Patna: In the 1970s, unable to explain the political and social strife that took hold of the country, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had attributed it to a “foreign hand”.
The BJP in Bihar finds itself in a similar predicament — albeit of a political making. The party is finding it increasingly difficult to explain why the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) is contesting the Bihar assembly elections on its own despite being a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The development has already damaged the trust between the BJP and the JD(U) as a perception grows that the LJP chief Chirag Paswan has been propped up by the BJP to cut Chief Minister Nitish Kumar down to size.
The LJP has not made things any easier. The party is set to contest in 143 seats but has made it clear that it will not field any candidate against the BJP. Chirag has also written to the Bihar electorate, urging it to not vote for the JD(U) and insisting that the next government in the state will be a BJP-LJP one.
And if that wasn’t enough, the LJP has begun inducting BJP leaders into its fold and looks set to hand them tickets. Chief among them is Rajendra Singh, the former BJP organisation secretary of the Jharkhand unit.
More BJP leaders are expected to make a beeline for LJP tickets.
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‘Chirag being aided by someone looking to harm NDA’
Senior BJP leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi hinted to ThePrint that Chirag was being aided by someone looking to hurt the NDA in Bihar.
“The BJP has always been straight and transparent in seat-sharing with its allies,” he said. “After our announcement that Nitish Kumar will become the CM irrespective of our seats, where is the possibility of a non-Nitish NDA government coming to power?”
Modi strongly denied the speculation that the BJP was behind the revolt of Chirag.
“Chirag Paswan has a reputation of being a non-serious politician,” said another senior BJP leader. “Yet the issues he has raised such as rampant corruption especially in Nitish’s dream projects. The selection of candidates he is fielding. The way he is using Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name to create confusion among NDA voters, it appears someone having the mind of election strategist Prashant Kishor is guiding him. The Chirag Paswan we know is incapable of taking such steps on his own and his father is too sick to contribute.”
ThePrint contacted Kishor but he refused to comment. A close associate of the election strategist, however, said he last met Chirag Paswan two years ago. “Had the BJP wanted, Chirag would not be doing what he is doing today. The BJP wants to shift the responsibility now,” the associate said.
Kishor had in February held a press conference in which he declared that he would not be associated with any party for the Bihar assembly elections.
‘We have nothing to gain from LJP move’
BJP leaders also claim that the NDA has nothing to gain from Chirag’s decision.
“The LJP may win just five of the 143 seats it intends to contest. But they might end up damaging the prospects of the NDA candidate and giving Grand Alliance candidates a boost,” the senior BJP leader quoted above said. “For example, former Paliganj MLA Usha Vidyarthi has joined the LJP and is all set to contest from the same seat, creating jitters in the camp of JD(U) candidate Jaivardhan Yadav. Paliganj has a substantial section of upper caste Bhumihar voters who have traditionally voted for the BJP. Vidyarthi will lose the poll but she will get a section of Bhumihar votes as she belongs to the same community.”
He added, “It has to be realised that LJP candidates will encroach on NDA votes rather than Grand Alliance ones.”
A third BJP leader said the party will contest about 110 seats and even a great showing will get it anywhere between 80 and 90 seats, not enough for a majority in the 243-member assembly. “How does it help the BJP to form a stable government in Bihar without Nitish?”
For its part, the LJP is denying charges that it is the “BJP’s ‘B’ team” or that it is being propped up to hurt the BJP.
“Chirag Paswan has been raising the issues he is saying now for the past year. It’s CM Nitish Kumar who ignored us and now the people want a change,” LJP spokesperson Ashraf Ansari told ThePrint.
BJP leaders joining the LJP also reject suggestions that they are being influenced by any ‘outside hand’.
“It was a very difficult decision for me as I have been in the BJP for over two decades. But we will not allow a seat that is a BJP stronghold to be thrown away to any other party,” Usha Vidyarthi told ThePrint.
Similarly, Ravindra Yadav, who is contesting from Jhajha on an LJP ticket, said he had won the seat in 2015 for the BJP when Nitish and Lalu had joined hands. The constituency is with the JD(U) as part of the NDA seat-sharing deal. “Why should I give it up to the party I had scored victory against,” he told The Print.
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