BJP in a fix as Nitish demands Muslim-dominated seats

Lok Sabha seats like Kishanganj,Araria,Purnea,Katihar,Bhagalpur,Madhubani and Darbhanga located in north Bihar have a dense Muslim population. The JD(U) wants to contest most of these by fielding credible candidates from the community. In the last election,the BJP had contested all these seats and has sitting MPs from Katihar,Purnea and Bhagalpur.

Though the JD(U) has expressed its willingness to compensate by giving other seats to the BJP,the claim has apparently not gone down well with the saffron party. The BJP does not see sufficient logic in the JD(U)’s demand as it had not only been contesting the so-called Muslim-dominated seats but has also won them. Most recently,the BJP’s Shahnawaz Hussain won the by-election to the Bhagalpur Lok Sabha constituency by a huge margin. Bihar leaders of the party feel that the demand is a ploy by Kumar to extract more seats in the state and the party should not give in.

The JD(U),however,feels that their “suggestion” was in the interest of the NDA. “The BJP’s main concern is to win the maximum number of seats and our suggestion is aimed at that. The BJP’s central leadership too understands the point we are making,” pointed out a senior JD(U) leader while hinting at the difficult proposition of selling L K Advani as the prime ministerial candidate among the minority community. In the last election,the JD(U) had contested 24 seats and the BJP,16. This time,the JD(U) is learnt to be demanding 28-30 seats.

The disquieting aspect for the BJP is the reported concern shown by some JD(U) leaders over BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L K Advani. Many Muslim leaders of the JD(U) are said to have told Kumar that it would be very difficult for them to secure Muslim votes by projecting Advani as the Prime Minister.

Recently,JD(U) MP Ejaz Ali openly stated the same and demanded that his party snap ties with the BJP. Though the JD(U) distanced itself from the demand,the party has refrained from taking disciplinary action against Ali. The party doesn’t want to annoy the Muslim voters ahead of the polls and also wants to send out the message that the JD(U) is not averse to the idea of dumping their saffron partner.