Sir — This refers to the news report “JD(U) past point of no return” (June 16).
The BJP has done well by rejecting Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar’s demand to name a ‘secular’ prime ministerial candidate, indirectly opposing a larger national role for the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr Kumar seems to believe that singing the ‘secularism’ song and taking a stand against Mr Modi will fetch Muslim votes en bloc for the JD(U). People vote on the issues of affordable cost of daily life, security, development and corruption-free governance; nobody votes in the name of ‘secularism’ and Muslims are no exception. If Mr Kumar ties up with the Congress-led UPA, his postured secularism would change neither his nor UPA’s prospects.
Also, a Third Front coming to power without the support of either the Congress or the BJP will remain a pipe-dream of the regional political outfits. Furthermore, Mr Kumar and the JD (U) will never in the UPA get the privileged position they enjoyed in the NDA.