Nitish Kumar all set to dump RJD for BJP? Bihar action begins 10am

Nitish Kumar is likely to end the suspense over his next political move by resigning as Bihar chief minister as early as Sunday morning and returning to his old ally NDA, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party – in a body blow to the Opposition bloc INDIA.

A source close to Nitish Kumar told news agency PTI that the Janata Dal (United) president is poised to dump the Mahagathbandhan, which includes Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal, he had joined less than 18 months ago after breaking from the NDA.

The source told the news agency that Nitish Kumar is “likely to address a meeting of JD(U) legislators around 10am on Sunday before going to the Raj Bhavan to submit his resignation” and the formation of a new government, with the backing of the BJP, is “expected by the evening”.

News agency ANI reported that Nitish Kumar has sought time to meet the governor this morning and is likely to break away from the Mahagathbandhan government.

“Offices, including the Governor’s secretariat, have been ordered to remain open on Sunday in view of the likelihood of hectic activities,” PTI quoted the source as saying, who claimed that Nitish Kumar, who refused to take calls from Lalu Prasad and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, had confided in trusted aides about his next move “a couple of days ago”.

Bihar political turmoil: What we know so far

Reports claimed that Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar succeeded in bringing together several parties in Patna but the entire process became so limp that the INDIA bloc has had no joint meetings on leadership and agenda even though the Lok Sabha elections are now around the corner.

On Saturday, JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi told reporters in New Delhi that the grand alliance government in Bihar was on the verge of collapse, and accused a section of the Congress leadership of repeatedly “insulting” Nitish Kumar.

The Congress, however, asserted that the INDIA bloc was not imploding even though the BJP was trying its best to cause “mini-implosions” in the Opposition alliance.

Meanwhile, a rattled RJD went into a huddle to take stock of the situation and chalk out a future course of action. After the meeting, RJD national spokesman Manoj Jha told the media that “all leaders unanimously authorised the Lalu Prasad to take any decision regarding the developments that may take place today or tomorrow”.

The BJP too held a meeting in Patna on Saturday where MPs, members of the state legislature and in-charge for Bihar Vinod Tawde were present. Maharajganj MP Janardan Singh Sigriwal told reporters that “it was the NDA which had received the mandate to govern Bihar in the 2020 assembly polls. Now the NDA will be back in power”, giving a major indication.

People familiar with the consultations between the JD(U) and the BJP told Hindustan Times that the latter proposed the names of Renu Devi and Tarkishore Prasad for the posts of deputy chief minister, but it is likely that Prasad may be replaced by Sushil Modi who is preferred by Nitish Kumar.

“There is a chance that both BJP and JD(U) MLAs may come together at the CM’s house on Sunday, where a final announcement will be made if Nitish gives the go-ahead,” one of the people cited above told HT.

In New Delhi, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan on Saturday “strongly” raised his party’s concerns and received “assurances” in a meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda amid the strong buzz about Nitish Kumar rejoining hands with his former ally. Paswan told reporters he would first wait to see whether the JD(U) president joins the BJP-led alliance or not before finalising his party’s stand on the matter. The son of the late Ram Vilas Paswan did not reveal what Shah and Nadda told him about political developments in the state.

The RJD, with 79 MLAs, is the single largest party in the Bihar assembly and part of the Mahagathbandhan, which also comprises the Congress and three Left parties. The Mahagathbandhan falls eight members short of the majority in the assembly if Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) pulls out.

There were also rumours that the RJD had thought of outwitting Nitish Kumar by weaning away from the NDA Jitan Ram Manjhi, whose Hindustani Awam Morcha has four MLAs.

It would be the second volte-face by Nitish Kumar in less than 18 months, when he had dumped the BJP, accusing it of having tried to engineer a split in the JD(U), and joined hands with the RJD-Congress combine, with which he had severed his ties in 2017. Nitish Kumar remained the chief minister, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, who is Lalu Prasad’s son, was made his deputy.