Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s likely return to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance may have a possible exit clause, ThePrint has learnt.
According to Janata Dal (United) sources, Nitish will resign as CM Sunday and take oath for the ninth time likely by Monday. He will present a list of 128 MLAs, the sources added. “But after the Lok Sabha elections, the JDU will be given two ministerial berths in the Union government. Nitish will likely join the Union cabinet, leaving the CM post for a BJP leader,” a senior JD(U) leader told ThePrint Saturday, adding that the same previous formula of ministry sharing — BJP gets two deputy CMs — will continue.
JDU national spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan confirmed to ThePrint that “the JDU MLAs will meet on Sunday”.
Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Nitish Kumar’s current ally, also called for an urgent meeting of its MLAs Saturday.
“We have been told to be present. So far, we have maintained utmost dignity. We have only asked the chief minister to clear his stand. But we are prepared to take any action, including withdrawal of support from the Nitish government,” RJD minister Samir Mahaseth told ThePrint.
Other allies, such as the Congress and the CPI-ML, have also urged the CM to clear his stance.
But the signs are evident. On Friday, Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav did not exchange a word at the Republic Day parade. Tejashwi skipped the high tea at the Governor’s house and his nameplate was removed from his table.
The Leader of Opposition in the assembly, Vijay Kumar Sinha, was seen interacting with the CM. The two had had a heated argument in assembly when Sinha was the Speaker between 2020 and 2022.
Nitish Kumar also refused to meet Lalu Prasad’s envoy, former MP Sivanand Tiwari. He has even stopped taking calls from Lalu, RJD sources told ThePrint.
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A political career of somersaults
Nitish Kumar, once nicknamed ‘Paltu Ram’ by Lalu, has a long history of making U-turns in his political career.
He started as a close ally of Lalu, who played a key role in making him the CM in 1990. He made his first U-turn in 1994 when he split with Lalu and formed the Samata Party, alleging massive corruption and lawlessness in Bihar.
After a humiliating defeat in the 1995 assembly polls, he joined hands with the BJP, along with his political mentor, the late George Fernandes.
He was sworn in as CM for the first time in 2000 when he led a minority government for 11 days before quitting.
His second U-turn came in 2013 when he snapped ties with the BJP — the partner with whom he had taken oath as CM twice. The reason he gave was the BJP making Narendra Modi its prime ministerial candidate.
After fighting the 2014 Lok Sabha polls alone and being badly drubbed, he stepped down as CM, owning moral responsibility, and appointed Jitan Ram Manjhi.
But within less than a year, he made another U-turn and removed Manjhi to be sworn in as CM for the fourth time.
In 2015, he made another U-turn by joining hands with his arch political rival Lalu Prasad, and won the Bihar assembly polls, taking oath as CM for the fifth time under the Grand Alliance.
But in 2017, he made another U-turn by rejoining the BJP. This time, he cited the CBI charge sheet against Tejashwi Yadav in the IRCTC hotel scam.
He took oath as CM for the sixth time as a partner of the NDA. The BJP allowed Nitish Kumar to continue as CM despite the JDU only winning 43 seats against the BJP’s 74 in the total 243 assembly seats.
Nitish Kumar took oath for the seventh time in 2020. Again in 2022, he made another U-turn and joined the RJD, alleging that the BJP was out to finish off his party. He took oath as Bihar CM for the eighth time that year.
If he takes oath Monday, it will be for the ninth time. But this time, the JD(U) has not given any reason for its switchover.
What is likely to be the reason
According to JD(U) sources, this time the blame is likely to be on the INDIA bloc. The alliance was Nitish Kumar’s brainchild and its first meeting was held in Patna in June last year.
“But after that, Nitish has been continuously ignored. He was ignored in meetings, the post of convenor was not given and even Lalu promoted Rahul Gandhi as the PM candidate. His opposition to the name of the alliance was ignored,” another senior JDU leader told ThePrint.
“The final humiliation came in January when during a virtual meeting he (Nitish Kumar) was offered the post of convenor but it was pointed out that Mamata Banerjee opposed his elevation,” the leader added.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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