By backing Kovind, Nitish has put job, Grand Alliance at risk

The Grand Alliance in Bihar seems to be heading towards a collapse under it own weight, even as Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar denies any threat to his government.

Ever since the JD(U) strongman decided to back former Bihar governor and NDA Presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind instead of Opposition candidate Meira Kumar, the war of words between the two major alliance partners — RJD and JD(U) — has got murkier.

With RJD using terms like “traitor” and comparing Nitish to historical figures such as Jaichand and Mir Zafar (better known for their betrayal), it is only a matter of time when Nitish reacts strongly and repeats his four-year-old act.

In June 2013, Nitish threw the BJP out of the government and snapped 17-year-old ties with the saffron party once it was clear that it was his then arch-rival Narendra Modi, and not he, who was the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

No more bonhomie

According to the latest developments, Nitish’s differences with RJD chief Lalu Prasad have reached a point of no return.

Even a layman here is aware that BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, who made well-documented allegations against Lalu and his family of amassing huge wealth and benami property, was being “fed” by the ones close to the Bihar chief minister.

An image-conscious chief minister, who in his earlier two dispensations, was known for good governance, is, this time, reportedly feeling uncomfortable in the company of Lalu and sons.

However, it is undeniable that Nitish would have been decimated politically had he not joined hands with Lalu.

A shrewd leader that he is, Nitish put his animosity with his bete noire at the back-burner in August 2014 and assiduously cultivated a Grand Alliance so as to give the Narendra Modi-led BJP a crushing defeat during the 2015 Bihar Assembly elections.

However, Nitish and Modi now shower praise on each other. “The day Nitish becomes absolutely sure that he stands no chance of being the Opposition prime ministerial candidate for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he will dump Lalu and sons, and join the NDA bandwagon,” a Congress leader told DH.