Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Despite his straight-arrow image,Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has managed to make a big scene and heighten uncertainty about the future of coalition with the BJP,and by extension the alliances in the forthcoming assembly election. First,he went apoplectic over the advertisement that yoked him together with Narendra Modi. It was,by the BJP,an inept attempt at making Nitish Kumars shine rub off on Modi,on the occasion of the BJP national executive meet in Patna. But for Nitish Kumar,it was like foregrounding his biggest political liability one that could potentially make all the difference to Muslim voters who shored him up in the last election. To emphasise his outrage,he has now returned the Rs 5 crore that the Gujarat government had given Bihar during the Kosi floods. After some embarrassed explaining and soothing,now the BJP seems to be giving it back,as deputy CM Sushil Modi cancelled a vishwas yatra with the CM,and the party is understood to have had strong words with JDU President Sharad Yadav.
However,to any observer of the states politics,this is a transparent charade on both sides. For Nitish Kumar,it is a way of distancing himself from the possible political blowback of partnering with the BJP,and for Sushil Modi and the others in the BJPs state unit,this huffiness is a way of saving face in a potential parting of ways. Having weathered almost five years of alliance with the BJP in Bihar,and a longer one at the national level,the current pretence is obvious. The BJP-JDU alliance has been a tough,durable one because they fill obvious needs for each other. In a time when Bihars old mobilisations look ever more malleable,every constituency matters. For Nitish Kumar,allying with the Congress makes little long-term sense given that the Congress is focused on recovering its past powers and would like to see the end of parties like the JDU.
