Nitish Kumar and lalu Prasad are drifting apart. How long before alliance collapsesIJ
With the Janata Dal (United) suddenly getting nostalgic about its past relationship with the Bharatiya Janata Party, political speculation about the longevity of its alliance with lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has gained ground. Of course, leaders from both sides are doing their best to douse the fire by asking their representatives to not speak against each other, but the fissures are becoming increasingly visible by the day. Senior JD(U) leader KC Tyagi created a flutter when he recently remarked that his party had a greater level of comfort with the BJP than with its current partners. The observation is significant enough, but gains greater heft given that Tyagi has not been known to nurture a soft corner for the BJP. Of course, the senior JD(U) leader was referring to his party's partnership with the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led Government at the Centre. And he did mention that the JD(U) had ideological differences with the Modi regime. Nevertheless, this nuanced approach will not quash rumours doing the political rounds — that a parting of ways between the RJD and the JD(U) is now a matter of time; and that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the JD(U) could return to the NDA fold. After all, no less than lalu Prasad's son Tejashwi Yadav, who is also a Minister in Nitish Kumar's Cabinet, has attacked Nitish Kumar for his “ego-centric” and “unprincipled” approach. The immediate reason for such outbursts is the JD(U)'s decision to back the BJP-led NDA's choice of President and not of the Congress-led group's candidate. But it would be naïve to believe that the divide has come about because of this; it has been existing and visible for weeks now, and on various issues. It is being said that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been uneasy for some time over the various allegations of irregularities that have been levelled against members of the lalu Prasad family — one such matter regarding the accumulation of benami properties by certain of these family members is being probed by Central agencies. This revelation does little to strengthen Nitish Kumar's carefully crafted image of a clean politician.
Besides, there have been murmurs of the RJD chief taking an undue interest in the functioning of the Government. His conversation with jailed don and convict Mohammad Shahabuddin, which came into the public domain some weeks ago and which established lalu Prasad's readiness to accede to the jailed politician's wishes in managing the police administration, has not gone down well with Nitish Kumar. There are other many areas where unwanted interventions by RJD leaders in administrative matters, that have, although not much publicised, added to the JD(U)'s, and particularly the Chief Minister's, discomfiture. But will all this eventually lead to Nitish Kumar returning to the BJP-led alliance, is not clear yet. If the grand alliance in Bihar collapses, then the JD(U) will have to look to the BJP for support in case it wants the Government to survive.