Janata Dal (United) Nitish Kumar’s return to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) spells trouble for Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas) and its leader Chirag Paswan, who has based his entire politics on confrontation with Mr. Kumar.
After walking out of the NDA in the 2020 Assembly elections in the State to raise a flag of rebellion against Mr. Kumar and the JD(U), he returned to the fold, only last July, after a gap of three years. Though LJP only won a single seat in the election, it was blamed for drastically cutting down the JD(U)‘s tally. Mr. Kumar has been chafing ever since about his diminished status. His reason for walking out of the NDA in 2022 was the humiliation he faced at the hands of the BJP, after JD(U)‘s diminished strength. The breaking point in the anticipated divorce with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), once again, is his insistence, as per sources, to dissolve the Assembly and hold polls afresh, where he hopes JD(U) registers a better performance.
Pushed to a corner, Mr. Paswan is nervously watching the proceedings in Patna. “For now we are closely watching the ever-changing situation in Bihar. Many possibilities are being floated, but I can’t answer any hypothetical questions till we have clarity,” Mr. Paswan said. Sources said that he was courted assiduously by the RJD too, but it was a calculated decision to return to the NDA.
For now, he is not prepared to talk about any possible switch, which could hurt the campaign he has pitched in the last six months. He insists that the BJP’s top leadership is in constant touch with him. “Even in the present circumstances, the NDA is strong enough to win all the forty seats in the State,” he insists.
