03/09/2015

BJP does not want to create another Nitish within NDA

 

Soroor Ahmed

Big crowds at PM Narendra Modi’s rallies in Bihar have not papered over the turmoil within the BJP-led NDA in Bihar, which is yet to finalize its seat-sharing arrangement.

Though alliance partners have repeatedly called for early distribution of seats the BJP does not seem to be in any hurry. Several alliance leaders do not want the BJP to contest more than 102 seats as last time, but the saffron brigade is not ready to come down to below 150.

The reason is very much there. The party has learnt a very bitter lesson from Nitish Kumar, once considered as the most trusted ally. It does not want Ram Vilas Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi or even for that matter Upendra Kushwaha to emerge strong and than years later kick the saffron party out––as Nitish did.

When Nitish’s outfit––the then Samata Party––joined hands with the BJP ahead of the 1996 Lok Sabha election it was as weak as Lok Janshakti Party, Rashtriya Lok Samata Party or Hindustani Awam Morcha. In the Assembly election of 1995 Nitish’s party was completely decimated. Though it had several big leaders, for example, George Fernandes, Vashistha Narayan Singh, Syed Shahabuddin, Abdul Ghafoor etc yet it could win just seven seats in the House of 324 then. This was the result when Samata Party contested in alliance with the CPI ML.

But when Nitish crossed over to the BJP the latter got a big backward caste leader too close to Lalu Prasad. The saffron party nursed him, provided material and logistic support to the Samata Party, which was hardly a political organization then. The BJP workers would man the booth for the Samata Party candidates.

Nitish was inducted into the Vajpayee cabinet after NDA’s victories in 1996, 1998 and 1999 Lok Sabha elections. In between he was made the CM candidate in 2000 Assembly election. In fact he was the chief minister for seven days between March 3 and 10 but had to resign after the NDA failed to prove majority on the floor of the Assembly.

Nitish was once again taken back into the Vajpayee cabinet. The NDA again reposed faith in him and made him the CM candidate in 2005. The alliance had lost power at the Centre in 2004 and there was several claimants for the post of CM within the BJP. But the latter made a big sacrifice for a larger cause. Sushil Kumar Modi had to content himself with the post of deputy chief minister cum finance minister. He did everything to promote and project Nitish, though in the later years some BJP leaders started criticizing the chief minister.

Months after Nitish ‘cancelled’ the dinner to the BJP bigwigs on June 12, 2010 and returned Rs five crore to the Gujarat government a week later, Sushil Modi saw prime ministerial material in the then Bihar CM. That was after his own party leader Narendra Modi had emerged as a strong contender for the post of PM.

In spite of all efforts to keep him in good humour Nitish kicked out all the 11 ministers of the BJP and snapped ties with the saffron brigade. After 17 long years of association––in which personal relationship too developed among BJP and JD(U) leaders––Nitish gave a big blow to the party.

He did what Naveen Patnaik did after the 2008 anti-Christian riots in Odisha. The Biju Janata Dal won both the Assembly and Lok Sabha election of 2009, but Nitish lost in 2014 Lok Sabha poll.

Today the BJP is in a dilemma. In spite of pressure, the party is not going to give big space to the Dalit leaders like Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi or for that matter Upendra Kushwaha.

If Nitish, who is still considered as a man of word, can behave in such a manner, who can trust Ram Vilas, Manjhi and Kushwaha. They are party-hoppers and have the distinction of back-stabbing those who helped them.

Ram Vilas has repeatedly ditched Lalu Prasad––and even Congress––while Manjhi backstabbed Nitish Kumar. Kushwaha turned against Nitish within a couple of months after getting elected to Rajya Sabha on JD(U) ticket in 2010.

The BJP is fully aware of these qualities of the three leaders. So it can not afford to give them more seats––the mistake it did in case with the Samata Party or Janata Dal (United). Nor will the saffron party ever project anyone of them as the CM candidate of the NDA. In fact the BJP would like all these guys to be away from Bihar politics and enjoy power in Delhi.

All out efforts are on to cut these three to size as they have become too big for their boots. But the BJP is extra careful too as it does not want to harm the poll prospect too.



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