With NCP leader Ajit Pawar’s rebellion of joining the Shiv Sena-BJP government rocking Maharashtra politics, speculation is rife of a similar ‘coup’ unfolding in Bihar. A day after Ajit Pawar, the nephew of NCP president Sharad Pawar took oath as deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde government, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s rivals claimed his Janata Dal (United) is headed for a similar split.
The speculation was reportedly triggered by Nitish Kumar holding one-on-one meetings with party MLAs and MPs.
Among the first to allege discord in the JD(U) was Union Minister and RPI leader Ramdas Athawale who claimed MLA were “unhappy” with Nitish Kumar leaving the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance for the RJD last year.
“Maharashtra-like situation may erupt in Bihar and UP as many MLAs are unhappy with Nitish Kumar joining hands with RJD. Similarly in UP, Jayant Chaudhary can join the NDA as he did not attend the Patna opposition meeting,” PTI quoted Athawale as saying.
Similar assertions were made by BJP MP and former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who said an atmosphere of “rebellion” is building up in the JD(U) and it may split up anytime with many of its MPs and MLAs in talks with the BJP and other parties.
These JD(U) leaders are neither able to accept RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s “successor”, nor the Congress’ Rahul Gandhi as the leader of the united opposition, he claimed.
“In Bihar also, an atmosphere of rebellion is building up in the JD(U) since Nitish Kumar announced the RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav as his successor and accepted Rahul Gandhi as leader in the next fight. None of the JD(U) MLAs or MPs is ready to accept Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav,” the Rajya Sabha MP told reporters.
“The JD (U) is facing prospects of a split in the party… Anything is possible in coming days. Nobody can guarantee that nothing will happen in the JD(U),” he said.
After Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the BJP and joined hands with the RJD in Bihar to remain at in power, many JD(U) MPs think their future is dark, Sushil Modi said.
“A large number of JD(U) MPs know they are not going to get ticket in the next election. They see their future and that of the party’s in dark since Nitish Kumar announced Tejashwi Yadav his successor. That’s why there is chaos in the JD(U). Its MPs and MLAs are approaching other parties,” the BJP leader claimed.
A Times of India report has also quoted sources in the Grand Alliance as saying that BJP leaders have been “making attempts to lure” JD(U) and Congress legislators.
However, staging a Maharashtra-like coup in Bihar would be a challenging number game since the JD(U) has 45 MLAs in the Assembly. To engineer a split, 30 of these MLAs would need to break away from Nitish Kumar.
The political upheaval in Maharashtra, however, has sounded warning bells for Nitish Kumar one year before 2024 Lok Sabha elections when he is trying to pitch himself as the leader of a united opposition.
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