Bihar: Morale booster for a demoralised Opposition

Nitish Kumar's jolt to the BJP is a godsend for a disillusioned, demoralised, dejected and divided opposition.

Nothing was happening right for the non-BJP parties as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had sought to demolish their citadels by hook or crook and created an atmosphere where the very existence of the opposition had come into question.

Only last month, BJP chief J P Nadda had famously declared that all those in the political field would be marginalised sooner than later, and only BJP would remain the force to reckon with.

Also Read | Will Bihar curb BJP's arrogance?

With less than two years for the next Lok Sabha polls, the opposition looked dead as a dodo. Non-BJP leaders, too, had started speaking about the inevitability of a third term for Modi after the spectacular showing of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh while retaining power.

Over a month back, the toppling of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government sent shivers down the opposition camp. The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, heading the ruling dispensation, fell like a pack of cards. It was known that the Enforcement Directorate was at work in the state for a long time, but Thackeray appeared unguarded and paid for it. Sharad Pawar's NCP and Congress were collateral damage.

But the message was that the ruling dispensation at the Centre could go to any extent to destabilise non-BJP governments. The MVA government had finished half its term and the powers that be wanted to finish off the Sena politically despite being the BJP's oldest Hindutva ally. 'Operation Lotus' was earlier used in several states, including Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

Also Read | JD(U)'s exit: The expansion of BJP and collapse of NDA

Nitish Kumar pulling the rug from under the feet of the BJP and aligning with the RJD and Congress to become Chief Minister of Bihar for the eighth time was like the late cut of Gundappa Viswanath. It has stunned Modi and also the BJP's 'Chanakya' so much that the ruling party has suddenly gone silent. It does not know what has hit it.

The fact is that 71-year-old Kumar is no Uddhav Thackeray and has read Modi's strategy like no one else in the opposition so far. He concluded that offence is the best route and ensured that BJP gets 'rejected and ejected' in Bihar in a jiffy. There are perhaps no such examples in recent years of the all-powerful ruling party at the Centre being kicked out of power so pathetically.

Detractors of the Bihar CM could be branding him a 'Paltu Ram' (Mr Turncoat) for the frequent political somersaults, but that will not cut ice in the present circumstances.

Also Read | Nitish wanted to become Vice President, got angry when BJP refused: Sushil Modi

The significance of the operation in Patna is that Kumar's sudden action has strengthened the opposition. There is a now a feeling among the non-BJP parties that Modi can be defeated, and the task is not insurmountable. It is immaterial that everyone in the political field has interpreted it in their own ways.

Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda sees the seed of the Janata Parivar coming together again to make a mark on the national scene. "It made me think of the days when the Janata Dal Parivar was under one roof. It gave three PMs. I am in my advanced years, but if the younger generation decides, it can offer a good alternative to this great nation," he tweeted.

The Bihar developments have exposed some opposition leaders who were detrimental to the cause of opposition unity in the wake of their omissions and commissions in the states ruled by them.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has suddenly gone into hibernation since the Partha Chatterjee scam broke out. Her action to break ranks with the opposition in the vice presidential polls was seen as one of the biggest self-goals in the non-BJP space in recent years. Everybody who is anybody in the opposition knows why the mercurial CM is suddenly silent.

Though the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has expanded its wings and has come to power in Punjab after establishing its hold in Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal likes to play solo. He has nothing to do with other opposition parties. The AAP, which came to power in Delhi around seven years back after ousting the Congress, is attempting to play spoiler for the grand old party in several states and thereby helping the BJP.

Nitish Kumar's entry into the national opposition space is expected to stabilise matters as the Bihar CM could play a disruptor. Though Nitish has never been able to come to power on his own in Bihar, the stature of the JDU leader is such that the BJP high command has suddenly found itself on the back foot.

The change of government in Bihar could also help change the narrative at a time when the skyrocketing prices and rising unemployment are turning into major issues, and the ruling party's charge of opposition resorting to "revadi politics" is appearing to be boomeranging on it.

The BJP's expansionist trait has played havoc with the regional parties. It is reflected in the recent split in the Shiv Sena, weakening the Shiromani Akali Dal, split in the AIADMK, marginalisation of the TDP and AGP, the splitting of the LJP, weakening of the INLD and creating problems for the National Conference and PDP.

Rahul Gandhi's recent declaration that the Congress is not afraid of Modi and that he can do whatever he wants showed that the grand old party wants to take the powers head-on, whatever the cost. The party has realised that Congress-mukt Bharat is not an empty slogan, and the ruling dispensation could go to any extent to marginalise it.

Bihar developments, therefore, have come as a breath of fresh air to the opposition battered by the constant ED raids on opponents of the BJP and other alleged misuses of government agencies. The BJP has suddenly become off balance.

(Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari are senior journalists)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.