Patna: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s desperate attempts to try every option in a bid to stay in power seem to be making things slowly difficult for him.
First, he cozied up with the Congress to ensure he was declared the chief ministerial candidate of the grand secular alliance which angered the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) headed by Lalu Prasad Yadav. Now, his latest move to share the dais with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and then invite the latter to attend a government programme on good governance in Bihar has apparently sowed the seeds of distrust among allies of the grand secular alliance comprising the RJD, the Congress and the ruling Janata Dal United (JD-U).
Informed sources said Kejriwal has accepted Kumar’s invitation to attend the government function in Patna on August 27 but with the rider that he will not share dais with his “tainted” allies like RJD chief Prasad convicted in a multimillion dollar fodder scam and also sentenced to five year jail term in the case.
Kejriwal also nurses grudges against the Congress party. It was the issues of scams and soaring corruption during the Congress-led UPA government that forced Kejriwal to launch a massive agitation against it using social activist Anna Hazare. He was instrumental in staging the Anna movement which made him a popular figure overnight as he finally formed his political outfit, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which is now in power in Delhi. However, Nitish’s idea of roping in Kejriwal has not gone down well within his allies. The idea looks fraught with more risks than offering any significant political gains.
“Kejriwal can’t be the natural friend of the Congress. He is still the main political opponent of the Congress in Delhi, but if the Bihar chief minister tries to rope him in, it’s his prerogative,” commented Bihar Congress spokesperson Premchand Mishra.
The RJD, which says its working overtime to ensure victory of grand secular alliance, is also not a bit impressed with Kumar’s move to invite his Delhi counterpart for political purposes. “There is no point in inviting persons like Kejriwla who once had called every political party ‘corrupt’. Also, he has made it clear he will keep distance from ‘tainted’ persons and will not like to share dais with them. This is a kind of issue which will do more harm to Kumar than bringing him political gains,” remarked a RJD leader wishing not to be named. He added such an idea would ultimately benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “After all, what does Nitish Kumar want to prove? If he was so conscious of his image, he must not have entered into an alliance with the RJD and the Congress,” he added.
The issue has also come as a God-sent opportunity for the BJP to hit out both its arch rivals Kumar and Kejriwal. “Kejriwal claims to be a crusader against corruption. Has he forgotten what is the alliance there in Bihar. Lalu is standing by Nitish, and Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are standing by Lalu. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were silent on 2G. I feel good that Kejriwalji will go to Bihar. We will also see what are his views on the alliance of Nitish, Lalu, Sonia and Rahul,” federal minister Ravishankar Prasad commented.
At the same time, the BJP is using the Kumar’s idea to cause a split among partners of the grand alliance. “Nitish Kumar remained silent when Kejriwal announced not to share dais with Lalu Prasad. While on the one hand Kumar has tied up with Prasad in a bid to check the BJP, on the other hand he has gone on publicly humiliating the RJD chief. Will the RJD now welcome Kejriwal to Bihar?” asked senior BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav.
