihar’s four anti-Hindutva parties, Nitish Kumar’s decision to tender his resignation may well be a calculated move to shock dissidents with his party who are said to be considering defecting to the BJP.
JD(U) officials said on condition of anonymity that more than three dozen MLAs of the party, most of them belonging to upper castes, had been in touch with BJP leaders and were getting ready to defect if the general election results showed major gains for the saffron party. Some of these MLAs are said to have been unhappy with the JD(U)’s decision to sever ties with the BJP as an alliance partner in the National Democratic Alliance in June 2013.
BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi had recently claimed that 50 JD(U) MLAs were on the verge of defecting to the BJP. Some of them had even helped the saffron party in the Lok Sabha elections, he said.
Speculation that Nitish’s manoeuvre is aimed at forestalling their defection has been fuelled by the fact that the Bihar chief minister did not seek the dissolution of the state assembly while submitting his resignation to the Governor. He even told journalists that the JD(U) legislature party would meet on Sunday to elect a new leader and that the government still enjoyed a majority in the House.
The JD(U) has 115 MLAs in the 243-member Bihar assembly, while the BJP has 89 and the RJD 21. The JD(U) has the support of four MLAs of the Congress, one of the CPI and two independents. Six seats are vacant.
According to a senior JD(U) leader who requested anonymity, Sharad Yadav has played a pivotal role in bringing together all the rival secular forces in the state, while Nitish did his bit by calling CPI leaders in Patna on Saturday.
The official said that the mahajot would not only strengthen the incumbent government, it would continue further and contest the next assembly elections as a pre-poll alliance. The tenure of the present assembly is due to expire in November next year.
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Negotiations between Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) and Lalu’s Rashtriya Janata Dal are said to have reached the advanced stage and will be made public after a final round of meetings, slated for Sunday afternoon, politicians familiar with the discussions claim.
Hinting at the possibility of these anti-Hindutva parties coming together in the face of the saffron surge in Bihar, JD(U) president Sharad Yadav told mediapersons in Delhi on Saturday that differences with the RJD leader Lalu Prasad would soon be resolved. “A new government will be formed in Bihar and it will be of JD(U),” he said.
Yadav’s remarks came soon after his return from Patna, where Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar tendered his resignation on Saturday, taking moral responsibility for the JD (U)’s rout in the general elections. “The Lok Sabha election results have not been good for the Janata Dal (United),” Nitish Kumar told journalists in Patna after sending his resignation to Bihar Governor DY Patil. “The people’s mandate has to be respected. So I have tendered the resignation of my Council of Ministers. I had led the campaign. So it is my duty to take moral responsibility.”
Seen in the light of the negotiations between Bihar’s four anti-Hindutva parties, Nitish Kumar’s decision to tender his resignation may well be a calculated move to shock dissidents with his party who are said to be considering defecting to the BJP.
JD(U) officials said on condition of anonymity that more than three dozen MLAs of the party, most of them belonging to upper castes, had been in touch with BJP leaders and were getting ready to defect if the general election results showed major gains for the saffron party. Some of these MLAs are said to have been unhappy with the JD(U)’s decision to sever ties with the BJP as an alliance partner in the National Democratic Alliance in June 2013.
BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi had recently claimed that 50 JD(U) MLAs were on the verge of defecting to the BJP. Some of them had even helped the saffron party in the Lok Sabha elections, he said.
Speculation that Nitish’s manoeuvre is aimed at forestalling their defection has been fuelled by the fact that the Bihar chief minister did not seek the dissolution of the state assembly while submitting his resignation to the Governor. He even told journalists that the JD(U) legislature party would meet on Sunday to elect a new leader and that the government still enjoyed a majority in the House.
The JD(U) has 115 MLAs in the 243-member Bihar assembly, while the BJP has 89 and the RJD 21. The JD(U) has the support of four MLAs of the Congress, one of the CPI and two independents. Six seats are vacant.
According to a senior JD(U) leader who requested anonymity, Sharad Yadav has played a pivotal role in bringing together all the rival secular forces in the state, while Nitish did his bit by calling CPI leaders in Patna on Saturday.
The official said that the mahajot would not only strengthen the incumbent government, it would continue further and contest the next assembly elections as a pre-poll alliance. The tenure of the present assembly is due to expire in November next year.