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Journalism of Courage
NITISH Kumar’s string of flip-flops, combined with the decline in its electoral performance, had prompted many to see the JD(U) as a spent and desperate force in Bihar. So, when the results showed the JD(U) shoulder to shoulder with the BJP, at top of the tally in Bihar, with 12 of the 16 seats it contested in its kitty, the party was clear: it was “the end of isolation and restoration of respectability” for its leader Nitish.
The icing on the cake was that with the BJP falling short of a majority in Parliament, Nitish was back where he loves best: in the role of a kingmaker. JD(U) advisor and national spokesperson K C Tyagi said the party expected its ties with the BJP to bear “the reflection of Atal Behari Vajpayee and L K Advani era” in terms of practising “cohesive coalition politics”.
As a next step, the JD(U) will be attending an NDA meeting called in Delhi Wednesday and, Tyagi said, join the Union Cabinet if invited.
The JD(U) held its ground despite Nitish failing to draw good crowds during the election campaign. There was much talk of the party “hiding behind Narendra Modi” to fight anti-incumbency against its candidates.
But eventually, Nitish’s carefully cultivated constituency – a good chunk of EBCs and Scheduled Caste Mahadalits, besides the caste-neutral constituency of women – held its faith in the man who has now been the CM of Bihar for 22 years. CM Nitish’s push for a caste survey, forcing even the state BJP, when it was not a JD(U) ally, to fall behind it, also appears to have paid off at a time when the Opposition was busy making a case for caste census.
A senior JD(U) leader in Bihar said the alliance with the BJP paid off as well. “One must not forget that when we had contested alone in the 2014 polls, we had got over 15% votes. When our votes combine with the BJP’s, we become almost unbeatable. Wherever we lost, it was because of anti-incumbency and deft social engineering by our opponents.”
Together, the two parties stood at 40% of the votes at the end of counting Tuesday. Both saw a loss in seats though, with the BJP having won 17 in 2019 and the JD(U) 16.
Tyagi told The Indian Express: “First, we congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi for scoring a hat-trick. As for us, the JD(U) winning 12 seats means the end of isolation and restoration of respectability of our leader Nitish Kumar, who faced attacks from different quarters during the election campaign.”
Asked if the JD(U) would join a Modi government at the Centre, Tyagi confirmed attending the NDA meeting in Delhi but said “the final call on joining the Cabinet or not would be taken by Nitish Kumar”.
Incidentally, the positive news for the JD(U) came a day after the party reiterated its wish for early Assembly polls in Bihar. The party was seen as keen on pressing its advantage while the momentum of the Lok Sabha performance was with it.
Asked about this Tuesday after the results, Tyagi said this stand was in line with the JD(U)’s support for “one nation, one election”, as a good move to cut expenditure on elections. “It is up to the Centre and Bihar government to decide the schedule of Assembly polls in Bihar. But it is not a priority, our top priority is formation of the next government,” he said.
Pressed on whether being in a government with the BJP at the Centre meant the JD(U) would be willing to go along on contentious issues such as the Kashi and Mathura temple disputes, JD(U) leaders said they would go by courts’ decision, as they have always done. Tyagi also played safe on the Uniform Civil Code, saying the party was in favour of “reformist elements” of it, while showing consideration on “sensitive” religious issues.
“Our stand is clear. When the Ayodhya matter was in court, we said we would go by what the court said. We hailed the Ayodhya Ram Temple construction after the court’s nod. We hold the same view on the Gyanvapi and Mathura issues,” Tyagi said.
