New Delhi: All is not well in the Janata Dal (United) universe. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s party is facing growing signs of a power struggle between leaders wanting to maintain strong ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and those unwilling to compromise on its core ideology.
Differences came out in the open when senior JD(U) leader K.C. Tyagi resigned Sunday as the chief spokesperson following his aggressive stance on the Modi government’s decisions such as lateral entry into the civil services and the Uniform Civil Code, as well on a Supreme Court decision on reservations and the foreign policy on Israel and Palestine.
Though Tyagi’s stand on most of the issues reflects the JD(U) ideological position, party insiders say he quit because of pressure from senior leaders who don’t want to upset the party’s equation with its alliance partner, the BJP.
His stand put the JD(U) in a tough spot in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to which it had offered unconditional support after the parliamentary elections.
Nitish Kumar’s support is critical for the NDA after the BJP failed to win an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha elections.
“A few leaders who don’t want to annoy the BJP are toeing its line to maintain a cordial relationship for their own political prospects as Nitish is aging. These leaders know their future lies with keeping a good communication line with the BJP,” a senior JD(U) leader told ThePrint.
Born out of a social justice movement, the party is also divided on the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill introduced by the BJP in Parliament. Though the JD(U) supported the bill in the House, some leaders opposed the move to amend the law governing Waqf property on the grounds that it went against the party’s core beliefs.
Determined not to settle on the party’s main ideology, they successfully put pressure on senior leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh, also known as Lalan Singh, who went beyond his brief to support the Waqf Bill in Parliament.
Unlike the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), whose MPs insisted on sending the bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee, Lalan Singh was seen as rescuing the government by saying the bill would bring transparency to the functioning of the Waqf Board.
The Union minister said that the bill was not anti-Muslim and that it would not interfere with the functioning of mosques.
Lalan Singh’s position didn’t go down well with Bihar’s water resources minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, who is considered close to Nitish Kumar. “Apprehensions of the minority community about the bill must be addressed before it is finalised,” he said.
Since Choudhary is considered a close ally of Nitish Kumar, his statement was seen as the official stance of the JD(U) and the chief minister.
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In an effort to amp down the message sent by Lalan Singh, minority affairs minister Zama Khan announced plans to establish schools for Muslim children and create 21 new madrasas on Waqf land.
“Nitish Kumar is known to maintain a fine balance with the alliance on ideological issues and not compromise his core constituency, despite alliances with the BJP,” a JD(U) leader from Bihar told ThePrint. “Nitish has strong goodwill among the Muslims. He can’t send a wrong message to any minority community.”
Analysts say party leaders are fighting to show their supremacy with an eye on the Bihar elections due at the end of next year and the legacy of Nitish Kumar, who has ruled the state for about two decades.
“With the elections approaching, one group suggests maintaining a cordial relationship with the BJP is better for JD(U) prospects. Another faction is of the view that as the BJP has no option, the JD(U) should keep its identity intact on issues where the BJP errs for electoral gains,” a JD(U) leader said.
“But between this fine line is the ambition of leaders who want to secure their future politics.”
However, Nitish is a shrewd politician who, over the years, has sidelined many opponents within the party, including founder president George Fernandes and Sharad Yadav.
Last year, Lalan Singh quit as the party’s national president because of rumoured differences with Nitish Kumar. The party had denied the rumours.
Nitish named his trusted lieutenant and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Jha as the JD(U) working president in June, a move aimed at strengthening the party ahead of the assembly polls.
Analysts say Jha is the one who facilitated the BJP-JD(U) alliance before the general elections after ties between the two parties deteriorated under Lalan Singh.
Despite the challenges, the Bihar chief minister can certainly make or break any alliance as he has a strong hold in the state because of his unique social alliance of Kurmi-Kushwaha voters and Extremely Backward Castes (EBC). But, he has to address the cracks within the party in recent weeks.
Apart from Tyagi’s resignation and the Waqf Bill conundrum, the other incident that brought infighting into the open was the JD(U) list of state executive members on 22 August.
Within hours, the first list of 251 members was withdrawn and a new one was announced in which the number of state working committee members was reduced to 115.
Many supporters of Lalan Singh and another Bihar minister, Ashok Choudhary, were dropped.
The party defended the move saying it removed leaders who were not active or whose performance was unsatisfactory during the Lok Sabha elections. It also said the change was made to accommodate new faces.
However, party insiders said the leaders were dropped to bring balance to the list.
Choudhary sparked controversy when he blamed the Bhumihars, a powerful landowning upper caste, for the loss in the Jehanabad parliamentary seat. The party candidate, Chandeshwar Chandravanshi, lost to the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) Surendra Yadav.
At a function in Jehanabad district, Choudhary said Nitish Kumar didn’t discriminate based on caste or indulge in caste-based politics. He added that the chief minister had even built a road in a Bhumihar-dominated village but the community abandoned Nitish Kumar after his party fielded a candidate from an extremely backward caste (EBC).
“When Chandravanshi was made candidate in Bihar, the Bhumihars did not vote for JD(U). When we field candidates from EBCs and backwards, Bhumihars don’t support them,” he said.
Choudhary’s statement triggered an angry response from JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar, who criticised him for doubting the Bhumihar community’s support to the NDA.
“Ashok Choudhary has made no contribution to the JD(U) and action should be taken against him for making reckless comments,” Kumar said. “Nitish Kumar has never engaged in caste-based politics, and the JD(U)’s success is due to support from every caste.”
Facing isolation on the issue, Choudhary was forced to clarify that he was not targeting the caste. He said his daughter was married into a Bhumihar family.
The party may be divided on issues, but analysts say Nitish Kumar is an astute player who can checkmate his opponents.
The late Sushil Modi, former BJP deputy chief minister who worked with Nitish, often said “Nitish Kumar always keeps two windows open to checkmate a current partner”.
“There may be more infighting but ultimately Nitish is a clever politician, who knows all these tricks and can pull the plug when required,” said D.M. Diwakar, former director of Patna’s A.N. Sinha Institute of Social Studies.
JD(U) MP Ramprit Mandal told ThePrint that Tyagi took a “stand that was unwarranted and knowing the sensitivity of the next year’s assembly elections. But in the party ultimately Nitishji’s view will prevail. It does not matter what others think”.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)