In the fierce battle for political supremacy, the saffron camp was made to bite the dust by Nitish Kumar by aborting Amit Shah’s ‘Operation Lotus’. Notably, notwithstanding the felonious demeanour of Shah, it was particularly the arrogance of Narendra Modi and his contempt for others that conjured Nitish Kumar to leave the NDA coinciding with the day the country was celebrating Quit India day. Before handing his resignation to Governor Fagu Mahato, he had narrated the insult and humiliation that was inflicted on him by Modi and Shah. Nitish told his party legislators and MPs, at a meeting he convened at his official residence, that he had been driven against the wall by the BJP which tried to weaken his JD(U), first by propping up Chirag Paswan’s rebellion and later through the party’s former national president RCP Singh.
It is not that this development was unexpected. In fact, for the last six months, they were engaged in a war of wits. It was the July 31 statement of party president JP Nadda that compelled him to take his path. Nadda had claimed that only the BJP would survive and all others parties-including regional parties – would perish in the country. As JD-U is a regional party, this message was taken as a warning. Those who know Nadda and are aware of his style of functioning assert that he was delivering the dialogue which was tutored to him by Shah. However, some people nurse the feeling that Nadda was responsible for exacerbating the crisis. But it is not the case. Nitish would react in this manner was beyond their imagination. Once Shah realised that the situation was slipping out of his grip, he rang up Nitish to assuage his hurt feeling. But it was too late. Nitish had already made up his mind to move ahead.
Nitish’s decision must not be seen merely as a setback for the saffron party in Bihar. It rather has a wider implication across the country. The tweets and responses from the Opposition parties make it abundantly clear that this incident has enthused the Opposition to take on the saffron brigade head-on. The BJP leaders are not simply surprised at Nitish’s move, they are scared of future political developments in the country. Political change in Bihar would invariably energise those Opposition leaders who had lost hope and presumed that the electoral dynamics for the big battle in 2024 is beyond their reach with the perceived absence of a visible alternative to the domineering Modi. Inaugurating the Mahagathbandhan government on Wednesday headed by Nitish with Tejashvi as the Dy CM has also resurrected the aspirations of the Opposition. Political experts hold the view that Nitish Kumar’s decision to return to the secular fold is a big boost as the JDU, RJD, Congress, CPI-ML, SP and other Opposition parties constitute a major chunk of the vote bank. Bihar sent 40 MPs to the Lok Sabha and played a key role, along with Uttar Pradesh, in making Modi the Prime Minister in 2014 and 2019. With BJP already losing ground in UP, as manifested in the Assembly elections, it may have to bow out of the boxing ring in Bihar.
