As the Bihar government teetered with trouble, with the ruling alliance partners, the Janata Dal (United) [JD-U] and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), locked in what looks like a battle to the finish, Congress president Sonia Gandhi stepped in on Friday to defuse the crisis.
As the national leader of the third party in Bihar’s ‘mahagathbandhan’, Ms. Gandhi has spoken to Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar to try and resolve the crisis and save the State government. On Friday, State Congress chief Ashok Choudhary held meetings with Mr. Kumar and Mr. Prasad.
For the Congress, which is still hoping to make a comeback in 2019, the failure of the Bihar experiment of 2015 would not just be a bad omen; it would make things even tougher for a Congress-led Opposition in the months to come as it takes on the BJP.
RJD under pressure
The current crisis was triggered by Mr. Kumar’s call for the resignation of the Tejaswi Yadav, Deputy Chief Minister and son of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, following charges of corruption against him.
Thus far, both parties have stood their ground, with the RJD unwilling to let Mr. Yadav step down and the JD(U) adamant that he does so. The crunch will come if the CBI follows up the FIR against him with a charge sheet.
Sources in the RJD told The Hindu : “Laluji has nurtured this alliance; he had even campaigned strenuously for JD(U) candidates in 2015. He will do whatever it takes to keep the present government alive.”
However, when asked what that might involve, the sources declined to comment.
The sources stressed that Mr. Kumar, by backing the BJP-led NDA’s presidential nominee, Ram Nath Kovind, had made a “false political step”. The decision had annoyed Muslims and Dalits in the State.
Sources in the Congress told The Hindu that though Mr. Prasad is flexing his muscles, he would not rock the government. “Laluji has a hostile government in Delhi to deal with; he won’t want a hostile government in Patna as well,” they said, adding that in the event of things reaching the breaking point, the RJD would concede ground.
The sources, however, pointed out that Mr. Kumar was no longer on firm political ground for two reasons. First, the sources echoing the RJD's perceptions, said Mr. Kumar’s support for Mr. Kovind has gone down poorly with State Muslims and Dalits (Ms. Kumar is from Bihar). Second, at the State level, though Mr. Kumar still has the support of BJP’s seniormost leader Sushil Modi, many BJP MLAs have not forgiven him for breaking away from the 17-year alliance in 2014.
The sources also said if Mr. Kumar were to return to an alliance with the BJP now, the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo may not give him the freedom he had in the Vajpayee-Advani years.
RJD Ministers ready to resign
However, the RJD sources said the party would completely back Mr. Yadav. According to them, RJD Ministers were prepared to resign en masse from the Cabinet if he is asked to resign but they would continue to support the government from outside. “By taking such a step, the RJD will keep the BJP out of power and expose the Nitish Kumar government from within as well,” said a party source.
To counter the JD(U)’s oft-repeated statement of “zero tolerance of corruption”, RJD leaders are said to have gathered old pictures and other evidence of Mr. Kumar shaking hands with hardened criminals-turned-MLAs and other tainted politicians. The threat of Mr. Prasad poaching JD(U) legislators, especially Yadavs, also looms large over the Chief Minister, political observers said.
However, JD(U) leaders and spokespersons have kept up their attack on the RJD, asserting that “Nitish Kumar would not compromise on the issue of corruption in any case”.
JD(U) leader and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said, “Mr. Prasad and his family members should declare from where they have amassed such huge wealth and properties.”
