JD(U)’s doublespeak on demonetization baffles BJP, not friends
Patna,(BiharTimes): Bihar chief minister-cum-Janata Dal (United) national president Nitish Kumar’s stand on demonetization is causing confusion among the people. But the truth is that he has always relished such a situation and fully exploited for its own political end.
It is because of, what many call, doublespeak of Nitish that he managed to get a sizeable section of Muslim votes in 2010 Assembly election even when his party was in alliance with the BJP, which months before that poll almost projected Narendra Modi as its leader.
For many people it remain a mystery as to how can he support demonetization––though he is critical of its implementation––when his party’s former chief, Sharad Yadav and others are opposing it from the day one.
Even a fortnight later––when most parties, including a couple of BJP’s allies, had come out openly against it––Nitish is still in favour of it. He has even asked the prime minister to carry on his crackdown against those holding ‘benami property’.
Analysts are of the view that there may be several reasons why Nitish is not coming out openly against demonetization. Firstly, he knows that many of those who voted him in 2015 Assembly election had voted for NDA in 2014 Lok Sabha election as they want Nitish in Bihar and Narendra Modi in Delhi.
Initially, this group was apparently euphoric about demonetization though there was latent fear in their minds too about its outcome. So what is wrong in Nitish taking the stand of backing the November 8 move. When the discontent will start growing in this section too he would start criticizing its implementation.
But if it is the case, why is Nitish, who is now also the national president of the party, is not asking the Janata Dal (United) leaders in Parliament not to be so critical of demonetization.
For example, Sharad Yadav, has from the day one been saying that demonetization will hit the poor, farmers and common people of the country.
When BiharTimes approached a Janata Dal (United) leader in New Delhi he said that there is no contradiction and confusion whatsoever on the issue of demonetization. “There is only one line and the party rank and file is following it. In principle who would oppose demonetization, it is only its implementation which is causing so much hardship,” he told BiharTimes.
To understand Nitish’s political strategy one needs to go back 1o 2010. On June 12, 2010 he suddenly cancelled the dinner to all the BJP bigwigs after the Gujarat government advertisement appeared in newspapers of Patna. They were in Bihar capital for the two-day National Executive (June 12-13) of the BJP––then an alliance partner.
The top BJP leaders present on the occasion included Narendra Modi and Lal Krishna Advani, were incidentally put up at the state guest house and not in a hotel were rest of the BJP leaders had been staying.
A week later, that is on June 19 Nitish returned Rs five crore donated by the Gujarat government after the August 2008 Kosi deluge.
This was followed by a slanging match between the BJP and JD(U) leaders. Yet Nitish did not snap ties with the BJP and contested election together to sweep the Bihar poll. While the saffron party managed to get its quota of votes, Nitish’s JD(U) succeeded in getting a sizeable section of Muslim votes then.
In 2015 quite a different equation played its part. Nitish managed to retain some of his votebank while the loss of BJP was compensated by the RJD.
Nitish knows that if discontent spreads after demonetization––as it has gradually started––he would be quick to say that his party always opposed the way it was implemented.
And if the idea clicked he would say that look JD(U) always stood for it. After all insiders say that he still has several old friends in the BJP, for example, Union finance minister, Arun Jaitley.
However, there is another interpretation of Nitish’s strategy. There is a thinking that he is deliberately provoking Narendra Modi to take these actions as many in JD(U) hope that they would harm the BJP’s own votebank after the initial euphoria subsides.
