Patna, June 15: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has taken a calculated gamble by taking on Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi during the Bharatiya Janata Party’s national executive meeting in Patna over the last weekend. The lastminute cancellation of the dinner he was scheduled to host in honour of the BJP’s top brass, over the advertisement row, yet again underlines the fact that he does not want to be seen in the company of Modi— either in person or in a photograph.
Nitish’s gesture clearly shows that he is not ready to compromise on the Modi issue.
He is ready to welcome all other BJP leaders but the Gujarat chief minister remains an anathema for him politically. This is why he became angry when he saw an old photograph taken at an NDA rally in Ludhiana last year which showed him holding hands with the BJP hardliner.
Even at that time, he had felt uncomfortable when Modi walked up to him on the dais and held his hand. The Janata Dal- United leaders had a nagging suspicion that Modi had done that on purpose. During the Lok Sabha elections, Modi was a star campaigner much sought- after by all the states ruled by the National Democratic Alliance.
But in Bihar, he was a persona non grata of sorts because of Nitish’s dislike for him.
Nitish had apparently made it very clear to the BJP high command during the general elections last year that Modi’s campaigning would antagonise the Muslims who were drifting away from Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya The Bihar CM’s popularity gives him the luxury to act tough with his alliance partner Janata Dal in favour of the JD- U for the first time. Nitish was wary that Modi’s visit would undo all the good work done by his government to woo the Muslims in Bihar. Modi subsequently stayed away from electioneering in Bihar even though he came down to neighbouring Jharkhand to address many rallies.
This sowed the seeds of distrust between Modi and Nitish. They have had no love lost for each other since then. It has left the BJP in a piquant situation.
It desperately wants Modi to come to Bihar to boost its prospects ahead of the assembly elections due later this year.
But it knows very well that this would antagonise Nitish.
The BJP apparently thought that its national executive meeting in Patna would pave the way for Modi’s visit to Bihar, a state he had not come to in the past nine years.
The JD- U initially said that it had no problem whatsoever with Modi’s visit for his party meeting. But that was easier said that done.
Nitish reacted strongly over his photograph with Modi in a newspaper advertisement which lauded the Gujarat government’s help to Bihar during the Kosi floods.
He even threatened to return the money if it was unspent. Modi chose to retaliate subtly, thanking Bihar for all its help during the Bhuj earthquake of 2001.
LK Advani and NDA convenor Sharad Yadav are now trying to minimise the damage. Both asserted that their ties are too old to be shaken by such an issue. But the die is cast. Nitish has made it clear that Modi is unacceptable to him.
The BJP is now caught in a political cleft stick. If it invites its crowd- puller Modi for campaigning, it will further strain its alliance. If it does not, it will be seen as bowing to Nitish like the ‘ good, old second fiddle’. Nitish, on the other hand, has other options. He knows that Muslims, who account for 16.4 per cent of Bihar’s voters, will be rooting for him if he severs ties with the BJP on the Modi issue.
He may then also have the backing of other ‘ secular’ parties. He is obviously in a position to take a gamble at this juncture and hope for better dividends.
The BJP needs to weigh the pros and cons of its future moves in Bihar and tread cautiously if it has to retain both power and prestige in the state.
—Agencies