In the midst of Bihar Assembly polls, has BJP trapped Nitish Kumar in his fiefdom?

Till last month, it looked like a one-sided election with the NDA sweeping the Bihar polls in the absence of a credible Opposition, particularly as the Mahagatbandhan remains faction-ridden. However, in the last few days, the same election has turned into a complex poll with the possibility of a bitter contest amongst the NDA allies over the next five weeks.

Sample this: Notwithstanding the LJP stand, the JD (U) has made it clear that it will win and form the next government in Bihar in alliance with the BJP. The LJP, too, has exuded similar confidence saying that the next government in Bihar will be a double engine regime (Read: a BJP-LJP government).

Either way, the BJP is in a win-win situation. And it has reasons to smile.

1

In theory, the BJP and the JD (U) are contesting on a 50:50 formula with the Nitish’s outfit putting up candidates on 122 seats, while the saffron party is contesting on 121 seats out of 243 constituencies in Bihar. But in the real sense, the BJP is contesting on all the 243 seats after the LJP made it clear that it will put up candidates against all the JD (U) nominees while it will be in alliance with the BJP.

“Our sole purpose is to defeat Nitish and form a BJP-LJP government in Bihar,” said Chirag in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The sound-byte in Delhi had its cascading effect in Bihar with the grapevine abuzz with the theory that without the tacit support of the BJP, particularly the party’s top leadership, Chirag would not dare to consistently target Nitish at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda have reiterated time and again that Nitish is the NDA Chief Ministerial candidate.

“The people of Bihar could see through the BJP’s gameplan. The saffron party has trapped Nitish by showering praise on him and at the same time trying to clip his wings by propping up the LJP. If Chirag fields his nominees against Nitish’s candidates, he is actually helping the BJP as he (the LJP) may not win the seats but will damage JD (U) substantially. This could possibly reduce JD (U)’s strength (seat-wise) and increase BJP’s tally, which, in turn, will help the BJP stake its claim to the post of Chief Minister after the polls,” said a senior ruling party source, adding that “Nitish is a seasoned player. Wait for some time. Bihar could be heading for a major somersault.”