Nitish may return to NDA fold today; no implosion in INDIA bloc, says Congress

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, January 27

Janata Dal (United) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is likely to return to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance fold on Sunday, dumping the RJD, Congress and the Left Front, and signalling a virtual end of the road for the opposition INDIA bloc.

Once this happens, it will be 72-year-old Nitish Kumar’s fifth flip-flop since 2013 when he first quit the NDA in protest against the elevation of Narendra Modi as the BJP’s prime ministerial face.

Nitish Kumar, who had most recently parted ways with the NDA on August 9, 2022, alleging a saffron bid to split his party, is all set to remain the Bihar CM with the BJP’s support once he dumps current government allies the RJD, Congress and the Left.

122 the magic figure

• In a House of 243, Nitish needs 122 MLAs to stay in power. The JD (U) has 45 and the NDA 82 with BJP’s 78 and HAM’s 4
• It is learnt Union Home Minister Amit Shah has endorsed the reunion with the JD(U) and BJP MLAs in Bihar were instructed to hand over letters of support in favour of Nitish at Patna meet
• Nitish Kumar was reportedly miffed as a decision on his name as INDIA bloc convener was held back despite a broad agreement on it at the last virtual meeting of the alliance

Shah meets chirag

• Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda met LJP chief Chirag Paswan, who said both leaders assured the redressal of his concerns

The BJP is likely to get two Deputy CM slots as part of the deal with Nitish Kumar, who wants former Deputy CM Sushil Modi back.

In a House of 243, Nitish Kumar needs 122 MLAs to stay in power. The JD (U) has 45 and the NDA 82 with BJP’s 78 and HAM’s four.

It is learnt that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has endorsed a reunion with the JD(U) and party MLAs in Bihar were even instructed to hand over letters of support in favour of Nitish Kumar at a meeting held in Patna today.

Alliance nearly over in Punjab, Bihar, WB

We had succeeded in bringing together all non-Cong parties but the alliance is falling apart. In Punjab and Bihar, INDIA bloc has nearly collapsed, while in West Bengal, it is falling apart. — KC Tyagi, JD(U) General Secretary

BJP general secretary in charge of the state Vinod Tawde was rushed to Patna on Saturday morning to chair the meeting, where Bihar developments were discussed.

Parallel to this, Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda met Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas Paswan) faction chief Chirag Paswan, who later said both leaders had assured redressal of his concerns ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

While the BJP spent the day taking NDA allies on board for Nitish Kumar’s return, the latter went about business as usual, attending official events across Bihar.

Nitish Kumar even visited Buxar to inaugurate redevelopment of a famous temple — a project of state tourism, a portfolio which Deputy CM RJD Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD holds. Tejashwi was absent from the event, but pictures captured the CM and local BJP MP Ashwini Chobey all smiling.

Back in Patna, Lalu Yadav chaired a meeting of RJD MLAs to assess his strength with the party divided on whether to pull the rug from under Nitish Kumar’s feet before he made any move.

Sources say a dominant view in the RJD was that the JD(U)-BJP had the numbers they needed.

There were also reports that the RJD and the Congress, sensing imminent collapse of the Mahagathbandhan government, even offered HAM’s Jitan Ram Majhi the CM’s post if he switched sides. The latter, currently in the NDA, is learnt to be disinterested.

In the 2020 state polls, the RJD had bagged the maximum 79 seats behind BJP’s 78; the Congress had got 19 and the Left 16.

Together Mahagathbandhan partners minus the JD(U) have 115 seats, six short of a majority. As the day witnessed hectic parleys across camps, JD (U) leaders blamed the Congress for the mess.

Veteran KC Tyagi said the INDIA bloc was on the verge of collapse because of repeated insults the Congress heaped on Nitish Kumar.

In the last virtual meeting of the INDIA bloc, there was broad agreement on naming Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as the chairman of the bloc and Nitish as the convener, but the decision on Nitish Kumar was held back on grounds that TMC leader Mamata Banerjee, absent at the meeting, should first be taken on board. This miffed Nitish, who was already distant from the RJD in the government, having nipped a bid to topple him by removing Lallan Singh as the JD (U) chief.

Nitish had suspected Lallan was hobnobbing with Lalu to install Tejashwi as the CM.

The Congress, however, put up a brave face saying there was no implosion in the INDIA bloc.

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