Patna,June 22 :Ever since the Narender modi advertisement episode opened up in Bihar both the partners Jdu and BJP are at loggerhead .Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is keeping his political cards close to his chest amid speculation over his next move.
“ Relax, ( there’s) no need to get tense,” Nitish said here on Monday when asked about the growing rift between his JD( U) and the BJP over his decision to return a Rs 5- crore cheque donated by the Gujarat government towards Kosi flood relief.
Nitish flew to his home district Nalanda to continue his Vishwas Yatra ( trust march) — his pre- poll tour through the interiors of Bihar to gauge the mood of the electorate. None of the BJP leaders of the state, including deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, accompanied him on Monday.On Sunday also, Modi had skipped Nitish’s rally in protest against his decision to return the cheque, which led to the cancellation of Nitish’s rally in Patna City, a BJP stronghold.
Nitish and Sushil Modi, however, came face to face on Monday at the swearing- in ceremony of the new chief justice of the Patna High Court. But both the leaders betrayed no signs of rancour.Political observers feel Nitish does not want to give up his support base among the Muslims, who account for 16.4 per cent of Bihar’s population. He is ready to sacrifice even his longstanding ally, the BJP, to keep this vote bank intact.
In the past four- and- a- half years, Nitish carved out a constituency for himself among the minorities through exclusive welfare policies. He reopened the Bhagalpur riot cases after two decades and launched a slew of other measures to woo the community that rooted for Lalu Prasad in almost all the elections in the past two decades.
Political pundits believe Nitish’s stance over Narendra Modi might tilt more Muslim votes in his favour than all his welfare packages if the BJP decides to break off with him at this juncture. “ Nitish cannot get a better reason than the Gujarat chief minister to part ways with the BJP and this is why he has left the ball in the BJP’s court,” an observer said.
Nitish is not banking on Muslim votes alone. He is also eying the Mahadalits and extremely backward classes in the polls. Together, they account for more than 50 per cent votes in the state.