With the recent poll surveys and political trends coming out not in favour, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said that the pre-poll alliance with any party was not in agenda at JD-U’s two-day State level meet beginning on October 26 at Rajgir. Nitish Kumar also dismissed poll surveys as “entertainment programmes”.
“Alliance issue with any party is not in the agenda at the upcoming two-day State level meet of JD-U. It’s a State level party meet and we’ll discuss our party’s issue there”, said Nitish Kumar at the sidelines of his weekly Janata durbar. Earlier, after split from BJP on June 16 he, reportedly, has been saying that his party would discuss the alliance issue at the Rajgir shivir.
Of late, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s proximity with the Congress party has created buzz in political circle for any possible poll alliance between the two parties. The UPA Government has also been showering funds while meeting demands of the Nitish Government triggering the political speculations.
Nitish Kumar, unusually, has not only ensured to drop the Congress leader and Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram upto the local Congress headquarter but has also strictly refrained from attacking Congress party as he has been doing earlier. The RJD boss lalu Prasad’s incarceration too was seen as the last nail removed from growing proximity between the Congress and the JD-U.
However, the political grapevine told The Pioneer that after the recent surveys the Congress Party have started mulling not to go ahead with the JD-U but to continue with the RJD to cash on sympathy vote for lalu after his incarceration. “Making alliance with RJD and lJP may prove politically more fruitful than going with the JD-U. After lalu sent to jail his voters have galvanized sympathically in his favour more solidly and now our party wants to cash on it”, said a Congress leader.
The political pundits of the State said that getting the recent political trends and feedback Nitish Kumar might have made this statement that issue of alliance was not in party’s agenda at its Rajgir shivir. “He even has dismissed the poll surveys and reports as entertainment programmes”, he added further.
“Politics is the game of all possibilities and the political parties like to play it up with more calculations and chemistry”, said political analysts Prof Nawal Kishore Chaudhury. Meanwhile, the BJP leaders alleged that
Nitish Kumar intentionally has programmed party’s two-day shivir at Rajgir to avoid BJP’s Hunkar Rally on October 27 in which Narendra Modi would virtually storm his bastion.
Earlier, while addressing the media persons Nitish Kumar said that the surveys based on sample size of only 4000 are nothing but the entertainment programmes. “India does not have a bipolar political set up but multi-party system. “Everybody knows these are PR exercise to falsely claim that nation’s mood is in their favour,” said Nitish Kumar in an oblique reference to the BJP and Narendra Modi.
Nitish Kumar also cautioned that when the results would be out the people who have been euphoric over such surveys would fall flat. He also reminded that all TV channels showing survey reports had predicted hung Assembly in Bihar in both 2005 and 2010 state elections, but they all proved wrong when the ballot boxes were opened.
Almost all the recent poll predictions have given not more than 9 seats to the ruling JD-U in Bihar whereas much raise in the number so seats have been shown for both the BJP and RJD.
Taking dig at such sample surveys Nitish Kumar said that those basking in the glory of such surveys would have no place to hide their faces when the poll results will be declared.
The Bihar Chief Minister also said that at the two day investor’s meet in Mumbai the industry captains appreciated Bihar’s demand for special status and more central funds in the centrally sponsored schemes. “They supported our demand and Bihar’s effort to make an investor friendly environment”, said Nitish Kumar who had gone to participate in the meeting.