BJP master at ensuring ally’s expiry date approaches faster: Manoj Jha
Bihar has seen a surprise development with Nitish Kumar all set to become a Rajya Sabha member and the BJP set to get the first Chief Minister in the State. How do you see it?
I wish to say it very clearly that I am neither shocked nor surprised. This was in the offing but we never knew that it would come so soon. During the Assembly campaign, (RJD leader) Tejashwi Yadav had been emphasising that Nitish-ji is being used as a mask. The Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and the Home Minister (Amit Shah) were desperate to have their own man in the seat of power in Patna. Using the front gate was not possible. So they have chosen the backdoor. The mandate was something else. What they are doing is actually destroying the very spirit of the mandate.
What do you make out of Nitish Kumar's reasoning for the shift?
When I read the X post of Nitish-ji, it was very clear that it was not his language, not even his ideas, not even his temperament. He doesn't write like that if you check his past posts. What is interesting is that the Chief Minister for 21 years is saying that he was craving for a Rajya Sabha berth. Not even a small child would believe that because he could have the Rajya Sabha berth if he craved for it. His party always had the numbers. Even in 2020 when JD(U) numbers were reduced, it still had the strength to send him to the Rajya Sabha. It is actually a very poorly written script.
The BJP is perceived to be an upper caste party in Bihar though it has OBC leaders. Do you see Nitish shifting to Delhi as a setback for the backward class politics in Bihar?
Bihar has been a fertile ground for all the socialist parties, Centre-Left progressive politics right from the Congress days. There was Karpoori Thakur, then Lalu Prasad-ji, and subsequently even Nitish-ji, except for that Nitish-ji gave space to the BJP and the RSS in many ways. The BJP as a political party is still not out of the mindset of 'Bunch of Thoughts' (by late RSS chief M S Golwalkar). That defines the BJP's world view, their persona. Even if they chose an OBC leadership, they will still follow the same 'Bunch of Thought' paradigm. What Nitish-ji has suffered, I will tell you that I have two guards to protect my house. But if the house guards are compromised, my house gets compromised. Precisely that has happened.
The recent political history shows that the BJP has emerged as the primary party in alliance at the cost of its regional allies. For example, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party in Goa, Shiv Sena in Punjab. Do you think the future is written on the wall for the JD(U)?
It was written on the wall and the core support base of the JD(U) is actually down, disturbed and depressed. They never thought that this would be done to their leader and to their party. It is a message to every political party in the country that while doing business with the BJP, while engaging with the BJP, remember that the BJP is master at ensuring that the expiry date of your political outfit is sooner than later.
So, is it time to write an obituary of JD(U)?
I am generally never in favour of writing an obituary for any political party. But if it doesn't reinvent itself, after a few days or weeks or months, maybe you will find the JD(U) in the footnotes because it was woven around the persona of Nitish-ji. If that persona is made to look weak or made to look irrelevant, then what do you do about the structure?
In the 2025 polls, the RJD suffered an electoral debacle. How can the RJD capitalise now?
Responding to the developments, Tejaswi-ji was very categorical. He said that his full sympathies are with Nitish-ji because what has been done to him and the manner in which it has been done to him, it shall not go down quite easily with the people. Bihar is not used to this kind of sabotage politics. Apart from the progressive agenda we have on jobs and the ruling regime's attitude to Bihar, we will also highlight how a political party which had its roots in Bihar has been decimated by the clever design of two individuals from another State.
How good is a weak JD(U) for Bihar?
Let us not look into these issues so quickly. But I would reemphasise that the JD(U) was an offshoot from the erstwhile Janta Parivar. In spite of certain vacillations with regard to engaging with the RSS and the BJP, there was this social justice plank, which made them distinct. Disappearance of that plank shall not go down well with the people of Bihar, who had voted even this alliance, the NDA, largely on the face of Nitish Kumar.
You referred to the Janata Dal family. Is the era of socialist stalwarts Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar and late Ramvilas Paswan ending in Bihar?
I am generally very cautious with these phrases because you know there is no end of an era. Eras are in continuity. No era just disappears. It leaves certain things for the people who believe in that kind of ideology to continue. I'm very sure that the core voter support base of the JD(U) will realise that if their original social justice plank has any value, they have to look at the other available alternatives.