Did Nitish Kumar split with the BJP over his vice-presidential ambitions?
Did Nitish Kumar split with the BJP over his vice-presidential ambitions?
Nitish Kumar began his eighth innings on Wednesday, after he was sworn in as chief minister — this time with the Grand Alliance. The switch occurred after the Janata Dal (United) (JD{U}) leader dumped his old partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
While members of the Grand Alliance celebrated the new ‘Mahagathbandhan Sarkar’ in Bihar, the BJP has been fuming over Nitish Kumar’s ‘betrayal’ and accused him of insulting the mandate of the citizens of Bihar time and again.
The BJP has further alleged that Nitish Kumar’s national ambitions are at play and hence, he severed their alliance. Political analysts have said that the change effected by the wily leader pits him against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 2024 general elections.
In fact, just after being sworn in as Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar did allay to his prime ministerial ambitions when he said that the Modi-led NDA government at the Centre does need to “worry” about its prospects in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
“They should remember 2014 (when BJP stormed to power at the centre) is past. They need to worry (chinta karni chahiye) about 2024,” Kumar said.
Amid the war of words, Sushil Modi, Nitish’s former deputy from the BJP, who he shared close ties with, has revealed that Nitish Kumar nursed bigger ambitions and that his party wanted him to be the vice-presidential candidate.
Vice-President Nitish Kumar?
BJP’s Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday claimed that the real reason behind Nitish’s side-switching was his vice-presidential aspirations.
Nitish wanted to become Vice President of India .Many JDU senior leaders sounded BJP Ministers if it is possible.@ANI @ABPNews @ZeeBiharNews @News18India
— Sushil Kumar Modi (@SushilModi) August 10, 2022
“Some of Nitish Kumar’s aides had approached the state BJP leadership with the message that he wanted to become the vice-president. They said make Nitish Kumar the vice president and you should rule in Bihar,” said Sushil Modi, as per an NDTV report.
The BJP leader also added that the BJP made Nitish a chief minister five times but “he broke the 17-year-old relation twice in a stroke”, reminding the JD(U) that voters in 2020 had voted for the NDA in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
However, the JD(U) has dismissed the charge completely and mocked Sushil Modi, saying he has been “abandoned by the roadside” by his own party as a “punishment” for “close relations he had with Nitish Kumar”.
JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Lalan Singh denied the possibility of any such thing happening and added, “They are just making up stories.”
However, the fact that Nitish Kumar might have lobbied for the vice-president’s post isn’t altogether surprising.
Rumours had surfaced earlier about Kumar’s name for the Presidential post. In fact, when talks were taking place on the NDA’s choice for President, JD(U) MP Alok Suman had said, “If the NDA chooses CM Nitish Kumar for the Presidential post, we would like it.”
Bihar | If NDA chooses CM Nitish Kumar for Presidential post, we would like it. He's far-sighted & has a lot of experience, has been running state for 20 years. He would take country on path of development. I think it will be good to bring him to this post: JD(U) MP Alok K Suman pic.twitter.com/DUsXcP9ZTJ
— ANI (@ANI) June 11, 2022
Emphasising Kumar’s deservingness for the post, Suman said, “He is far-sighted and has a lot of experience. He has been running state for 20 years. He would take the country on the path of development. I think it will be good to bring him to this post.”
In the end, the NDA chose former Governor Droupadi Murmu as their candidate, and as they say, the rest is history.
Nitish Kumar vs Modi in 2024
Observers have noted that Nitish Kumar’s switch to the Grand Alliance is a calculated move by the leader to pave his way to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg in New Delhi.
That Nitish Kumar has long harboured prime ministerial aspirations is not new. When he split with the NDA in 2013, many had said that the end of the 17-year-old alliance had taken place not only because he was uncomfortable with Narendra Modi’s credentials, but also had wanted a chance at the prime ministerial race.
By snapping ties with the BJP, the JD(U) has emerged as the Opposition’s “face” for the 2024 general election.
According to experts, Kumar has a pan-India image. Moreover, he has the ability to influence politics in the Hindi heartland. And Nitish Kumar has somehow managed to largely steer clear of Hindutva politics and has been soft on the minority community in Bihar.
Nitish Kumar also boasts of a ‘clean image’ which makes his an easy choice for the Opposition. It is also felt that the opposition parties can bank on Kumar’s track record of “good governance”. In Bihar, Kumar has gained a lot of popularity for ushering in “development” across the state and this may hold “currency” at the national level.
While Nitish Kumar hasn’t confirmed or denied his national aspirations, the change in the ruling significance beyond Bihar: the Narendra Modi Momentum suddenly does not look irreversible.
With inputs from agencies
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