Patna: As Bihar gears up for assembly elections later this year, the political heat of the state is rising high. Intense speculation has brewed over recent developments, and emerging realignments have been in the spotlight, mostly about Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s political future.
The drama started with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav opening his doors for the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to come back in the opposition fold. Speculations for an alliance between the two parties were further fuelled when Yadav hinted at forgiving Kumar’s past ‘mistakes.’.
Speculations about this gained a boost today on Makar Sankranti, when Nitish Kumar made an early appearance at Chirag Paswan’s traditional ‘dahi chura’ feast. Kumar, in a surprise move, paid respects to a portrait of the late Ram Vilas Paswan and left before Chirag’s arrival.
This development was quickly capitalised on by the RJD camp. Lalu Yadav’s daughter and member of parliament, Misa Bharti, reasserted that the party was still open for Nitish Kumar. Nitish Kumar, the CM, is our guardian. He can always open our doors. In politics, nothing is impossible. He is welcome whenever he wants to come. Bharti said, ‘Family people don’t need an invitation.’
But it appears not everyone in the RJD is on the same page. Lalu’s son and heir apparent, Tejashwi Yadav, recently told HT that doors for Nitish Kumar are closed.
But the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose current ally, Janata Dal (United), is led by Nitish Kumar, has also had a word to say on the issue. “We only have to say that those who play games get enmeshed in troubles. Those who play games will get drawn towards these troubles,” cryptically remarked Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sinha.
Asked about his absence from his own event, Chirag Paswan downplayed any political significance. In fact, the Chief Minister’s presence at my event is a big deal, but there is no hidden agenda here. This year, for the second time in a row now, there will be a double-engine government in Bihar with the NDA government at the centre: Paswan.
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Bihar’s politics scales up a notch as all eyes are on what Nitish Kumar has to do next. As the sun moves from one side of the equator to the other, from Dakshinayan to Uttarayan today, Bihar’s political sun will have to take a test of its own: to rise or set.