From the very beginning the Grand Alliance was never functional as it was formed on negative agenda of opposing the BJP, feel common people of Bihar. Both, Lalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar, were just looking for an appropriate time to split which was provided by the corruption allegations against Tejashwi Yadav
Nishant Kr Azad
“Fir kamal pe sawar hai, Nitish Kumar hai”, says a Goldsmith Rohit Sarraf from Samastipur District of Bihar after Nitish Kumar separated himself from the grand alliance with Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress. He is very happy with the Nitish Kumar’s move of separating Janata Dal (United) from mahagathbandhan and realigning with Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA. What are the key reasons for this realignment? If people of Bihar to be believed then Crime, Corruption and corroding authority are the key reasons for collapse of this uneasy relationship.
First Defiance
In the past, there have been many indications of uneasiness among the partners JD(U) and RJD. The only happy element in the grand alliance perhaps was the Congress that had received new lease of life in Bihar politics with this arrangement.
Twists and Turns
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First time the tension came to the fore in public when Mohammad Shahabuddin, notorious former Lok Sabha MP was released on bail. Soon after the release, the tainted politician targeted Nitish Kumar by saying “Nitish Kumar is a situational Chief Minister of Bihar and he is not my Chief Minister”. Close associates of Nitish believe that the silence of Lalu Prasad over Shahabuddin’s jibes against Nitish hurt him badly and was the first rupture in the relationship. The situation worsened especially when RJD defended Shahabuddin and refused to expel him. The seed of apparent conflict was planted that very moment.
A teacher from Patna opined that the law and order situation in the State had deteriorated under the mahagathbandhan. “All was not well in the grand alliance from the beginning. The grand alliance in Bihar failed to recreate the magical performance of earlier two terms of the NDA Government under Nitish Kumar. But now I hope that the things will get better again”, says the teacher. A point to remember here is, Nitish was hailed for his appointments of teachers in mass scale in his first stint with the BJP.
A Intrepid Move
Nitish is known for his daring decisions whether it is of joining hands with RJD and Congress or Sharabandi (liquor ban) or now severing ties with mahagathbandhan in Bihar. A close observer of Bihar politics from Begusarai District, Ramadhar Singh said, “ye to hona hi tha, I knew it from the very first day that this cannot be a stable alliance. The alliance was on a shaky ground. While Nitish has a clean image and is known for his developmental politics and good governance, Lalu’s image had never been clean. Though Lalu gave voice to the suppressed in Bihar during his 15 years of rule, it is also true that he and his associates had plundered Bihar. Nitish’s decision of separation from RJD is a bold move against corruption. His decision to merge with BJP is a consequence of his sharp political acumen.”
Corruption Matters
After forming a new Government with BJP’s support in Bihar, Nitish had come under severe attack from his former partners in the alliance. RJD and Congress alleged that Nitish Kumar had compromised by sacrificing secularism and embracing communal agenda.
Vikram Yadav of Darbhanga goes with this argument and feels that he has been cheated over Nitish’s decision of leaving the alliance in a mid way. He said that People of Bihar had voted for Nitish and Lalu against the communal power ‘BJP’ but Nitish Kumar has cheated them.
While Vivek Kashyap, a student of Patna University speaks his mind and says that Bihar has always given new directions to Indian politics. “This time the State has come up with an important lesson that corruption is a crucial issue, alleged communalism is not”. He asserted that in India, especially in the political context, most of the political parties use ‘secularism’ only to win votes of a particular community”. As Nitish himself strongly defended his ‘secular’ credentials while facing the Trust Vote, in the case of Bihar, RJD is using ‘secularism’ to cover up their illegal properties and persistently appease a certain community. Young students like Vivek are with this stand and argue that India needs genuine secularism today more than ever and issues of good governance are more important than ‘Secularism’ tag. JD (U) and BJP will lead the State on the development track with the help of Centre once again, they say.
While sharing his views with the Organiser, Anas Rizwan, a student leader of JD (U) said that when Nitishji decided to associate with RJD in 2015, it was the general feeling amongst the JD(U) cadre that the image of Nitishji would get tarnished in the company of Laluji. Youth of Bihar do not want to get involved in caste-based politics, they just want development. Within two years of this grand alliance, development was on the backseat. Laluji has always used Muslims as his vote-bank but never really cared for them. With JD (U) joining hands with BJP, we hope that Bihar will touch new heights.
Big Setback
Nitish Kumar’s decision to discontinue with mahagathbandhan and coming together with BJP has significant implications for national politics. The consistent events in Bihar leave a vacuum in Opposition and it will be interesting to watch the Opposition’s move in future. Nitish has not only quit, he has also deserted the idea of a collective Opposition led by the Congress party for the 2019 Parliamentary elections.
On request of anonymity, a professor of Mithila University said, “Keeping 2019 Lok Sabha election in mind, realignment of JD (U) and BJP will provide a huge psychological boost to BJP. The Grand alliance’s victory in the 2015 Bihar Assembly polls had demonstrated that it was indeed possible to halt the Modi wave. But with the exit of Nitish Kumar from the grand alliance, the task to fight with Modi has become tougher. The problem with the Opposition is that they do not have a face to take on Modi.
Nitish’s image had already taken a blow in Bihar after his association with Lalu Prasad Yadav. Corruption charges on Lalu’s family gave Nitish a chance to rectify his mistakes. By disassociating himself from the grand alliance, Nitish Kumar once again clearly indicated that there would be no compromise with policy of ‘zero tolerance’ against corruption. Meanwhile RJD Supremo Lalu Prasad yadav alleged that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is facing charges of murder in a case registered with Patna district’s Pandarak police station.
Sanjay Singh, a doctor from Barauni District explains the Nitish’s move. “Lalu is a very smart and mature politician but this time Nitish out-thought him. Things are not as simple as they look. After the allegation of corruption on Tejashwi Yadav, it was understandable that Lalu could possibly poach JDU MLAs and anytime he will break this alliance and declare Tejashwi as Chief Ministerial candidate with the help of Congress. This had deepened the distrust in the grand alliance. Nitish came to know this somehow and initiated the move to exit from alliance. Lalu always had the upper hand in the grand alliance which did not Nitish work accordingly. Ultimately it is Lalu’s ‘putra-moh’ that lies at the root of the current crisis”.
